Jack Harris
Born and raised in Texas, Jack Harris worked for the U.S. Army as a scout and an Indian fighter. After the War, he fought in Nicaragua (losing a finger) in the Central American revolution. Upon returning to the U.S., Harris became one of the last great buffalo hunters. He moved to San Antonio where he served for a short time as a policeman then became a gambler. He and partner Ernest Hart opened the Green Front Saloon. Harris liked San Antonio with one of his few enemies being Ben Thompson. Thompson held a grudge, believing Harris had cheated at one of his own games.
Thompson rode into San Antonio on July 11, 1882. Drunk, he stormed into the Green Front Saloon and challenged Harris to a shootout in the street. Harris grabbed a gun and waited for Thompson in the saloon behind some venetian blinds. Thompson, spying Harris in hiding, fired first, his bullet finding Harris’ right lung. Another shot and Harris staggered to his room upstairs and died that night in 1884. Thompson, city marshal of Austin at the time, resigned his post then was acquitted on self-defense.