Sandy King was another of the lesser known outlaws of the Wild West, although he had a great gunslinger name. His brief career was more defined by his death than his known exploits. Sandy was born around 1852 in either Arkansas or Texas and that is about the extent of any history of his early life until he shows up riding with the Clantons in the 'Cochise County Cowboys' in the late 1870's. Sandy became buddies with more famous luminaries such as William 'Curly Bill' Brocious and 'Russian Bill' Tattenbaum in pursuing a career of cattle rustling, horse thievery, stage coach hold-ups, and other nefarious business ventures. The 'Cochise County Cowboys' were basically an early crime syndicate dabbling in all sorts of unlawful activity.

Sandy wisely left Tombstone about the time the friction between the Earps and Clantons was about to ignite into the 'Gunfight at the OK Corral'. Unfortunately that was about the last wise thing Sandy ever did. Tattenbaum followed Sandy down to Shakespeare in the New Mexico Territory where they rustled cattle. In November of 1881 Sandy walked into a store and bought himself a silk hanky. The store clerk laughed at Sandy's metrosexual choice in hankies, and Sandy proceeded to blow off the clerk's index finger to demonstrate he was no sissy. Sheriff 'Dangerous Dan' Tucker arrested him. A few days later Tucker arrested Tattenbaum for cattle rustling.

The Shakespeare Vigilante Committee decided to hang them both right on the spot in the Grant Hotel dining room. Remember, this was a town where the closest thing to 'Rule of Law' was you were responsible for burying anyone you shot and killed. Sandy was sentenced to death for the crime of being 'a general nuisance'. Sandy argued eloquently to no avail. He even brought up how Bean Belly Smith was not hanged for shooting and killing Ross Woods a few weeks earlier at the Stratford Hotel in an argument about who was going to eat the last egg in the house. Finally Sandy gave up and just asked for a glass of water before they strung both him and Tattenbaum up over the rafters in the Grant Hotel dining room and left them there for a few days to serve as a warning and example. Sandy was obviously a better outlaw than he was a trial lawyer.

No surviving photos of Sandy that I could find, so his gravestone will have to do, even though they have the dates wrong on his death. His only cultural appearance is an episode of 'Death Valley Days' in the 60's where he was played as a sympathetic, sensitive young man by Luke Halpin of the TV show 'Flipper' fame. It bore no resemblance to the Sandy King of history.

Shakespeare is now a ghost town on private property just south of Lordsburg, NM. They have guided tours.....

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1Chuck Morelli