Jim French was a New Mexican cowboy. New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. A cowboy is an animal Herder who tends Cattle on Ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback and often performs a multitude of

Out of all Regulators, French remains the most mysterious. The Lincoln County Regulators was a deputized Posse in Lincoln County New Mexico during the Lincoln County War, consisting of a dozen or so Not much is known about him, such as where he came from or how he came to work for John Tunstall. John Henry Tunstall ( 6 March, 1853 &ndash 18 February 1878) was a New Mexican rancher and prominent figure in the Lincoln County He was known to be a large, powerful man, variously reported to be either half-Indian or half-black. Called either "Big Jim" or "Frenchy", he was a key participant in the Lincoln County War. The Lincoln County War was a 19th century conflict between two entrenched factions in America's western frontier.

French was present at all the key events of the Regulators during the war, including the Blackwater killings of William Morton, Frank Baker, and William McCloskey on March 9, 1878. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common After the shooting of Sheriff William Brady on April 1, 1878 in Lincoln (when French and five partners riddled Brady and a deputy with rifle slugs), he and Billy the Kid broke from cover and ran to Brady's body, ostensibly to get his arrest warrant for Alexander McSween. William J Brady ( 16 August 1829 - 1 April 1878) was the Sheriff of Lincoln County during the Lincoln County Wars Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Henry McCarty (November 23 1859—July 14 1881 better known as Billy the Kid, but also known by the aliases Henry Antrim and William H Alexander McSween ( 1843 - July 19, 1878) was a prominent figure during the Lincoln County War of the Old West, and the central charactor A deputy who survived the shooting, Billy Matthews, opened fire. His shot wounded both men, French so seriously he couldn't travel, hiding out under a friend's floor for a day until the Regulators smuggled him out of town. Just three days later, Jim French was present with his pals at Blazer's Mills for the gunfight against Buckshot Roberts, when Regulator captain Richard Brewer was killed. Andrew L "Buckshot" Roberts (d April 4, 1878) was an American buffalo hunter and Cowboy whose last stand against the Richard Brewer ( January 10, 1850 – April 4, 1878) also known as Dick Brewer, was an American cowboy and

When the Regulators were trapped in Lincoln in July 1878, French was trapped along with McSween and Billy the Kid in the burning McSween house. Through the five-day ordeal, Big Jim remained volatile and dangerous; during a shouted parlay when their surrounders demanded to see the deputized Regulators' arrest warrants for rival James Dolan, French yelled back, "Our warrants are in our guns, you cock-sucking sonsabitches!" When the house was finally set afire on July 19, French and Billy the Kid led the Regulators out the rear door and escaped while several of their friends, including McSween, were gunned down in the backyard. James Dolan ( May 2, 1848 - February 6, 1898) was an Old West businessman cattleman and a key factor in the Lincoln County War By the fall of 1878, the war had ended and the Regulators split up, and Jim French left New Mexico, later writing a friend from his new home near Keota, Oklahoma. Keota is a town in Haskell County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 517 at the 2000 census.

French was rumored to have been killed back in Lincoln County, New Mexico in a quarrel over stolen cattle on June 21, 1879, but this seems unlikely. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Others say he went to South America. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a A man named Jim French was killed on February 6, 1895 while trying to rob a store in Catoosa, Oklahoma, but there is no concrete evidence to indicate that this man was the Jim French of the Lincoln County War. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Catoosa is a river city in Rogers and Wagoner counties in the U Fellow Regulator George Coe stated in 1927 that French had been shot in Oklahoma "about three years ago. George Coe is an American actor who has appeared in many films television shows and on the stage " Jim French's fate remains just as much a mystery as his origins.

Other Media

In the film Young Guns II, Jim French was combined with fellow Regulator Henry Brown, and presented as a composite named Hendry French. Young Guns II is a 1990 western film, and the sequel to Young Guns ( 1988) Henry Newton Brown ( 1857 - April 30, 1884) was a 19th century gunman who played the roles of both lawman and Outlaw during his brief life Timid and clumsy, the film's portrayal of French, by actor Alan Ruck bears little actual resemblance to either outlaw. Alan Ruck (born July 1 1956) is an American stage Television and film Actor.

References

• Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life, by Robert M. Utley, University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
• The Lincoln County War, A Documentary History, by Frederick Nolan, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1992.