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SASS members Michael Travis (left) and Eddie Lewis (right) showcase replicas of historic guns. -
Luke Kuss fired his black-powder pistol during the gunfight.
It wasn’t quite the gunfight at the OK Corral, but it came close last week at Heritage Village.
During the Historic Scurry County, Inc.’s meeting at Heritage Village, a group of actors re-created a gunfight between Scurry County’s first sheriff, W. W. “Uncle Billy” Nelson (Micheal Travis), one of his deputies (Alan Kuss) and two fugitives, Tom “Blackjack” Ketchem (Eddie Lewis) and his brother, Sam Ketchem (Luke Kuss).
Before the “gunfight,” guests learned the historical context and the use of black powder, as well as seeing clothing commonly worn in the early 1900s.
Uncle Billy was Scurry County Sheriff from 1884-1886, and at about the same time, the Ketchem brothers were on the run after the murder of John N. “Jap” Powers in Tom Green County.
The brothers were arrested, and for the purposes of the reenactment, broke out of jail and got into a gunfight with the sheriff and his deputy.
In reality, Blackjack was captured in Texas and taken to Clayton, N.M., and was the only outlaw to be hanged for attempting to rob a train.
The actors are all members of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) and wore replicated historical clothing for their performance.
Their replica historic guns were loaded with harmless black powder and no bullets, resulting in a loud gunfight.
Despite the noise, SASS member Gerald Corkran joked that Rusty, the metal horse in the Heritage Village corral, never spooked once.