On this day, Franklin “Buckskin” Leslie, the gunslinger, fatally shot Billy “The Kid” Claiborne in the streets of Tombstone, Arizona.
Tombstone is widely recognized today for the infamous shootout that took place at the O.K. Corral. However, throughout the 1880s, it served as a residence for numerous gunmen who never attained the lasting notoriety of figures like Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday. Among these largely overlooked outlaws, Franklin “Buckskin” Leslie stood out as one of the most infamous.
Details about Leslie’s early life are scant. He made various claims about his origins, stating he was born in either Texas or Kentucky, had studied medicine in Europe, and served as an army scout during the conflict with the Apache Indians. However, no substantiating evidence has surfaced to confirm or debunk these assertions.
The first documented instance of Leslie’s existence appears in 1877, when he started working as a scout in Arizona. A few years later, attracted by the economic prospects of the bustling mining town of Tombstone, he opened the Cosmopolitan Hotel in 1880. That same year, during a dispute over Killeen’s wife, Leslie killed a man named Mike Killeen and subsequently married the widow.
Known for his ruthless reputation as a killer, Leslie found himself in turmoil after his drinking companion and fellow gunman, John Ringo, was found deceased in July 1882.
On November 14, 1882, Leslie became embroiled in a confrontation with Billy Claiborne, who, following the recent demise of William Bonney (the original Billy the Kid), insisted on being addressed as “Billy the Kid.”
Claiborne, a survivor of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, claimed to have killed three men who had mocked him, yet there exists only evidence of his altercation with Bill Hickey. After the O.K. Corral shootout, Claiborne’s standing diminished as he fled from the scene.
As per Leslie, he was engaged in conversation with friends at the Oriental Saloon when Claiborne barged in and began uttering offensive remarks. Claiborne was notably intoxicated, threatened patrons, and caused damage to the saloon. He insisted that Leslie refer to him as “Billy the Kid.” Despite Leslie’s request for Claiborne to stop interrupting, Claiborne returned and continued his abusive outburst. Leslie seized Claiborne by the collar and ushered him outside. Leslie recalled, “He used very hard language, and as he started away from me, shook a finger at me and said, ‘That’s all right Leslie, I’ll get even on you.'”
Shortly thereafter, one man and then another warned that someone was lurking outside with the intention of shooting Leslie. The second individual claimed it was Claiborne, who was allegedly positioned outside with a rifle. Upon stepping outside, Leslie spotted “a foot of rifle barrel protruding from the end of the fruit stand.” He attempted to dissuade Claiborne from firing, but Claiborne elevated the rifle, missing Leslie. Leslie retaliated, hitting Claiborne in the chest. “I saw him double up, and with my pistol cocked and aimed at him again… I moved closer but refrained from shooting as he uttered, ‘Don’t shoot again, I am killed.'”
Due to Claiborne’s ambush and first shot at Leslie, the incident was deemed self-defense. It was referred to as “an incident that became an open-and-closed affair over the brief span of time it took Frank to puff through a rolled cylinder of Bull Durham.”
Leslie’s remaining years were similarly marked by violence and senselessness.
After divorcing Killeen in 1887, he began a relationship with a prostitute in Tombstone,whom he killed several years later in a fit of drunken rage. Even by the lenient standards of frontier law in Tombstone, killing an unarmed woman was considered unacceptable, leading to Leslie serving nearly 10 years in prison before being paroled in 1896.
Following his release, he remarried and took on various odd jobs throughout the West.
Discrepancies exist in the records concerning Leslie’s death. One account claims he took his own life in 1925, while another narrative suggests he struck gold in the Alaskan Gold Fields and passed away as a wealthy landowner in the San Joaquin Valley. However, the most credible source indicates that he spent his final days in 1930, inebriated and destitute, relying on the goodwill of a bartender who let him sleep in the back room in exchange for cleaning up each night.
Leslie was said to possess a unique revolver. On January 14, 1881, he wrote to the Colt firearms company requesting a Colt Frontier Model designed to use Winchester Cartridges .44 Cal., specifying a 12-inch barrel, with a browned and superior finish throughout and carved ivory handle. He also requested a scabbard or belt containing everything needed for carrying and cleaning the pistol, asking for a prompt response with the price and details for delivery via Wells Fargo & Cos.
It was believed that this Frank Leslie was around 80-81 years old, placing him in the right age bracket to be the Frank Leslie famous in Tombstone. In June 1974, a newspaper article reported, “A silver-buckled belt owned by gunfighter Buckskin Frank Leslie sold for $2,500 at a recent Los Angeles auction specializing in Old West memorabilia.”