He wasn’t the fastest draw in the West, nor the most feared, but Doc Scurlock was the kind of man you wanted at your side in a gunfight.
A former medical student turned cowboy, rancher, and outlaw, Scurlock traded scalpels for six-shooters and rode straight into the bloody heart of the Lincoln County War. Loyal to Billy the Kid until the bitter end, he lived a life that was part legend, part tragedy, and strangely, unlike many of his outlaw peers, he survived it all.
Josiah Gordon “Doc” Scurlock was a notable figure from the American Old West. He played various roles throughout his life, including rancher, cowboy, and occasional participant in regional conflicts. He became best known for his involvement in the Lincoln County War, a power struggle in late 1870s New Mexico that involved disputes over business and law enforcement.
Scurlock was one of the early members of a group known as the Regulators. This loosely organized faction sought to bring attention to what they believed were injustices in the region. Among those he worked with during this time was William H.
Bonney, better known to history as Billy the Kid. Scurlock’s participation in these events placed him among the more active residents of a turbulent time in New Mexico Territory, but he later stepped away from frontier conflict and lived a quieter life.
Josiah Gordon Scurlock was born on January 11th, 1849, in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. He was the sixth of 11 children in a large southern family. His father, Priestley Norman Scurlock, was born in 1806 and passed away in 1876.
His mother, Esther Anne Brown, lived from 1819 to 1903. At some point in his youth or early adulthood, Josiah reportedly traveled to New Orleans, where he pursued studies in medicine. This background earned him the lifelong nickname “Doc,” though there’s little evidence he ever practiced professionally on the frontier.
Scurlock was described as standing about 5’8” tall and weighing around 150 pounds. He had dark blonde hair and brown eyes, traits that were occasionally noted in contemporary accounts. Around 1870, he made his way to Mexico, where a personal dispute reportedly occurred during a card game.
During this confrontation, Scurlock sustained a serious facial injury. A bullet passed through his mouth and exited near the back of his neck, knocking out several of his front teeth. Despite the severity of the incident, he recovered without lasting disability.
The episode added to the mystique surrounding him and may have contributed to his reputation as someone who had seen both education and the rougher edges of life in the Old West.
In 1871, Doc Scurlock began working as a line rider for the prominent cattle baron John Chisum. His responsibilities included patrolling the open range and monitoring cattle movements. Along with others employed by Chisum, Scurlock was expected to help protect the herds and land from potential threats, including cattle theft.
Around 1873, while working alongside a fellow rider named Jack Holt, Scurlock encountered a sudden and dangerous situation involving a group of Native Americans. During the incident, Holt lost his life. Scurlock reportedly took cover among nearby rocks and remained in a standoff for an extended period.
According to accounts, he eventually managed to leave the area under the cover of darkness and walked roughly 20 miles to seek assistance. Afterward, Holt’s remains were found, and it was noted that part of his right arm had been removed. The exact circumstances of this detail remain unclear and are drawn from secondhand reports common to frontier storytelling.
Two years later, in September 1875, another of Scurlock’s riding partners, N. Higgins, was killed in a separate encounter with Native Americans. Deeply affected by the event, Scurlock informed Chisum of his desire to leave the job.
Chisum refused his request and also declined to pay him. Feeling mistreated, Scurlock took matters into his own hands. He left Chisum’s operation, taking with him three horses, two saddles, and a rifle.
The incident was reported in local newspapers at the time. Chisum sent several men to pursue him, but when Scurlock explained his side—that he had taken the items in lieu of the wages he was denied—the men reportedly sympathized with him and allowed him to continue on his way.
He soon left New Mexico and headed west into Arizona Territory. While in Arizona, Doc Scurlock became close friends with Charlie Bowdre. Together, they started an unusual venture for frontier life: a small cheese-making business along the Gila River.
Family accounts from Scurlock’s and Bowdre’s descendants suggest that a young William H. Bonney, later known as Billy the Kid, may have briefly worked with them during this time. Though documentation is limited, it adds an intriguing note to the early connection between these men.
In the spring of 1876, Scurlock and Bowdre ended the cheese operation and returned to Lincoln County, New Mexico. Seeking a more stable livelihood, they acquired a ranch located near the Rio Ruidoso. The land had been offered on credit by merchant Lawrence G.
