James McIntire was a

gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the te ...

and Texas Ranger in the

old west The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

of the United States. He is best known for his autobiography, written in 1902 following a

near death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...

. The biography, ''Early Days in Texas: A Trip Through Hell and Heaven'' was published in 1902. This followed an experience in which McIntire reports having died and gone to

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

where he had a long conversation with

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, was given a drink of water before he was returned to his body for several years. McIntire used this last part of his life to write his story which recounts his various careers as a Ranger, a

buffalo hunter Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...

, an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

fighter, a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

, a sheepherder, a saloon keeper, a

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, and a wanted

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

. His story is notable for its unapologetic inclusion of the lurid details of his life. He reports seeing a companion killed and eaten by

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

warriors, and brags about making a purse from the breast of a Comanche woman. Jim McIntire was a friend of the better known "Longhair" Jim Courtright and the two were charged with

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

after they killed two French

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

on some ranch land in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. The most infamous story about McIntire was from his time as a deputy sheriff in

Mobeetie, Texas Mobeetie is a city in northwestern Wheeler County, Texas, United States, located on Sweetwater Creek and State Highway 152. Its population was 101 at the 2010 census, six below the 2000 figure. History Mobeetie (formerly known as "Cantonment Sw ...

. According to his book,

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...

and

Mysterious Dave Mather David Allen Mather (August 10, 1851 – unknown), also known by the nickname "Mysterious Dave," was an American lawman, gunfighter, and occasional criminal in the Old West. His taciturn personality may have earned him the nickname "Mysterious Da ...

had come to town with phony gold bricks which they were selling to the naive citizens. Jim exposed the scam and ran the two famous gunfighters out of town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntire, Jim Members of the Texas Ranger Division American deputy sheriffs Cowboys Bison hunters Gunslingers of the American Old West Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Mobeetie, Texas