Billy Claiborne
Billy Claiborne (October 21, 1860 – November 14, 1882), was an American outlaw Cowboy, drover, miner, and gunfighter in the American Old West. He killed James Hickey in a confrontation in a saloon, but it was ruled self-defense. He was present at the beginning of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but was unarmed and ran from the shoot out. Only a year later, while drunk, he confronted gunfighter "Buckskin" Frank Leslie and was killed.
Life in Texas and Arizona
William Floyd Claiborne was born in Yazoo County, Mississippi. As worked as a cowhand and remuda rider for John Slaughter and helped him drive cattle from Texas to the Arizona Territory in 1879. In Tombstone, he worked on the amalgamator at mines in Charleston, and as a slag cart driver at the Neptune Mining Company smelter in Hereford, Arizona.
Kills James Hickey
On October 1, 1881, Claiborne got into an argument with James Hickey in the Queen’s Saloon in Charleston. Hickey had been drinking for three days. Claiborne shot Hickey in the cheek below his left eye, killing him instantly. Hickey was not well-liked and Claiborne was found to have acted in self-defense.