Joseph Alfred "Jack" Slade, (January 22, 1831 – March 10, 1864), was a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

and

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

superintendent, instrumental in the opening of the American West and the

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...

of the Western

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the te ...

. Born in Carlyle, Illinois, he was the son of Illinois politician

Charles Slade Charles Slade ( – July 26, 1834) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Born in England, Slade immigrated to the United States with his third-cousin and mother, who settled in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended the public schools. He moved t ...

and Mary Dark (Kain) Slade. During the Mexican War, he served in the U.S. Army that occupied Santa Fe, 1847-48. After his father's death, Slade's mother married

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

General

Elias Dennis Elias Smith Dennis (December 4, 1812 – December 17, 1894) was a politician and soldier from the state of Illinois who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life and career Dennis was born in Newburgh, N ...

. He married Maria Virginia (maiden name unknown) around 1857. In the 1850s, he was a freighting teamster and wagonmaster along the

Overland Trail The Overland Trail (also known as the Overland Stage Line) was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail was ...

, and then became a stagecoach driver in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, around 1857-58. He subsequently became a stagecoach division superintendent along the Central Overland route for Hockaday & Co. (1858–59) and its successors Jones, Russell & Co. (1859) and Central Overland, California & Pike's Peak Express Co. (1859–62). With the latter concern, he also helped launch and operate the

in 1860-61. All were critical to the communication between the East and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. As superintendent, he enforced order and assured reliable cross-continental mail service, maintaining contact between Washington, DC, and California on the eve of Civil War. While division superintendent, he shot and killed Andrew Ferrin, one of his subordinates, who was hindering the progress of a freight train, in May 1859. At the time, shooting deaths of this kind in the West were rare and Jack Slade's reputation as a "gunfighter" spread rapidly across the country. In March 1860, Slade was ambushed and left for dead by

Jules Beni Jules Beni (died 1861) was a western outlaw who robbed stagecoaches in the Colorado Territory. Beni was involved in illegal activities linked to his trading post near Lodgepole Creek, Colorado, which was called by one Eastern journalist the "''w ...

, the corrupt stationkeeper at Julesburg, Colorado, whom Slade had removed. Slade remarkably survived, and in August 1861, Beni was killed by Slade's men after ignoring Slade's warning to stay out of his territory. Slade's ferocious reputation, though, combined with a drinking problem, caused his downfall. He was fired by the Central Overland for drunkenness in November 1862. During a drunken spree in

Virginia City, Montana Virginia City is a town in and the county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. T ...

, he was lynched by local vigilantes on March 10, 1864, for disturbing the peace. He was buried in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, on July 20, 1864. __NOTOC__

Legacy

Illustration by Benjamin Clinedinst of Mark Twain meeting Jack Slade

Slade's exploits spawned numerous legends, many of them untrue. His image, especially by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

in ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi- autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to ...

'', as the vicious killer of up to 26 victims was greatly exaggerated. Only one killing by Slade, that of Andrew Ferrin, is undisputed. In his essay " Raffles and Miss Blandish," the English essayist George Orwell criticized Twain's admiration for Slade, saying that Twain's attitude represented an alleged American tolerance for violent crime. Slade's life was depicted in the 1953 film movie '' Jack Slade'', with Mark Stevens starring as Slade.

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...

co-starred as Virginia Maria Dale and

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

was Jules Beni. The tagline for the movie was "Everyone knew the terror of his blazing iron...only she knew the fire in his heart!"

Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...

played Slade in a 1955 episode of the

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

television series ''

Stories of the Century ''Stories of the Century'' is a 39-episode Western historical fiction television series starring Jim Davis that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between 1954 and 1955. Synopsis Jim Davis, who became famous decades later as the ...

'', starring and narrated by Jim Davis.

Paul Newlan Paul Emory Newlan (June 29, 1903 – November 23, 1973) was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series '' M Squad'' and for his roles in films incl ...

portrayed Jules Beni and Elaine Riley played Virginia Slade in this episode. John Dehner played an evil version of Slade, who is shot and finally shows some decency before dying, in the '' Laramie'' episode "Company Man", aired in February, 1960. The same episode featured Dabbs Greer as Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), who, when asked about his profession, says that he is a writer, working on a new book, which he is going to title ''Roughing It''. In 1963, Don Collier played Jack Slade in the season-12 episode of the television series ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the progra ...

'' titled "The Man Who Died Twice." John Dennis Johnston played Slade in the 1999 made-for-cable fantasy Western movie ''

Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgat ...

''.

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in ...

played Slade in the 2002 Hallmark Channel miniseries ''

''.

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading