Tom Horn: Blood on the Moon

By Chip Carlson

Did Tom Horn kill Willie Nickell? He was a death sentence to rustlers and the devil incarnate to homesteaders in late nineteenth-century Wyoming.

Did Tom Horn commit the 1901 murder of the fourteen-year-old son of a sheep-owning homesteader who had stolen from the cattle barons’ ranges? If not, who did?

Cheyenne author Chip Carlson, in this, his third book, answers these questions and others with the monumental results of more than ten years of research into primary sources.

Who were Tom Horn’s other victims? Was there collusion on the part of three governors in two Colorado murders? How could the jury return a verdict of guilty in Tom Horn’s trial in the face of evidence that someone else was the killer? Why did Tom Horn’s parents flee to Canada? Was there jury tampering and bribery? Why did Tom Horn say “I would kill him and be done with him?” What was the role of schoolteacher Glendolene Kimmell, and where did she end her years?

Tom Horn, the most notorious of Wyoming’s range detectives and a pre-eminent name in Wyoming history, operated unchecked until he was arrested for the murder of Willie Nickell. The murder and questionable nature of Horn’s conviction still ignite firestorms of controversy in Wyoming.

Before he was hanged Horn said, “I have lived about fifteen ordinary lives. I would like to have had somebody who saw my past and could picture it to the public. It would be the most god damn interesting reading in the country.” Now author Chip Carlson provides that reading.

• • 0-931271-59-2 • trade paper • 384 pp • index • bibliography • many photos • $19.95 ORDER NOW

Special Anniversary Package!

On the 100th anniversary of Horn's hanging two special anniversary book packages were assembled. The hardcover package is sold out, but a few softcover packages are still available:

The last 100 copies of the now out-of-print first edition of the softcover book were signed, dated, and numbered by the author at the site of the execution. Three color photographs unavailable elsewhere, a certificate of authenticity, and a keep-safe box complete the package. Enthusiast's Package: $50 while they last ORDER NOW

Tom Horn: Blood on the Moon

By Chip Carlson

"...with this latest work he [Chip Carlson] must be considered the authority on Tom Horn. This work is a definite must for those interested in outlaws and lawmen as well as for those who love a mystery. The question of Horn's guilt or innocence can still be the reason for arguments in Wyoming today."
•• Chuck Parsons, National Association for Outlaw and Lawman History, Inc.

"Chip Carlson knows more about Tom Horn than any person living."
•• Dr. Gene M. Gressley, Director Emeritus American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming

Chip Carlson

Author Chip Carlson was born in Pennsylvania near Carlyle, coincidentally where many of the early powers in the Wyoming cattle business originated. He is a graduate of Colgate University with a BA in philosophy. Before moving to Wyoming in 1977 he lived in Latin America, Canada, and the Midwest while working in marketing capacities.

He has invested over twelve years into researching the history of the Tom Horn episode in Wyoming, as well as other aspects of the early ranching business. He is a frequent contributor to national and regional publications.

He presents programs on Tom Horn and sometimes assumes the role of Horn as a part of his programs.