Murphy. However, this transaction tied them to the Murphy-Dolan business monopoly, which controlled much of the local economy and left many settlers financially dependent on their network.
On July 18th, 1876, Scurlock joined Bowdre, Frank Coe, George Coe, and A. B. Saunders in entering the Lincoln County Jail to remove a man named Jesus Largo, who had been accused of cattle theft.
This act, carried out in defiance of local authorities, reflected growing frustration among some ranchers with the legal system, which they believed was influenced by the Murphy-Dolan faction.
Later that year, on September 2nd, 1876, a tragic accident occurred. Scurlock was reportedly handling a pistol when it discharged, resulting in the unintended death of his friend Mike G. Harkins, who managed a store at Blazer’s Mill.
The incident deeply affected Scurlock but was generally regarded as an unfortunate mishap.
Just weeks later, on October 19th, 1876, Scurlock married Maria Antonia Miguela Herrera in Lincoln, New Mexico. Not long after, Charlie Bowdre married Antonia’s sister, Manuela Herrera, formally making the two friends brothers-in-law. Doc and Antonia went on to raise a large family together.
Over the years, they welcomed 10 children, and Scurlock gradually stepped away from the conflict and unrest that had defined much of his earlier life.
Over the course of more than a year, Doc Scurlock joined several posses organized to track down individuals suspected of horse theft. Along with Charlie Bowdre and others, he actively participated in these pursuits, which often took place outside formal legal systems. In some cases, extrajudicial punishments were carried out against those who had been apprehended, reflecting the turbulent and often lawless environment of frontier New Mexico.
In January 1877, Scurlock and his neighbor George Coe were arrested by Sheriff William J. Brady. They were accused of sheltering Frank Freeman, a fugitive linked to the Jesse Evans gang, who was wanted for murder.
While in custody, Scurlock and Coe reportedly endured harsh conditions. Accounts from the time suggest they were subjected to physical mistreatment before being released without formal charges.
By October 1877, tensions escalated further when members of the Evans gang took horses from the Rio Ruidoso ranch belonging to Richard “Dick” Brewer, John Tunstall, and Alexander McSween. Scurlock, Bowdre, and Brewer attempted to recover the stolen livestock, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Following the killing of John Tunstall in February 1878, an event that helped spark the Lincoln County War, Scurlock became one of the original members of the group known as the Regulators.
This loosely organized faction aimed to challenge the dominance of the Murphy-Dolan business alliance and pushed back against what they saw as corrupt legal authority.
Scurlock participated in many of the conflict’s key events. On April 4th, 1878, during the confrontation at Blazer’s Mill, he sustained a leg wound in a shootout involving Buckshot Roberts. Despite the setback, Scurlock remained active, and after the deaths of earlier leaders Dick Brewer and Frank McNab, he eventually became the third and final captain of the Regulators.
He also briefly served in a law enforcement capacity, acting as a deputy under Sheriff John Copeland. Copeland had been appointed to replace Sheriff Brady and was seen as sympathetic to the McSween faction.
On May 14th, 1878, Scurlock led a posse of approximately 18 to 20 men, including Billy the Kid, Bowdre, George Coe, and others, to the Dolan-Riley ranch. Their stated aim was to locate those suspected of involvement in the killing of McNab and the wounding of A. B.
Saunders. According to Thomas B. Catron’s law partner, W.
T. Thornton, the group removed more than two dozen horses and a few pack animals. During the raid, three individuals at the ranch were reportedly harmed.
Riley claimed that a herder named Wear was killed, along with a cook of Navajo heritage and a 15-year-old boy named Johnny. However, Thornton’s account suggested that only the cook and the boy were injured, not killed. Historian Robert M.
Utley later wrote that the posse apprehended a man named Manuel Segovia, who was believed to have been responsible for McNab’s death. According to the same account, Segovia was fatally shot while reportedly attempting to flee custody.
Following legal foreclosure by attorney Thomas Catron on the holdings of J. J. Dolan and Company, the livestock taken during the Regulators’ raid appeared to legally belong to Catron.
This complicated the political fallout that followed. Sheriff John Copeland, who had aligned himself with the McSween-Regulator faction, was removed from his position after Catron strongly protested to the territorial governor. Copeland’s refusal to support the Murphy-Dolan side during the Lincoln County War cost him his role.
