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{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = James Larcus | | name = James Larcus | ||
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'''Slingin' Seamus''' (born '''James Larcus'''; March 19, 1847 - September 1, 1882) was an outlaw and gunfighter of the [[Urcean frontier]]. Although famous in his own time for successfully robbing eighteen trains, he became more famous posthumously in the public imagination in his role as gunfighter, particularly for his rivalry with Marcus Enni and his last stand at Somerville, which became the template for gun duels in future | '''Slingin' Seamus''' (born '''James Larcus'''; March 19, 1847 - September 1, 1882) was an outlaw and gunfighter of the [[Urcean frontier]]. Although famous in his own time for successfully robbing eighteen trains, he became more famous posthumously in the public imagination in his role as gunfighter, particularly for his rivalry with Marcus Enni and his last stand at Somerville, which became the template for gun duels in future Levantine media. | ||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
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During this period, much of Larcus's attention focused on his rivalry with Marcus Enni, who on two occasions hired assassins to try and kill Larcus. The rivalry came to a head on August 19, 1879, when the Seamus Express gang ambushed the Enni gang in the town of Buscharach, far from Larcus's Aliania. As both gangs fought, Enni tracked down Larcus. Both men agreed to a one-on-one duel which would allow the gang members of the other to go free; Enni pledged revenge for the death of Gaius Mór. Eyewitness testimony is contradictory; some stated that the men had a conversation in which Larcus maintained his innocence, but most witnesses say neither men said anything. Larcus drew first and killed Enni in the duel, ending the five year old rivalry. Larcus honored the agreement and let Enni's men go. Newspapers at the time stated some of Enni's men joined the Express Gang, and historians believe the gang had somewhere between twelve and seventeen steady members during this period. | During this period, much of Larcus's attention focused on his rivalry with Marcus Enni, who on two occasions hired assassins to try and kill Larcus. The rivalry came to a head on August 19, 1879, when the Seamus Express gang ambushed the Enni gang in the town of Buscharach, far from Larcus's Aliania. As both gangs fought, Enni tracked down Larcus. Both men agreed to a one-on-one duel which would allow the gang members of the other to go free; Enni pledged revenge for the death of Gaius Mór. Eyewitness testimony is contradictory; some stated that the men had a conversation in which Larcus maintained his innocence, but most witnesses say neither men said anything. Larcus drew first and killed Enni in the duel, ending the five year old rivalry. Larcus honored the agreement and let Enni's men go. Newspapers at the time stated some of Enni's men joined the Express Gang, and historians believe the gang had somewhere between twelve and seventeen steady members during this period. | ||
Beginning in mid-1880, efforts were made to pacify parts of the frontier, this time employing other means besides large armed posses. In November of 1880, the Royal authorities entered into secret negotiations with Larcus, offering to legitimize his control over Aliania as a nominal government official along with a subsidy in exchange for Larcus and his men "settling down" there and no longer engaging in train heists or cattle rustling. Historians are divided on whether or not this was intended as a temporary solution after which time Larcus would be liquidated, but Larcus appears to have thought the offer genuine. He would write that agreements with the Royals "was not in his character" and that such an agreement would be a "comfortable retirement, or in other words death" that did not suit his needs. He decided to leak the correspondence to the papers, causing a major political scandal. Rejecting the offer and leaking the papers lead to a renewed effort to hunt Larcus down and would prove his undoing. Throughout 1881, a plan was devised to trap Larcus away from his base of power in Aliania by running a train through Somerville, which was relatively nearby but far enough away that the gang could not easily retreat if an ambush was set. | Beginning in mid-1880, efforts were made to pacify parts of the frontier, this time employing other means besides large armed posses. In November of 1880, the Royal authorities entered into secret negotiations with Larcus, offering to legitimize his control over Aliania as a nominal government official along with a subsidy in exchange for Larcus and his men "settling down" there and no longer engaging in train heists or cattle rustling. Historians are divided on whether or not this was intended as a temporary solution after which time Larcus would be