John Chisum was an extremely successful cattleman in New Mexico during the period following the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865). As the size of his herd grew, Chisum clashed with the owners of smaller ranches, who resented his efforts to graze his cattle on land that they were accustomed to using. The violence escalated, culminating in a series of shootouts in 1877, which was called the Pecos County War. Suspecting that the House, a clique of businessmen led by James Dolan that dominated Lincoln County, were the primary buyers of beef rustled from his herd, Chisum was a principal backer of Alex McSween and John Tunstall when they competed against the House. However, he did not take part in the Lincoln County War, which erupted after Tunstall was killed by a sheriff’s posse loyal to Dolan in 1878. Afterwards, Chisum played a key role in the election of Pat Garrett as sheriff of Lincoln County, and Garrett killed or captured several of the most dangerous rustlers, including William Bonney (Billy the Kid). Once the plague of rustlers had been dealt with, Chisum’s ranch boomed for several years, but he died of cancer in 1884. Read More…