True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII

Gunfighter: Bill Longley

William Preston Longley (October 6, 1851 – October 11, 1878), also known as Wild Bill Longley, was an American Old West outlaw and gunfighter noted for his ruthless nature, speed with a gun, quick temper, and unpredictable demeanor. He is considered to have been one of the deadliest gunfighters in the Old West.

Early life

Bill Longley was born on Mill Creek in Austin County, Texas, the sixth of ten children of Campbell and Sarah Longley. His family moved when he was two years old and he was raised on a farm near Old Evergreen, Texas, in present-day Lincoln, Lee County, Texas, where he spent a large part of his childhood learning to shoot. He received an average education for the time. He was six feet (183 cm) tall with a thin build, jet black hair, and was just reaching adulthood when the American Civil War ended in 1865.

By 1867, Texas was fully under the control of the Union due to the Reconstruction Act. The military acted in all capacities, including law enforcement, which caused considerable resentment throughout the state. Around this time, Longley dropped out of school and began living a wild life, drinking, and running in the company of others of a similar disposition.

First murders in Texas

In 1867 the Longley family farm was just one mile from the Camino Real, an old Spanish royal highway that joined San Antonio and Nacogdoches, Texas.

In mid-December 1868, three former slaves named Green Evans, Pryer Evans, and the third known only as Ned, rode through Evergreen, intending evidently to visit friends farther south. Longley, accompanied by a couple of friends, forced the three men at gunpoint into a dry creek bed. Green Evans panicked and spurred his horse to escape. Longley shot at him several times, killing him.

Longley and his friends went through the dead man's pockets, as Pryer Evans and Ned rode away. Although given sole responsibility for the murder, Longley later claimed that he was not the only one shooting. Longley's account of this murder differs from that of his later killings, where he was more inclined to brag about shooting men than to try to divert blame to others. Some versions of Evans' killing claim he was a member of the Texas State Police; the TSP only existed from 1870 to 1873.

Longley drifted around Texas for a time, and while gambling in saloons he became acquainted with noted gambler Phil Coe In 1869, Longley and his brother-in-law, John Wilson, embarked on a crime spree through southern Texas. Together they robbed settlers, and in one instance killed a freed slave named Paul Brice in Bastrop County, Texas, after which they stole his horses. They reportedly also killed a freed slave woman in Evergreen.

In March 1870, a $1,000 reward for their capture was offered by the Union military authority. Longley later claimed that Wilson was killed by outlaws in 1870 in Brazos County, Texas, although conflicting evidence suggests he was killed in 1874 in Falls County, Texas.

U.S. Cavalry career

Longley left Texas and moved north to avoid the authorities and by May 1870, he had joined a gold-hunting party in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The gold mining party traveled into the Black Hills of South Dakota, but a treaty with the Sioux prohibited mining, and the party disbanded when intercepted by a U.S. cavalry unit. On June 22, 1870, Longley enlisted for a five-year commitment in the army, joining Company B of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment. His unit was stationed at Camp Stambaugh. He deserted two weeks later, as he was unable to adapt to the strict lifestyle, but was captured and court-martialed. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor, strapped to a ball and chain, and imprisoned at Camp Stambaugh. He was held for four months and then released to return to his unit. His marksmanship skills were noticed, and he was assigned to the regular hunting parties regularly leaving the post. He deserted again in May 1872.