09 Nov Jim Levy - Jewish Gunslinger - "Six-Gun Artist"

Jim Levy was born in Ireland in 1842 and brought to the U.S. as a young boy.  He worked in mining, as a professional gambler, merchant and professional regulator but these were merely diversions as his real calling was as a "six-gun artist."  Levy survived an estimated 16 shoot-outs.

The incident that was to make Jim Levy most famous took place in Cheyenne, Wyoming on March 9, 1877, in which he engaged in a shoot out with Charlie Harrison.  There are varying accounts of the details that led up to the shootout and the shootout itself.   The dispute began in The Shingle and Locke's Saloon where there was either a gambling argument or derogatory comments were made toward Levy about his ethnic background.  According to newspaper accounts, it was unclear whether the slander was based on the fact that he was "a son of Erin (Ireland) or a son of Aaron (a Jew).  Read more about Jim Levy in J-Grit...

Also, read about Jim Levy in Legends of America:  Old West Legends....

"The most 'Hollywood' showdown was the 1877 gunfight between Jim Levy and  Charlie Harrison in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They argued over cards in Frenchy's  Saloon and agreed to meet in the street outside to settle things. This was a  documented Hollywood-style gunfight, with the two men facing each other and then  drawing their guns to fire."  Read more in Esquire from James Reasoner...