" I have at all times tried to use my influence toward protecting the property holders and substantial men of the country from thieves, outlaws and murderers, among whom I do not care to be classed." Clay Allison, in response to a Missouri newspaper which reported him with fifteen killings under his belt.
Clay Allision was 21 years of age when the Civil War broke out and immediately enlisted to fight for the Confederacy, enlisting in the Tennessee Light Artillery division on Oct. 15, 1861. Described as a nervous fellow unable to sit still for long periods of time his enlistment ended abruptly when he was discharged from the Tennessee Light Artillery division three months later for mental problems. His discharge papers described him as emotional or physical excitement produces paroxysmal of a mixed character. It seems he took extreme offense at his superiors non willingness to chase the union solders that were running away from battle.
Not one to take no for an answer he enlisted 9th Tennessee Cavalry and remained with them until the wars end serving honorably. He became a scout and a spy for General Nathan Bedford Forrest a man he respected greatly and had a Van Dyke beard the rest of his life in honor of the general. On May 4, 1865 Allison surrendered with his company at Gainesville, Alabama. He was held as a prisoner of war until May 10, 1865, having been convicted of spying and sentenced to be shot. On the dreary night he was able to overpower the prison guard and kill him making his escape to Texas and a new life as a civilian.
After his escape from union solders he moved to Texas and eventually in 1870 settled in Colfax County, New Mexico. He secured land with two rivers and the cattle flourished and his ranching operations became profitable. The colorful Clay began making friends throughout the territory and was genuinely respected by many settlers. Life was on the up and up for Clay Allision but it wasn't long before his temper reared up and the legend continued.
Clay believed in having a good time with the help of whiskey. Drinking hard, and galloping his horse through the small town yelling and shooting his six-shooter at lamps, windows, mirrors and most anything else that did not breath. The saloons of the area was in Clay's life and a good old time out on the town kicking his heels up living the life of a free uncontrolled westerner.
In the fall of 1870, Clay Allision showed the citizens how mean and violent his temper was. Charles Kennedy, who was suspected of killing and robbing overnight guests in his isolated cabin on Palo Fletchado Pass, was being held at the Elizabethtown jail. Clay, along with several others, broke into the jail, threw a rope around his neck and dragged him by a horse up and down Main Street until long after he was dead. Allison then decapitated Kennedy, carrying his head in a sack twenty-nine miles to Cimarron and demanded that it be staked on a fence at the front of Lambert's Inn.
Allison's reputation was kept alive by reports of his unusual antics. Once he was said to have ridden nude through the streets, whooping and hollering and declaring that drinks were on him at the local saloon. When the shocked ladies called upon the sheriff to intervene, the officer demanded that Allison get down from his horse. Instead, Allison spurred the mare to full speed up and down main street, then got off his horse, leveled his gun at the sheriff and marched him into the bar. He then forced the sheriff to drink until he couldn't stand up, and satisfied, went back to horse.
The numerous stories of Allison's exploits made him a feared western legend by the time he arrived in Dodge City, Kansas, in September, 1878, several years before Wyatt Earp would become famous. The local newspapers would note his visits to the city, often describing his daring deeds. He was described by the Kinsley [Kansas] Graphic on December 14, 1878 as: "His appearance is striking. Tall, straight as an arrow, dark complexioned, carries himself with ease and grace, gentlemanly and courteous in manner, never betraying by word or action the history of his eventful life."
. J. Frank Dobie, a western writer who passed away in 1964, said of Allison:
"He was quixotically independent in interpreting what constituted his rights. The more whiskey he drank, the more rights he possessed and sometimes when he came to town he bought a great deal of whiskey. He was generous with it, however, even insisting on his horse enjoying a fair portion.
Clay Allison life led him to many events that included land disputes that several people died form or went missing. It is rumored that while living in Texas he had a land water right disagreement with a neighbor and they decided to dig a grave with the loser being buried in that grave. He was the leading suspect for damaging a newspaper office to the tune of $200.00.
Clay was a feared man that many people choose not to betray. On July 1, 1887 while hauling a load of grain one sack fell from the wagon. Trying to catch the falling sack Clay fell from the heavily loaded wagon and the wheels rolled across his neck breaking it, almost decapitating him. Many lawmen from the surrounding area attended the funeral.
On August 28, 1975, in a special ceremony, his remains were re-interred in Pecos Park, just west of the Pecos Museum.
