John Chisum was born in Tennessee. Although, reportedly John’s father spelled his last name the same as Jesse Chisholm of the Chisholm Trail fame, they were not related, and for whatever reason, John changed the spelling of his name.

As a young man John and his parents moved to Texas. At the age of 30 John got into the cattle business. Seeing the opportunities better in New Mexico, John moved his operation up there, and ran 80,000 head in Lincoln County.

With this cattle running over a vast isolated area, rustlers started picking them off. So, Chisum teamed up with a couple of other cattlemen named McSween and Tunstall. Their foes were a couple of cattlemen and merchants who were underselling cattle to the Army. And, Chisum felt they were able to sell the cattle cheaply because the cattle were stolen from him.

Before long there was an all-out war. Chisum, McSween and Tunstall recruited cowboys who were gunslingers. One such cowboy was Billy the Kid.

When the war turned in favor of the small cattlemen and merchants, and Chisum continued losing cattle to rustlers and Indians, he lost much of his wealth and power.

In 1884 John Chisum developed a neck tumor, and on December 22 he died in Eureka Springs, Arkansas where he had gone for treatment. An indication of the wealth he had at the peak of his career, when Chisum died, his estate was still worth a half million dollars.