When he went off to prison she became lovers with John Middleton, a man wanted for the murder of a sheriff and soon died with his boots on. While she was still living with Starr, Myra Belle took another lover, a twenty-three-year old outlaw named Blue Duck. Myra Belle and Sam were brought up before the famous “Hanging Judge,” Isaac Parker, for rustling and did a little jail time for their misdeeds. They settled in Indian Territory where their ranch became a refuge for outlaws. She shared her bed with a number of hellions over the next few years including Cherokee desperado, Sam Starr, son of the outlaw chieftain. The widow Myra didn’t stay in mourning long. They opened a livery stable that Myra Belle managed while her husband continued his outlawry until he was shot and killed in 1874 near Paris, Texas. She took on a litany of lovers including an outlaw named Jim Reed, who rode with Tom Starr’s gang. Unlike the beautiful women who played her on the silver screen, Myra Belle was not pretty, one unkindly writer called her a “hatchet-faced trollop.” A photograph seems to bear this out. After federal troops killed her brother and razed the family hotel in 1863, the Shirley family packed up their belongings and moved to Texas. Life changed when the Civil War came to Missouri. She grew up in an affluent Southern family, was well-educated, gracious-mannered and an accomplished piano player. Sometimes an outlaw had to die before he or she gained fame.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |