Franklin Leslie
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"Buckskin" Frank Leslie (March 23, 1848?-1930?) was a western gunman, most known as the killer of Billy Claiborne, as well as an Indian scout and customs official and prospector. Wyatt Earp was said to have stated "Leslie was the only man who could compare to Doc Holliday's blinding speed and accuracy with a six-gun."
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[edit] Early life
Born Nashville Franklin [Franklyn] Leslie in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 23, 1848. His family soon moved to Texas where he grew up. His father was Bernard Leslie, a respected Dentist and his mother was Martha Leslie. Frank Leslie was first recorded as a scout for the U.S. Army in Texas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas during the 1870s before arriving in Tombstone, Arizona in 1880, where he opened the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Shortly after, he began seeing a woman named May Killeen and, when her jealous ex-husband confronted him, Leslie shot and killed him on June 22, 1880; only a week later, Leslie and the recently widowed May Killeen were married according to a local news account.
- "Tombstone, Arizona July 06, 1880"
- "Wedding - Last evening, at 8 o'clock, Mr N.F. Leslie [Nashville Franklyn] was united in holy bonds of matrimony to Mrs May Killeen, [Mary Jane Evans] by Judge Reilly. The wedding was a quiet one, only a few intimate friends of the parties being present. Miss [Louisa] Billicke attended the bride, Col. C.F. Hines supporting Mr Leslie. There were present during the ceremony, which took place in the parlor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Mr and Mrs Bilicke, Col. H. B. Jones and wife, Mr C.E. Hudson and daughter, Miss French, Col. Hafford, Mr E. Nichols, Mr J. A. Whitcher, Mr Maxon, Mr J.A. Burres, Mr Geo E. Whitcher, F.E. Burke, Esq., and Mr Fred Billings. At the Conclusion of the ceremony the bridal party and friends repaired to the dining room of the hotel, when a bounteous repast awaited them. The EPITAPH congratulates Mr Leslie, un chevalier sans peur et sans reproche, {a knight without fear and reproach} and his most estimable wife upon this happy event, and earnestly wishes them a pleasant voyage over life's troubles ocean."
[edit] Tombstone
By the time Leslie arrived in Tombstone, he had a reputation as being a gunman. Leslie soon became the number one bartender at the Oriental Saloon, working for his friend Wyatt Earp. On November 14, 1882, Leslie became involved in an argument with Billy Claiborne who, after the recent death of William Bonney, had demanded to be known as "Billy the Kid". A survivor of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Claiborne had claimed to have already killed three men who had ridiculed him, but there is only one confirmed gunfight involving Claiborne prior to his confrontation with Leslie, in which Claiborne killed one man and was arrested for that killing. Claiborne's reputation following the O. K. Corral shootout had also suffered, due to his non-participation, and the fact that he fled the scene without becoming actively involved. It is likely that Claiborne saw Leslie as a way of redemption.
He threatened Leslie during verbal confrontation earlier that day. When Leslie still refused to refer to him as "Billy the Kid", Claiborne left, but returned later that night to the Oriental Saloon where he called out Leslie. The two men walked out a side door, and in the ensuing gunfight, Leslie killed Claiborne with one shot to the chest. Claiborne's last words were allegedly "Frank Leslie killed Ringo. I saw him do it."
During the Apache uprisings during the mid-1880s, Leslie returned to service in the U.S. Army as an Indian scout on at least two separate occasions and also acted as a mounted customs inspector along the Rio Grande area.
Leslie and Killeen divorced in 1887, after seven years of marriage, supposedly, according to legend, due to Killeen's claim that Leslie would shoot at her as he attempted to trace her outline along a wall. Mary Leslie then married Alexander Durward on October 12, 1889,in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, and moved to Banning, Riverside County where she died on March 24, 1947.
Soon after, Leslie began living with local prostitute, Molly Williams. One night, arriving home drunk, Leslie saw Molly chatting on the porch with his ranch hand Six-shooter Jim O'Neil. Believing they were having an affair, he killed her in an argument after she pulled a pocket revolver on him, and shot O'Neil, wounding him. Charged with her death, Leslie was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in the Yuma pen.
[edit] Leslie's Buntline Special
On January 14, 1881, Leslie sent a letter to the Colt firearms company.
- "Gentlemen I want a pistol as follows. Colts Frontier Model to take Winchester Cartridges 44 Cal.. the revolver to have a twelve (12) inch barrel, browned, superior finished throughout with carved ivory handle, also send scabbard or belt with everything complete for carrying & cleaning the Pistol answer soon as convenient, stating price and when I can have Pistol by Wells Fargo & Cos. and oblige."
It has since been speculated that Leslie wanted a long-barreled Colt, because he had seen Wyatt Earp use one. This may have been true, because Leslie allegedly idolized Earp, and wanted to be like him.
[edit] Later Years
After serving 8 years, Leslie was pardoned and released from the Yuma Territorial Prison Nov 7th, 1896. Settling in Stockton, California he married Belle Stowell on December 1, 1896.
Traveling to Mexico, Leslie became a field assistant to a Professor Dumell on a geological survey for coal deposits. After trying his hand at prospecting in the Alaskan gold fields, Leslie moved to Oakland, California in 1913 where he worked at a pool hall.
On November 6, 1913, at Napa, he married Elnora Cast although it is unclear weither he was legally divorced from any of his other wives: May Evans, Molly Williams, and Mrs Belle Stowell.
Leslie disappeared from record around 1922, but before that time, he and Wyatt Earp visited each other multiple times.
[edit] Death
Leslie's death has been disputed. One source says that he committed suicide in 1925; another story states that he struck it rich in the Alaskan Gold Fields, and died as a rich land baron in the San Joaquin Valley; the best source however, states that he ended his days in 1930, drunk and penniless, except for the generosity of a bartender who let him sleep in his back room in exchange for sweeping up every night. It was estimated that this Frank Leslie was about 80-81, which would make him to be the right age to be the Frank Leslie of Tombstone fame.
[edit] Further reading
- Rickards, Colin. Buckskin Frank Leslie: Gunman of Tombstone, El Paso, 1964.
