Name Texas Omohundro | Children Texas Jack | |
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Full Name John Baker Omohundro Born July 26, 1846 ( 1846-07-26 ) Pleasure Hill, VA Died June 28, 1880, Leadville, Colorado, United States | ||
John Baker Omohundro (July 26, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack," was a frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia he served in the Confederacy during the American Civil War and later as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars. Before his untimely death Texas Jack became a legendary figure in the American Old West as a western showman performing dramas on the stage throughout the country and was immortalized in dime novels published around the world.
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Early life
Omohundro was born in Palmyra on the Pleasure Hill farm in Fluvanna County, Virginia on July 26, 1846 to John Burwell and Catherine Baker Omohundro of Anglo-American ancestry. He attended grammar school in Fluvanna and at an early age showed a strong skill in hunting and fishing.
At the start of the American Civil War he attempted to join his older brother Orville in the Confederate Army but was twice refused for his age. Then in 1864 at the age of 17 he successfully enlisted in the Army of Northern Virginia and served directly under Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's command as a courier and scout. He would engage Union troops by acting as a chicken peddler, obtaining information about their movements and was known as the “Boy Scout of the Confederacy”. He participated in the Battle of the Wilderness and following the death of J.E.B. Stuart the Battle of Trevilian Station.
Cowboy, Hunting, and Scouting Career
After the Civil War, Omohundro left Virginia at age 19 for Florida, then after a short time moved on to Texas arriving at a ranch near Brazos where he began his life as a Texas cowboy. He participated in early cattle drives, notably on the Chisholm Trail. On one drive across Arkansas to meat-short Tennessee, grateful citizens nicknamed him "Texas Jack." On another drive, Omohundro found a five-year-old boy whose parents had been killed by Native Americans. He brought the boy to safety in Fort Worth, who later took the name Texas Jack Jr. in homage and went on to run the Texas Jack's Wild West Show and Circus in 1903 in South Africa.
In 1869, Texas Jack moved to Fort Hays, Kansas, where he met “California Joe” and "Wild Bill" Hickok who was sheriff of Ellis County at the time. Later that year, Jack met and befriended William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody who was working with the 5th U.S. Cavalry at Fort McPherson when Jack was hired on as a scout and trail guide during the Indian Wars. Special permission had to be obtained as the U.S. Government did not generally permit the employment of ex-Confederate soldiers. During the Battle of Summit Springs, Texas Jack captured his well known white horse from Indian Chief Tall Bull. Texas Jack moved to Cottonwood Springs, Nebraska where aside from his work as a scout for the government he made a lucrative living from hunting expeditions for American and foreign parties which were popular at the time. Notably Texas Jack together with Cody led the highly publicized royal hunt of 1872 with Grand Duke Alexei of Russia along with a group of prominent American military figures including General Sheridan, General Custer, and Colonel Forsyth. Later in 1874 Texas Jack guided the Earl of Dunraven though Yellowstone and Geyserland. Then in 1876 Texas Jack led Sir John Rea Reid, Baronet and his party on a hunt around the Bighorn Mountains and Sweetwater country.
Acting
Omohundro and Cody traveled to Chicago in December 1872 to debut in The Scouts of the Prairie, one of the original Wild West shows produced by Ned Buntline. Critics described Omohundro as physically impressive and magnetic in personality. He was the first performer to introduce roping acts to the American stage.
In 1873 Buntline left and "Wild Bill" Hickok joined the group to headline in a new play called Scouts of the Plains. Hickok did not enjoy acting often hiding behind scenery and in one show shot the spotlight when it focused on him, he was released from the group after a few months.
On August 31, 1873, Omohundro married Giuseppina Morlacchi, a dancer and actress from Milan, Italy. Morlacchi was performing in the theater circuit with her own Morlacchi Ballet Troupe when she first met Omohundro. She would go on to star in the Scouts of the Prairie and other shows.
Desiring a lighter tour schedule Texas Jack parted ways with Cody and in 1877 formed his own acting troupe in St. Louis known as the 'Texas Jack Combination' featuring Morlacchi, “Arizona John” John M. Burke, scout from the Modoc War Donald McKay, trick shot Maud Oswald, and several Sweetwater & Warm Spring Indians. In May of that year he debuted Texas Jack in the Black Hills written by Harry Seymour to rave reviews. Other plays the Combination performed included The Trappers Daughter, Life on the Border, and The French Spy.
Dime Novels
In the late 19th century dime novels depicting frontier life were becoming common and Texas Jack became a popular subject of these stories. The dime novels printed on inexpensive wood pulp paper and costing five to ten cents each were published weekly or monthly. One of the first of these novels was titled Texas Jack; or The White King of the Pawnees written by Ned Buntline and first appeared in 1872. The Texas Jack legend grew as he was featured on covers by publishers including Beadle's New York Dime Library, The Nickle Library, Log Cabin Library, DeWitt's Ten Cent, Street and Smith and others. Many of these stories were written by the prolific author Col. Prentiss Ingraham. Omohundro wrote articles in newspapers across the country recalling his hunting and scouting stories and is credited as having authored one dime novel titled Ned Wylde, the Boy Scout for Beadle and Adams in 1876.
In 1900, Joel Chandler Harris featured Texas Jack in a series of fictional accounts of the Confederate Secret Service and plot to kidnap Lincoln for the Saturday Evening Post. At the time the stories caused some outrage since it associated Texas Jack with John Wilkes Booth and after publication Harris received letters attempting to clear Texas Jack's name.
In 1906 Verlagshaus für Volkslitteratur und Kunst, Berlin published a series of dime novels titled “Texas Jack, Der Grosse Kundschafter” (Texas Jack, The Great Scout) in German. Inspired by Omohundro the stories are of the fictional Jack Hawkins, an orphan who becomes a scout and cowboy in the American West engaging in skirmishes with Indians and opium smugglers, while some stories are set during the Mormon War and in Maximilian's Mexico. In Germany the novels were republished in three subsequent series and were translated in eight languages - French “Texas Jack, la Terreur Des Indiens” (Texas Jack, the Terror of the Indians), Swedish “Texas Jack, Amerikas mest berömde indianbekämpare” (Texas Jack, Americas Famous Indian Fighter), Finnish, Danish, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, and Italian.
Death and legacy
Texas Jack and Morlacchi had settled at a small farm in Lowell, Massachusetts and in 1880 decided to visit the silver mining town of Leadville, Colorado. After arriving Texas Jack fell ill and a few weeks later died of pneumonia. The funeral was largely attended and was given full military honors with several military companies in attendance firing a three-volley salute as his flag draped coffin was lowered into the ground. His final resting place is Evergreen Cemetery in Leadville. Shortly after Texas Jack's death Morlacchi returned to their home in Lowell. She never toured again.
After several years the grave fell into disrepair and a traveling group of comedians raised funds to provide for its upkeep. Then in 1908 while passing though Leadville Cody visited the cemetery and commissioned a granite grave marker for his old friend and mistakenly listed Texas Jack's age at 39 years.
In 1980, the Texas Jack Association was formed to preserve and promote Texas Jack's memory.
In 1994, Texas Jack Omohundro was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in the Hall of Great Western Performers.