Raymond Hatfield Gardner


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Unknown Unknown po0692pa.jpg PO-0692 B&W 1700-0692-0001 po0692pa Print 5x7 Historic Photographs 1900 Reproduction requires permission. Digital images property of SHM Library & Archives

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Raymond Hatfield Gardner, sometimes referred to as Raymond E. Gardner, was more commonly known by his sobriquet of "Arizona Bill".

Historians generally accept that Gardner was an Army scout during the Indian Wars, but beyond that, very little of his life--or the claims he made about his life--can be independently documented.

Gardner became a minor celebrity in rural America in the early 20th century by drifting around, accompanied by two burros, regaling small-town citizens with colorful stories about his life in exchange for food and lodging.  He visited Prescott and other Arizona towns regularly.  His stories were exciting and often contradictory, as he placed himself on the scene at everything from the Battle of Little Big Horn to the Gunfight at the OK Corral.  Gardner wrote his memoirs just before his death, which were published posthumously as "The Old Wild West".

He died in San Antonio in 1940 and is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

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