“The Two Jacks” *
For those of you have seen the movie Tombstone (if you haven’t, see it or turn in your spurs), you may remember that after Morgan Earp’s death, Wyatt went on a vendetta ride. According to the movie, the others on the vendetta ride were Doc Holliday, Sherman McMasters, “Texas Jack” Vermillion, and “Turkey Creek” Jack Johnson. (There were apparently others; Warren Earp for one.)
We’ll start with “Turkey Creek” Jack. (If you thought the article on Etta Place had a lot of “ifs” and “maybes”, hang on for this one.)
Most of what we know about “Turkey Creek” Jack comes from testimony given by Wyatt in 1926. This was in connection with the estate of Lotta Crabtree. And he was talking about things that happened 45 years earlier!
Johnson was born in 1847. Or was it 1852? Depends upon whom you talk to. When he was in Tombstone in 1881, he was known to be 34. So I guess we’ll go with 1847.
According to Wyatt, Johnson’s real name was John Blunt (or Blount – there’ll be a test later, so pay attention). Johnson and his brothers were involved in a street fight in a town in Missouri. Following the altercation, they hightailed it out of the state.
In 1876 Johnson may have been in Deadwood, where he killed two men with two bullets in a gunfight. There is, however, no written record of this.
There is a record of a marshal named Jack Johnson who killed a man in a gunfight in Nebraska in 1872. This same man, known as John Johnson, could have been the John Johnson that was listed in the Tombstone 1880 Census. If so, then he might be our “Turkey Creek” Jack. Maybe.
It is believed that Johnson first came to Arizona on a cattle drive in 1878. Also on the drive were Pony Diehl, “Curly Bill” Brocius, and Sherman McMasters.
It is not certain how he met Wyatt. (Surprised?) According to Wyatt, Lotta was friendly with a woman in Tombstone that Wyatt thought was Johnson’s sister. Wyatt, therefore, might have met Johnson through mutual acquaintances.
Again according to Wyatt, Johnson asked for help in getting Bud (Alan) Blunt (Blount) out of Yuma prison. Bud was in for manslaughter, and Johnson wanted Wyatt to help him petition the governor for Bud’s release. Wyatt apparently believed that Bud was Johnson’s brother, and, therefore, John Johnson was really John Blunt (Blount).
On March 20, 1882, Johnson left Tombstone on the train that carried Virgil Earp and Morgan’s body. He was there when Frank Stilwell was killed and was later indicted, in absentia, along with others, for the killing.
The next morning, Johnson went with Wyatt and others on the vendetta ride.
After the vendetta ride, Johnson went to Colorado and Texas. He supposedly died in Salt Lake City; possibly in 1887. Or was it 1906? Either way, I’m fairly certain that he’s no longer with us.
Oh, by the way, was he ever actually called “Turkey Creek” Jack? Wyatt referred to him as Jack or John Johnson or John Blunt (Blount). Stuart Lake, in his biography of Wyatt, referred to him as “Turkey Creek” Jack, but who knows where he got that from. Much of what Lake wrote is questionable. He might have made up the name.
Let’s move on to “Texas Jack” Vermillion, where we’re on firmer ground.
John Wilson Vermillion was born in Russell County, Virginia, in 1842. He was the second of 12 children.
He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, serving under J. E. B. Stuart. (The accompanying photo is Jack during the Civil War.)
After the war he moved to Indiana and, on September 6, 1865, married Margaret Horton.
Texas Jack Vermillion
They moved to Missouri, where Jack served as a territorial marshal. While away on business, his wife and two children contracted diphtheria and died. Distraught, Jack headed west to Kansas.
He might (here we go again) have met the Earps and Doc Holliday while in Dodge City.
Jack went to Tombstone and served as a special policeman under Virgil Earp on June 22, 1881; the day of the large Tombstone fire.
He was not on the train with Virgil and Morgan’s body. He did, however, join the others on the vendetta ride the next day.
He was present at the killing of Florentino Cruz and he had a horse shot out from under him at the Iron Springs fight where “Curly Bill” was killed.
In 1883 he killed a man in an argument during a card game. The resulting reward poster referred to him as “Texas Jack” Vermillion. This was the first known reference to the “Texas Jack” nickname. Supposedly when asked once why he was called “Texas Jack”, he replied, “Because I’m from Virginia.” (Western humor!?)
Sometime later he became known as “Shoot-Your-Eye-Out” Vermillion – presumably because he shot someone in the eye; or maybe because he was a really good shot. Either way, it doesn’t have the ring that “Texas Jack” does.
He returned to Virginia and married Nannie Fleenor in 1883. They had two children, Opie and Minnie Bell. (Aren’t you glad that Jack wasn’t your dad?)
In 1888 he joined the Soapy Smith gang in Colorado. In August, 1889, he was involved in the Pocatello, Idaho, train depot shootout where a rival gang tried to snuff out Soapy.
Shortly thereafter, he left the gang and returned to Virginia where he worked as a Methodist preacher.
There is some question regarding his death. (You knew this was going too smoothly, didn’t you?)
Some sources say that he drowned in Lake Michigan in 1900. The family records, however, say that he died in his sleep on January 7, 1911. The family has a picture of Jack and Nannie from 1910. We’re going with the family on this one.
Mr. and Mrs. John Wilson “Texas Jack” Vermillion are buried in Mendota, Virginia.
* This was the way Kevin Costner referred to Johnson and Vermillion in the movie Wyatt Earp.
