Morgan Kane - The Life of Morgan Kane

The Life of Morgan Kane

Morgan Kane was born in 1855, somewhere along the Santa Fe Trail. His parents, Brendan and Gwen Cairn were Irish immigrants - they were killed by an Indian attack when Morgan was two weeks old.

Only 16 years old, Kane kills for the first time when he stabs Walsh, a drifter who contributed to the death of his parents. In 1874, he became a scout for the cavalry and fought in the Indian wars. He left the Army and tried prospecting for gold in South Dakota without much luck and he enlisted in the cavalry again, serving under General Custer. He fought in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where General Custer was killed. Soon after the Sioux victory at Little Big Horn, Kane left the cavalry and became a gunslinger, riding with Billy the Kid and his gang of outlaws.

By the end of the 1870s, Kane used the nickname “El Gringo”, as a gunfighter in the Arizona, New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico territories, where he joined up with a gang controlled by “El Coyote”. After a battle with El Coyote, he left the gang and in 1881 was recruited by the Texas Rangers. He joined the Texas Rangers, and in 1882, he met his future wife, Linda Swift, and was later appointed a U.S. Marshall.

After meeting Linda Swift again while on a mission, Kane eventually married her. He turned in his U.S. Marshall star and settled down to raise horses on his own ranch.

After two years of marriage, Linda was murdered, and Kane set out to find his wife’s killers. He returned to serve as a U.S. Marshall, fighting many historic gunslingers including the Clanton and Dalton Brothers and John Wesley Hardin. Kane's superiors worried about his use of extreme violence, his excessive consumption of alcohol and at times, his uncontrolled rage. By the close of the 1890s, he was transferred to Alaska, and was later fired as a U.S. Marshall.

After being fired, Kane traveled the U.S., having many different jobs, including a job as a special agent and bodyguard for Theodore Roosevelt. Kane was also involved in the invasion of Cuba.

Kane's health began to decline, and in 1910 he supported and fought with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Civil War. It was here that he met his unknown son, “Diablito”, Paco Galàn. Together they traveled to Europe where Diablito became a famous matador. Later, Kane traveled back to America where he was again reinstated as U.S. Marshall.

In the last book Louis Masterson wrote, Kane was shot and killed by enemies in a deserted city on the Mexican border, facing overwhelming odds.