liquidated, but Larcus appears to have thought the offer genuine. He would write that agreements with the Royals "was not in his character" and that such an agreement would be a "comfortable retirement, or in other words death" that did not suit his needs. He decided to leak the correspondence to the papers, causing a major political scandal but also leading to some of his men leaving the gang. Rejecting the offer and leaking the papers lead to a renewed effort to hunt Larcus down and would prove his undoing. Throughout 1881, a plan was devised to trap Larcus away from his base of power in Aliania by running a train through Somerville, which was relatively nearby but far enough away that the gang could not easily retreat if an ambush was set. | ||
===Somerville train heist and last stand=== | ===Somerville train heist and last stand=== | ||
Larcus was tipped off about the largest government train to date coming through the south to [[Canaery]] in the fall of 1881. The train, they said, was being rushed with lax security due to an urgent military need to reinforce [[Halfway]]. The efforts of the gang were effectively placed on hold throughout much of 1882 in preparation for the heist. In March 1882, Michael Colla began to suggest privately to Larcus that the heist may be a trap, but Larcus refused to act on this advice. Scholars believe there were two possible motivations for this, the first of which being that he was blinded by his own success and refused to believe the government was coming for him, and the second of which being is that he knew it was a trap but believed he could make the government look foolish once again. In any event, the gang rode out of Aliania for the last time on August 25, 1882 and reached Somerville the next day, waiting for the train to come near the town. The scheduled appearance was on September 1, and the gang rode to meet the train, and rainfall and distractions in town lead to a failure of the gang to scout out ambush sites ahead of time. As the gang stopped the train, government soldiers swarmed out of it and also began shooting at the gang from elevated positions above the intended heist point. Following minutes of shooting, Larcus ordered the gang back to Somerville to try and hold out there, only to find that soldiers were occupying that location too. | |||
Legend states that Seamus, like with his encounter with Enni, challenged the [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal Army]] captain - John Mico - to a duel, only to finally have met his match as Mico managed to draw and shoot first. There are significant problems with this story, however; many of its details appear to directly mirror the Enni incident. While the newspapers only say that Larcus was "gunned down", photos of his body after death appear to indicate several bullet wounds, indicating that he may have been shot from multiple directions by many different soldiers. Regardless, the "last stand" - the duel with Mico - became the stuff of legends in the following years. | |||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
The exploits of Slingin' Seamus have been put to film several times, most notably in the 2003 [[Kino Primo]] production ''[[Last train to Somerville]]''. Larcus' grizzled apperance and determination has also been influential on many fictional characters of the [[Frontier film]] genre. [[Yonderre|Yonderian]] director [[Mathieu le Fêvre]] has referred to Larcus as "the quintessential outlaw". | "Slingin' Seamus" is the best known gunslinger of the [[Urcean frontier]], and is considered emblematic of the entire "old south" period. In the years and decades following his death, as public interest in the frontier grew, his life became subject of significant legend and many tales were attributed to his life. The exploits of Slingin' Seamus have been put to film several times, most notably in the 2003 [[Kino Primo]] production ''[[Last train to Somerville]]''. Larcus' grizzled apperance and determination has also been influential on many fictional characters of the [[Frontier film]] genre. [[Yonderre|Yonderian]] director [[Mathieu le Fêvre]] has referred to Larcus as "the quintessential outlaw". | ||
Michael Colla, Larcus's companion, would survive the Somerville train heist and, following a pardon, would tour the country throughout the 1880s and early 1890s with a stage show detailing the life of "Slingin' Seamus", bringing Colla wealth and notoriety. During the [['97 Rising]], he was recruited by Legitimist forces as a brevet colonel of cavalry, which he raised among outlaws and cowboys in Afoncord. Colla was killed in battle during the conflict. | |||
Larcus has become a symbol of [[Afoncord]], and a statue of him stands in the town square of Aliania today near a museum detailing his life and the frontier period in general. | |||
[[Category:History of Urcea]] | [[Category:History of Urcea]] | ||
[[Category:Urceans]] | [[Category:Urceans]] | ||
[[Category:IXWB]] | [[Category:IXWB]] | ||