In his place, George Peppin was appointed sheriff. Peppin, however, was closely associated with the Murphy-Dolan group, resulting in a continued imbalance of power rather than restoring neutrality.
During this turbulent period, Billy the Kid attempted to negotiate a pardon with Governor Lew Wallace. While the arrangement was being considered, Doc Scurlock was taken into custody alongside Billy, both suspected of prior involvement in the confrontation with Buckshot Roberts at Blazer’s Mill. When the agreement between Billy and Governor Wallace failed to materialize, the two men were informed that formal charges would soon follow.
Scurlock now faced the threat of extradition and legal consequences for his past actions.
On June 17th, 1879, rather than await prosecution, Scurlock and Billy left Lincoln. Sheriff Kimbrell, then in office, made no effort to prevent their departure. Later that summer, in August, Billy the Kid and a small group of companions were accused of taking a large number of cattle from John Chisum’s ranch.
In response, Chisum organized a posse to recover his livestock and confront the group. At this point, Scurlock decided to distance himself from the Kid’s circle. Likely disillusioned and wary of further legal trouble, he chose to leave the group and step away from the increasingly unstable world of frontier conflict.
Around October or November of 1879, Doc Scurlock made a significant change in his life by relocating to Texas. He left behind the turmoil of New Mexico and chose a quieter, more stable path. By 1880, records from the U.
S. Census show Scurlock living in Potter County, Texas. At that time, he was working as the keeper of a mail station, a role that indicated his integration into local civic life and a shift toward a more peaceful existence.
Over the years, Scurlock became known as a respected member of his community. Unlike many of his contemporaries from the Lincoln County War, he lived a long and relatively quiet life. He passed away at the age of 80 from a heart condition in Eastland, Texas.
Doc was laid to rest in Eastland City Cemetery, where he was buried alongside his wife and other members of his family. His later years marked a dramatic contrast to his earlier life, reflecting a man who had found peace after years of conflict on the frontier.
In the western film Young Guns, the character of Doc Scurlock was portrayed by actor Kiefer Sutherland. In this version, Scurlock is depicted as a thoughtful, well-mannered cowboy with a poetic streak and a strong moral compass. By the end of the movie, Scurlock parts ways with Billy the Kid’s group.
He chooses to leave New Mexico alongside an Asian woman he had grown close to earlier in the story, hoping to begin a quieter life somewhere in the East.
In the sequel, Young Guns 2, Sutherland reprises his role. This time, Scurlock is shown living in New York City and working as a schoolteacher. His character is arrested and brought back to New Mexico, where he narrowly avoids execution thanks to an intervention by Billy the Kid.
Scurlock then rejoins Billy’s posse but is seriously wounded during a confrontation led by the character John W. Poe, portrayed by Viggo Mortensen. As the scene unfolds, Scurlock is shown stepping out of a hideout and being struck in the ensuing exchange.
He later collapses outside, portrayed as dying during the attack.
This fictionalized sequence was loosely inspired by the real-life death of Charlie Bowdre, who was killed during an ambush organized by lawman Pat Garrett. However, the actual Doc Scurlock followed a very different path. Historically, Scurlock married Maria Antonia Miguela Herrera in 1876 and eventually settled in Texas, where he lived a quiet and respectable life.
He died of natural causes at the age of 80, many years after the events portrayed in the films.
Interestingly, early versions of the Young Guns 2 script did reflect this reality, with Scurlock leaving New Mexico with his wife to start over in Texas. However, actor Kiefer Sutherland reportedly had scheduling conflicts and insisted that his character be written out with a dramatic final scene. Screenwriter John Fusco initially resisted but ultimately revised the story to accommodate the change.
Doc Scurlock is also briefly referenced in the 1970 John Wayne film Chisum. In the movie, Billy the Kid mentions Scurlock as one of the men joining his effort against the Murphy faction. Scurlock appears during a climactic scene, though the role is minor and portrayed by one of several unnamed extras, making it unclear which actor is meant to represent him.
Doc Scurlock may not be the most famous name in the Old West, but his story rides just as hard and fast as any outlaw or lawman of the time. From his deadly aim to his poetic soul, from gun battles to his quiet escape into a new life, Scurlock was a man of contrast—a killer with a conscience, a fighter with ideals. In the dusty shadows of Billy the Kid’s legend, Doc Scurlock carved out his own place in frontier history.
One bullet, one verse, and one bold choice at a time.
