William Preston Longley went by several names during his 27 years as one of the most vicious murderers of the American West. Aliases included Wild Bill, Rattling Bill, Tom Jones, Jim Patterson, Jim Webb, Bill Black, Bill Henry, and Bill Jackson.
Longley was a ruthless murderer, killing his first man at the age of sixteen. Growing up with firmly held racist views, he was adamantly opposed to the government's Reconstruction policy, a view that would lead to enough trouble that he would eventually be hanged.
William Longley was born at Mill Creek, Texas, to Campbell and Sarah Longley on October 6, 1851. When Longley was still very young, the family moved to Evergreen, Texas, where he went to school and worked on the family farm. Longley learned how to use a gun before he was a teenager and would soon prove to be one of the fastest draws in Texas with his deadly accurate aim and participation in numerous gunfights.
After the Civil War had ended, Texas Governor E.J. Davis created a state police force made up of mostly freed slaves. This incensed many Confederate Southerners who were still bitter over the war. One day in December 1866, while Bill and his father, Campbell, were in Evergreen, a black policeman who had been drinking came riding down the street waving his gun and cursing some of the local towns' people.
When the police officer insulted his father, Bill stepped forward and told the man to lower his gun. Not knowing Bill's accuracy, the lawman brought his gun up, pointing it at young Bill, who shot the man dead. Soon Longley took up with other young men and began terrorizing newly freed slaves, killing two more black men in Lexington, Texas.
On December 20, 1868, Longley, Johnson McKeown, and James Gilmore intercepted three ex-slaves from Bell County, killing Green Evans. During the next two years, he and his brother-in-law, John W. Wilson, terrorized black families in south-central Texas.
By this time, Longley had earned a reputation as a fast draw and was often sought out by those wanting to establish themselves as feared gunmen. However, these challengers invariably lost when calling Longley into the street. Longley picked many fights with anyone he suspected of being a Yankee sympathizer or a carpetbagger. Standing six feet tall, he was also known to whip any black man who crossed his path.
During this time, Longley was supposedly involved with an outlaw gang led by Cullen M. Baker in Arkansas. Although, by some accounts, he was only traveling with a gang member and was accused by association.
Soon, he and his traveling companion were captured by a group of vigilantes and lynched as horse thieves. However, as the mob rode off, one man turned and aimed several shots at the pair. One bullet hit Longley in the face and broke a tooth, while another frayed the rope from which he was hanging. The rope weakened with the weight of Longley's body and broke, saving his life.
In February 1870, Longley and his brother-in-law, John W. Wilson, killed a black man named Brice in Bastrop County. They were also accused of killing a black woman. In March, the military authorities offered a $1,000 reward for the pair. His brother-in-law Wilson died soon after, and Longley traveled north.
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