Texas Jack Jr. (c. 1860 – 1905), who adopted the name of his rescuer and childhood protector,

Texas Jack Omohundro John Baker Omohundro (July 27, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He late ...

, ran an international traveling Wild West Show and Circus.

Background

Not long after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, while driving a herd of cattle to northern markets, Texas Jack Omohundro found two small girls and a five-year-old boy who had been orphaned when their parents were attacked and killed by Native Americans. Omohundro escorted the children to safety, and provided for their care. The boy took to calling himself Texas Jack Jr.Note: He dropped the 'Junior' suffix in later years, after Omohundro's death (1880).

Wild west show

Texas Jack was a

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

and

trick rider Trick riding refers to the act of performing stunts while horseback riding, such as the rider standing upright on the back of a galloping horse, using a specially designed saddle with a reinforced steel horn, and specialized kossak loops for h ...

in shows around the world, especially

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He helped

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

get a start as an entertainer by offering him a part in his traveling show in 1902. Will Rogers approached Jack hoping to get a job wrangling the horses or setting tents. When Jack asked him if he could do a

rope trick The term ''rope trick'' may refer to: * Magic trick, any trick involving a rope ** Indian rope trick, a trick involving causing a rope to appear to levitate in the air and then climbing up it * Nylon rope trick, a demonstration of the chemical princ ...

, Rogers obliged and was hired as an entertainer on the spot. By 1899 he was in England with a show called "Savage South Africa". The show included a historical re-enactment of the 1893

Shangani Patrol The Shangani Patrol (or Wilson's Patrol) was a 34-soldier unit of the British South Africa Company that in 1893 was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors in pre-Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), during the First Matab ...

, a last stand of 34 white soldiers against an overwhelming number of

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages *Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language, the language o ...

warriors, with Jack starring as

Frederick Russell Burnham Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa, and for teach ...

, the American chief of scouts who was one of only three survivors of the battle. The re-enactment was filmed and released as a war movie entitled ''

Major Wilson's Last Stand ''Major Wilson's Last Stand'' is an 1899 British short silent war film based upon the historical accounts of the Shangani Patrol. The film was adapted from ''Savage South Africa'', a stage show depicting scenes from both the First Matabele War ...

'' that same year. A couple of years later he returned to South Africa and started "Texas Jack's Wild West Show & Circus."

Death

Texas Jack died in Kroonstad, South Africa, in 1905. He was survived by his common-law wife, Lyle (or Lil) Marr, who was also a sharpshooter in his show.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Texas 1860s births 1905 deaths People of the American Old West Sharpshooters Wild West show founders and owners Wild West show performers

Background

Wild west show

Death

See also

Notes

References