My great uncle, Frank Patterson of Junction, famously told and retold the tale of having an encounter with John Wesley Hardin during his youth. Patterson lived from 1879-1969. I met "uncle Frank" only once about 1953 when he was retired from Texas Rangers and Kimble County Sheriff in Junction. John Wesley Hardin (I've been reading about him) lived from 1853 to 1895. JWH was in prison from 1878 through 1894.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley_Hardin
ONE of my pending "things to do" is visit Hardin's grave:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1346/john-wesley-hardin
The story was that Frank was roaming brush land and practicing shooting a pistol. Frank and friends unexpectedly met JWH and friends. JWH opined that Frank had a poor quality pistol and gave him a better one. That pistol and the story remained in Frank's collection long after Frank's death.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29924103/cabot-frank-patterson
JWH went to prison before Frank was born. And was killed only a year after his release from prison. So, if the story is true, it would have had to occurred about 1894-1895 in the year before JWH was killed. Frank would have been about 21-23. Not the youth that I had understood.
Frank is believed to never have talked of his involvement of the Povenir Massacre of Jan 28, 1918. Frank left the Rangers a couple of weeks after the event. But he was in Ranger Compay B under Captain Fox before he left the Rangers.
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