Preeminent Figure in Western History Comes to Life During American West Program at Colorado State University

A man of action in the frontier West who met with an ignominious end will come back to life during the American West Program at 7:30 p.m.

July 2 in Room A103 Chemistry Building on campus. The event will include a slide show.

Chip Carlson, historian and biographer, will portray Tom Horn, one of the most effective and feared private stock detectives in Wyoming, who was convicted of murder.

"To this day, Wyomingites and historians of the West debate his guilt and the questionable nature of his trial," Carlson said.

Horn’s greatest infamy resulted from his well-earned reputation as a cattle detective, work at which he was exceedingly effective. On at least one occasion, he was contracted to kill two cattle thieves, but it was his relationship to Wyoming cattle barons that eventually led to his conviction for the murder of a 14-year-old boy.

Carlson, who lives in Cheyenne, Wyo., has written three books and several articles on Tom Horn’s activities in Wyoming. Carlson’s new book on Horn will be available at the July 2 presentation on campus.

Events for the American West Program will continue every Tuesday evening through July 30, when Patricia Limerick, historian from the University of Colorado-Boulder, will explore the role of the courts in the changing West. Other topics include discussions of the Texas Rangers, Bat Masterson and vigilantism.

Following is a schedule of events. All talks begin at 7:30 p.m. in Room A103 Chemistry Building and are free and open to the public. The locations previously announced have all been changed to the Chemistry Building.

For more information, call Harry Rosenberg, history professor and coordinator of the American West series, at 491-5230.

• July 2 – "Tom Horn, Wyoming Range Detective: Guilty of Murder in the First Degree," Chip Carlson, historian and biographer, Cheyenne, Wyo.
• July 9 – "The Texas Rangers in History and Legend," Robert Utley, historian, Georgetown, Texas.
• July 16 – "Vigilantism – The Conservative Mob," Richard Brown, Beekman Professor of History, emeritus, University of Oregon.
• July 23 – "Bat Masterson: The Colorado Connection," Mike Koury, publisher, Old Army Press, Fort Collins, Colo.
• July 30 – "Judging Colorado: The Role of the Courts in the Changing West," Patricia Limerick, history professor, University of Colorado-Boulder.