John Wesley Hardin’s death gun - Handguns of Note
Hardin’s cousin by marriage, James Miller, known as “Killing Jim,” had requested legal assistance in a case involving armed altercations with Sheriff G.A. (Bud) Frazier. In two shooting incidents, Miller had survived being shot by Frazier, thanks to a steel plate insert placed by Miller in his clothing. Their feud, which began in 1891, eventually resulted in the death of Frazier, murdered by Miller in 1896.
Hardin had responded to requests from Miller to prosecute Frazer in court, having been shot by the latter in April and in December, 1894. Trial was scheduled for April of 1895, in El Paso; Frazer had been arrested that December. Tiring of the wait, Miller eventually killed Frazer.
Miller was known as “the most dangerous man that ever lived,” according to an acquaintance, Dee Harvey. In 1908, Miller would be the prime suspect in the murder of Pat Garrett, killer of Billy The Kid. In 1909 Miller was lynched, after he killed a rancher in Ada, Oklahoma.
Court records show John Wesley Hardin was carrying a Colt Lightning Model 1877, serial number 84304 and an Elgin watch, serial number 4069110, when he was shot and killed on August 19, 1895. The revolver and the watch had been presented to Hardin in appreciation for his legal efforts on behalf of Miller in his trial for murdering Frazer. That trial lasted from April 8 to 14, 1895, ending in the jury being deadlocked.