To the cattlemen on the Nevada/Idaho frontier of the 1890s, sheepherders were evil. So violent was the feeling against them that the owners of the vast Sparks-Harrell Cattle Company of northern Nevada and southern Idaho hired a man to rid their range of sheepmen. His name was Jackson Lee Davis, and his brief tenure as a hired gun was but one facet in the life of this unusual man. By the time of his death, Jack Davis had established himself as a legend of the western frontier.

Despite the Hollywood version of cattle raising in the Old West, few ranchers employed a gun-for-hire to eliminate rustlers or sheepherders. This is not to say it wasn’t done; around 1895, a few of the larger spreads in Wyoming brought in a “regulator” named Tom Horn to “clean up” the range, and at $500 a head, he was well on his way to doing so when he was convicted of murder and sent to the gallows. For years, Jack Davis faced the likelihood of the same fate.

Jack’s early years are shrouded in mystery. Idaho prison and newspaper records list his birth date as 1871; his gravestone reads 1864.

Of certain facts, however, we can be sure. In the early 1890s, Jack was working in the Black Jack Mine, near the boomtown of Silver City, Idaho. When word spread that diamonds had been discovered, Jack quit the mine to prospect for the precious stones. Although it proved to be fruitless, he had talked so much about making his fortune in the diamond fields that people began calling him “Diamondfield Jack.” He was a habitual braggart and his inclination to boast - was destined to get him into serious trouble.

By 1895, Jack had worked as a cowboy on various ranches in Nevada and Idaho, before hiring onto the Sparks-Harrell Cattle Company. Co-owner John Sparks was later elected governor of Nevada 1903-1908 and the city of Sparks was named after him.

The company’s owners - assuming it would be acceptable to cattlemen and sheepherders alike - had earlier established a “do-not-cross” line, dividing the grazing range between cattle and sheep. However, when the sheepmen consistently ignored the line, the cattlemen ordered Jack to “keep the sheep back.” He was reportedly ordered not to kill, but to strongly discourage the sheep herders, wounding them if necessary.

The company instructed Davis to use whatever means he thought necessary to run off the sheepherders. This included shooting up sheep camps. Unfortunately, during one of his forays, he accidentally shot a herder named Bill Tolman.

Fearing that Tolman might die - and he would be hung - Davis fled south into Nevada to hide. While wandering around Northern Nevada, Davis often boasted about his shooting prowess and claimed he was paid $150 per month to kill sheepherders.

In 1896, Davis reappeared in southern Idaho, again working for Sparks-Harrell (Tolman, fortunately, did not die). In February, two other herders, John Wilson and Daniel Cummings, were found dead in their camp in the Shoshone basin area near Twin Falls, Idaho.

Davis was an immediate suspect since he was known to have been in the area at the time of the shootings, and he had bragged so much about killing sheepherders. Once again, he headed south, this time hoping to escape to Mexico.

However, while in Arizona, Davis became embroiled in a separate shooting incident and was arrested. While sitting in a territorial prison, he was extradited to Idaho, where he was put on trial for murder and convicted of killing the two sheep men. Following a sensational trial that was prominently featured in regional newspapers, Davis was sentenced to be hanged on June 4, 1897.

But Davis’ luck held out. Days before he was to be hung, two other men confessed to the killings. They cast doubt on Davis’ guilt. Following several years of appeals, he was finally pardoned on Dec. 17, 1902.

Diamondfield Jack had spent nearly seven years in prison, for a crime of which he was almost certainly innocent.

If leaving Nevada years earlier was a poor decision, returning to it proved an inspired move. Jack’s release coincided with the recent discovery of gold and silver and he gravitated to the aptly-named new town of Goldfield. The marriage between the boomtown and the colorful ex-convict was nothing less than inspired.

Although physically a small man, both his reputation and his larger-than-life personality made him a perfect fit for the wide-open community. He had lost none of his bravado; a photograph of the period shows him holding a shotgun in his right hand, while his left is drawing a Colt revolver, with a second pistol in his belt.

With grubstake money presumably from friends, Jack immediately got busy. He invested in mining claims, bought property, and formed several lucrative partnerships. Everywhere he went, the local papers touted the activities of the legendary “Diamondfield Jack.”

About a year following his release, an article appeared in the Baker, Oregon, “Statesman,” titled, “He Has Struck it Rich: ‘Diamondfield Jack’ Davis Wins Fortune’s Smile.” It goes on, “Jack Davis, famous throughout the west as ‘Diamondfield Jack,’ after a strenuous career as a border fighter, diamond detective and a convicted murderer under sentence of death, struck it rich in Goldfield.”

As with many mining figures, Davis was constantly on the lookout for the next big strike so he plowed much of his money into new mining ventures, most of which proved unsuccessful.

By the 1920s, he had lost his fortune and had drifted south into the growing community of Las Vegas. Not much is known about Davis’ time in Las Vegas, although it’s said he was a fixture at some of the small bars in the downtown area and worked as a “shill” or barker for one of the downtown clubs.

In 1949, in his seventies - he was hit and killed when a Las Vegas taxi cab backed into him.

The above coin is from Cactus Pete’s Casino in Jackpot, Nevada, which is located on the Nevada-Idaho border, not far from where he roamed as gunman for hire for the Sparks-Harrell Cattle Co.

It reads: "Diamondfield Jack circa 1895 - A Prospector, A Braggart And Bully".