James McIntire was a gunfighter and Texas Ranger

Texas Ranger Division

The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...

 in the old west of the United States. He is best known for his autobiography, written in 1902 following a near death experience

Near death experience

A near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution;...

.

The biography, Early Days in Texas: A Trip Through Hell and Heaven was published in 1902. This followed an experience in which McIntire reports having died and gone to Heaven

Heaven

Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...

 where he had a long conversation with Christ

Christ

Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...

, was given a drink of water before he was returned to his body for several years.

McIntire used this last part of his life to write his story which recounts his various careers as a Ranger, a buffalo hunter, an Indian

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 fighter, a cowboy

Cowboy

A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

, a sheepherder, a saloon

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

 keeper, a deputy sheriff, and a wanted outlaw

Outlaw

In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

. His story is notable for its unapologetic inclusion of the lurid details of his life. He reports seeing a companion killed and eaten by Comanche

Comanche

The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...

 warriors, and brags about making a purse from the breast of a Comanche woman.

Jim McIntire was a friend of the better known "Longhair" Jim Courtright

Jim Courtright

Timothy Isaiah "Longhair Jim" or "Big Jim" Courtright was an American lawman, outlaw and gunfighter....

 and the two were charged with murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 after they killed two French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 squatters on some ranch land in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

.

The most infamous story about McIntire was from his time as a deputy sheriff in Mobeetie, Texas

Mobeetie, Texas

Mobeetie is a city in northwestern Wheeler County, Texas, United States, just across the Sweetwater Creek from Texas Route 152. The population was 107 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. According to his book, Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

 and Mysterious Dave Mather

Mysterious Dave Mather

Dave Allen Mather , known as Mysterious Dave, or sometimes as New York Dave, was an American lawman and gunfighter in the American Old West. The date and circumstances of his death are not known with any certainty...

had come to town with phony gold bricks which they were selling to the naive citizens. Jim exposed the scam and ran the two famous gunfighters out of town.