Slingin' Seamus

James Larcus
Born	(1847-03-19)March 19, 1847 Urceopolis, Urceopolis
Died	September 1, 1882(1882-09-01) (aged 35) Somerville, Afoncord
Occupation	Outlaw, seminarian
Years active	1870-1882

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 Urcean media.

Early life

James Larcus was born in Urceopolis in March of 1847, a time when the city was continuously growing and was subject to the rising Industrial Revolution. While conditions in the city were not as bad as some examples abroad, Larcus almost certainly grew up in conditions of urban squalor living in industrial neighborhoods. His own journal recollections, written in the 1870s, recounted both parents working in the factories as he roamed the streets. Following a turbulent upbringing, Larcus enrolled in the Catholic seminary in 1865. Seminary records indicate Larcus was bright and grasped theological concepts but was often quarrelsome with other seminarians and teachers. His own recollection stated that, following four years in seminary, he began to have various sexual encounters around town with prostitutes and married women; a popular legend says he maintained eighteen concurrent girlfriends at the height of these activities. In late 1869, his activities were discovered by seminary leaders, and Larcus fled the city for the southern frontier before authorities could catch him. A warrant was issued for his arrest citing fornication, adultery, and breaking the vows he took as a seminarian. Larcus arrived in what would later become Afoncord following months of travel on 18 February 1870.

Initial criminal career

Having arrived in Marianapola in modern Afoncord in 1870, Larcus began using a number of pseudonyms in order to procure odd jobs to sustain himself, the most used one being "James Donio". While some of these roles were legal, most of them involved participation in cattle rustling gangs and other criminal enterprises which needed larger numbers of people. Larcus had never fired or held a gun before arriving in Afoncord, but at age 23 quickly became proficient with it. On May 19, 1870, he shot and killed a man whose wife he was having an affair with when the two were caught together. Larcus had to flee town and took up residence in the nearby town of Aliana, which he would call home for the remainder of his life. Following this episode, Larcus more fully committed to the life of an outlaw; his own recollections state that "running, womanizing, and making talers" were his true calling. It was around this time, when he joined the Gaius Mór gang, that he first acquired the nickname "Slingin' Seamus" for his proficiency with a firearm.

Gaius Mór gang

In Aliana, Larcus continued to take various gun for hire jobs before meeting Gaius Mór, a well known cattle rustler and criminal in the Afoncord area who had been active since 1857. Larcus worked for Mór in various capacities from 1871 to late 1872, though as an associate rather than gang member. After a successful solo carriage heist in October 1872, Larcus joined the Gaius Mór gang which consisted of Mór, Larcus, and three others.

As part of the Mór gang, Larcus eventually took the role of being the lead gunslinger and most dependable fighter the gang had, making him Mór's trusted second in command. During his time with the gang, Larcus killed his second person and several others on top of it; his own recollection claimed he killed fifty men with the gang, but historians believe the figure to be closer to ten.

Gaius Mór's death - and the dissolution of the gang - would become a heavily disputed incident, both within contemporary outlaw circles and by modern historians. In July 1874, the gang launched a bank robbery in Perlesania, a town not far from Aliania. The robbery appears to have been a setup by local authorities, however; though the gang managed to break into the safe, the sheriff and deputies arrived far earlier than could have been reasonably anticipated. Two members of the gang, Marcus Enni and Michael Colla, were sent away by Mór with the money while Mór, Larcus, and the other member of the gang bought them time. The third member of the gang was killed by a shot to the head by a sheriff's deputy; what happened next was contentious. Some say, including Larcus's testimony, that Larcus and Mór stood side-by-side fighting off the deputies before Mór was shot and decided to give Larcus time to escape. Another account, circulated in newspapers and by the authorities, indicated that both men managed to escape but that Larcus shot Mór. The newspapers attributed various motives to this version - a disagreement between the two about the direction of the gang, Larcus's disappointment with his lesser share of their criminal gains, or a woman Larcus wanted that Mór was currently in a relationship with. Historians are greatly divided on which version occurred, but in any event, on July 10 1874 Mór was dead and only three members of his gang - Larcus, Enni, and Colla - survived. It appears that Colla believed Larcus's innocence whereas Enni did not and went his own way. Enni and Larcus would remain rivals for many years to come.

Aliania boys

With the end of the Mór gang, Larcus and Michael Colla began to work as a duo in various criminal enterprises, but for the most part this period between gangs - which lasted from July 1874 to May 1875 - was spent cattle rustling, the area in which Larcus had the most experience to date. Referred to simply as the "Aliania boys" by the papers and contemporaries, Larcus and Colla spent most of this time living outside of town due to the negative reputation Larcus had incurred on himself. As Marcus Enni had taken the lion's share of the bank robbery proceeds with him, the two began plotting the biggest job yet - the robbery of a government train which was passing near Aliania. Running by monthly, the two observed its routine for several months in early 1875. The train was responsible for the delivery of gold to local banks as well as weapons to local garrisons. Larcus reasoned that, in addition to the obvious value of the gold, government-procured munitions would be a valuable trading asset with other gangs. Between the proliferation of weapons and a prestigious "score", Larcus believed he could rebuild his reputation. Larcus and Colla gathered four hired guns to join them for the heist which occurred in late May 1875. It was successful, and his effort to sell guns to other gangs worked as anticipated, restoring his standing among outlaws and allowing him to return to Aliania as a far richer man. Larcus and Colla would form a new gang with the four men they used for the train robbery, a gang that newspapers would go on to call the "Seamus Express" due to its association with train robberies.

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. Yonderian director Mathieu le Fêvre has referred to Larcus as "the quintessential outlaw".