John Kinney – King Pin of the Cattle Rustlers

The annals of the American West are replete with figures who walked a tightrope between law and lawlessness, individuals whose actions etched their names into the tapestry of frontier history. Among these characters, John Kinney stands out, not as a solitary desperado, but as the charismatic and cunning leader of a notorious gang that terrorized the lands of New Mexico. Known as the "King Pin of Cattle Rustlers," John Kinney commanded the Rio Grande Posse, a band of outlaws who carved a living through cattle rustling, robbery, and, when opportunity knocked, serving as hired guns in the turbulent conflicts that defined the era. This is the story of John Kinney, a man whose life embodied the complexities and contradictions of the Wild West.

Born around 1847 in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, John Kinney’s early life offered little indication of the path he would eventually tread. His family later relocated to Iowa, where the vast landscapes and the burgeoning cattle industry likely sowed the seeds of his future exploits. In 1865, John Kinney enlisted in the army, a decision that would shape his leadership skills and provide him with invaluable experience in the ways of men and arms. He served with distinction, rising to the rank of sergeant before his discharge in 1873.

Upon leaving the military, John Kinney found himself drawn to the allure of the New Mexico Territory, a land of promise and peril where fortunes could be made and lost with equal rapidity. He settled in Doña Ana County, a region characterized by sprawling ranches and a thriving cattle trade. It was here that John Kinney embarked on his life of outlawry, assembling a band of like-minded individuals who would become known as the John Kinney Gang.

The John Kinney Gang, also referred to as the Rio Grande Posse, quickly established a reputation for audacity and ruthlessness. Their primary occupation was cattle rustling, a crime that struck at the heart of the Western economy and often led to violent confrontations. They skillfully evaded law enforcement, utilizing their knowledge of the terrain and their network of informants to stay one step ahead of the authorities. However, their activities extended beyond cattle rustling, encompassing robbery and other forms of illicit enterprise.

One of the earliest and most notable members of the John Kinney Gang was Jesse Evans, a young man who would later carve out his own infamous legacy as the leader of the Jesse Evans Gang. The relationship between Kinney and Evans was initially one of camaraderie, but it would eventually fracture, leading to the formation of two distinct outlaw groups.

A particularly violent episode in the gang’s early history occurred on December 31, 1875, in a saloon in Las Cruces, New Mexico. John Kinney, Jesse Evans, Jim McDaniels, and Pony Diehl found themselves embroiled in a brawl with cavalry soldiers from nearby Fort Seldon. The outlaws were initially bested in the fight and ejected from the saloon. Fueled by anger and a thirst for revenge, they returned to the establishment and opened fire, killing two soldiers and one civilian, and wounding two other soldiers and one civilian. This incident served as a stark reminder of the brutality that permeated the frontier and the willingness of the John Kinney Gang to resort to violence.

Not long after the Las Cruces shootout, Jesse Evans broke away from the John Kinney Gang to form his own outfit. This marked a significant shift in the outlaw landscape of New Mexico, as the two gangs would often find themselves in competition and occasionally in direct conflict.

In 1877, the John Kinney Gang sought opportunities beyond simple theft, lending their services to the El Paso Salt War, a bitter dispute between El Paso businessmen over the valuable salt deposits located near the Guadalupe Mountains. This conflict highlighted the complex web of alliances and rivalries that characterized the era, as individuals and groups often shifted their allegiances based on self-interest and opportunity.

The following year, the John Kinney Gang became entangled in one of the most infamous episodes of the American West: the Lincoln County War. This conflict was a bloody feud between rival cattle barons, James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy, and Alexander McSween and John Tunstall. The John Kinney Gang sided with the Dolan-Murphy faction, offering their services as hired guns in the escalating violence.

Upon arriving in Lincoln County, John Kinney was deputized by Sheriff George Peppin, a move that granted him and his gang a semblance of legitimacy while allowing them to pursue their own agenda. Their primary objective was to counter Billy the Kid and his "Regulators," a group aligned with the McSween-Tunstall faction. With the backing of the sheriff’s office, the John Kinney Gang ran rampant throughout the county, engaging in acts of violence and intimidation. Ironically, former Kinney Gang member Jesse Evans and his own gang were also enlisted by the Murphy-Dolan faction, creating a complex and volatile situation.

When the Lincoln County War finally subsided, most members of the John Kinney Gang returned to Doña Ana County and resumed their profitable cattle rustling activities. However, a few of them remained in Lincoln County and joined another gang known as Selman’s Scouts.

In 1883, John Kinney’s luck finally ran out. He was arrested for cattle rustling and sentenced to five years in the Leavenworth, Kansas, State Penitentiary. By the time he was paroled in February 1886, his gang had scattered, and the landscape of the West had begun to change.

After his release from prison, John Kinney sought a fresh start in Arizona. He worked at a feedlot in Kingman for a time, attempting to distance himself from his outlaw past. However, the call of adventure and the lure of potential riches proved too strong to resist.

In the spring of 1898, when the Spanish-American War broke out, John Kinney once again answered the call to service, enlisting and serving in Cuba. After the war, he turned his attention to mining, finding success in Chaparral Gulch, Arizona. Eventually, he retired to Prescott, Arizona, where he lived out his remaining years. John Kinney died of natural causes on August 25, 1919, bringing an end to a life filled with adventure, violence, and a complex legacy.

The story of John Kinney, the "King Pin of Cattle Rustlers," is a microcosm of the American West itself. He was a man of contradictions, capable of both brutality and loyalty, a product of a time and place where the lines between right and wrong were often blurred. His life serves as a reminder of the enduring allure of the outlaw figure and the complex realities of frontier life.