
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Rufus Nephew, better known as Climax Jim, was a cattle rustler, serial jail breaker, and possibly one of the most entertaining characters you'll ever come across in Old West history. Born in Washington, D.C., in 1876, he somehow ended up in Arizona as a teenager, riding for the infamous Hash Knife Cattle Company, where he earned his nickname after chewing through 12 pounds of Climax tobacco in under a month. What followed was a long and not particularly successful career of stealing cattle, getting caught, and escaping from just about every jail in the Arizona Territory. Whether it was tunneling through adobe walls with everything from a pocket knife to a spoon, to routinely slipping out of shackles, or even making a getaway in his birthday suit, Jim was nothing if not clever. And, for the most part, he got away with it.
Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest
Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/
Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/
Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/
Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra
Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
By The Wild West Extravaganza4.8
751751 ratings
Rufus Nephew, better known as Climax Jim, was a cattle rustler, serial jail breaker, and possibly one of the most entertaining characters you'll ever come across in Old West history. Born in Washington, D.C., in 1876, he somehow ended up in Arizona as a teenager, riding for the infamous Hash Knife Cattle Company, where he earned his nickname after chewing through 12 pounds of Climax tobacco in under a month. What followed was a long and not particularly successful career of stealing cattle, getting caught, and escaping from just about every jail in the Arizona Territory. Whether it was tunneling through adobe walls with everything from a pocket knife to a spoon, to routinely slipping out of shackles, or even making a getaway in his birthday suit, Jim was nothing if not clever. And, for the most part, he got away with it.
Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest
Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/
Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/
Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/
Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra
Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1,685 Listeners

2,790 Listeners

1,518 Listeners

4,029 Listeners

6,124 Listeners

19,197 Listeners

3,674 Listeners

19,133 Listeners

1,036 Listeners

2,931 Listeners

926 Listeners

2,160 Listeners

199 Listeners

1,598 Listeners

1,330 Listeners