| “ | Let er rip!
— Jim Miller's last words before being hung
|
” |
James Brown Miller, also known as Killin' Jim, Killer Miller, and Deacon Jim, was an American outlaw and assassin of the American Old West said to have killed 12 people during gunfights - perhaps the most of his era.
Miller was referred to by the alias Deacon Jim by some because he regularly attended the Methodist Church and he did not smoke or drink. Miller's first murder was the killing of his brother in law when he was just a teen.
However, some reports said that his first victims was his grandparents, which he killed when he was just 8 years old. In his adulthood, he became an assassin working for the Clements gang in McCulloch County, Texas. He also started working as a Pecos lawman to cover his business as a hired gun. From 1890 to 1904, he killed a large number of men, using cunning and stealth to murder his quarry. He is however, remembered in Old West history for his confrontations with a lawman named Bud Frazer.
In at least two occasions, Frazer ambushed and shot Miller multiple times but the assassin was saved by a bulletproof breastplate hidden in his frock coat. Miller would then ambush Frazer later on and shot him in the head with a shotgun. In 1904, the law finally caught on Jim Miller, and large mob took him and others into a barn and lynched them. Miller's last words was "Let er rip!" as he voluntarily hanged himself from his makeshift gallows.
Battle vs. Ned Kelly (by Elgb333)[]
Ned Kelly: 
Jim Miller: 
It was late afternoon when the citizens of an isolated Australian town, noticed five men on horseback entering their town. All of these men were heeled with all sorts of firearms strapped to their horses, like they were out going to fight a war. The alarmed but curious townsfolk watched anxiously as these men arrived at the front of the bank. They unholstered their weapons and quickly went inside. One of the men stayed outside, and when he saw the nervous townsfolks watching and waiting for what seems to be an upcoming bank robbery, he turned his horse and approached them. This man was a giant, with a large bushy beard of the archetypal Australian, and in his body was strapped a large piece of metal armor that glistened under the sun. That man was none other than Ned Kelly, the most wanted man in Australia.
“Good afternoon ladies and gents,” Kelly said with a deep, almost booming voice, as he brandishes his colt revolving rifle. “Nothing to worry about ‘ere. We’re just some folks getting our withdraw.” Then suddenly, gunshots were heard and bullets started flying out of the bank. The people then ran away from the bank in terror as Ned Kelly watched them calmly from behind. Kelly then yelled at the fleeing townsfolks while waiving his rifle, “I apologize for wha’ever you saw but like you we’re just some folks trying to make ends. We don’t have quarrels with you decent folks, but if you try to fight back we will kill you all!” And those words were enough for the people to quickly haul ass out of the town, leaving the place only empty and silent. The shootout soon stopped and the four men got out of the bank carrying large bags of money. Just one robbery was enough for Ned Kelly to turn one settlement into a ghost town.
Feeling safe, the bushrangers went for their horses and tied their weapons and bags full of money. Ned Kelly came down from his horse to help them out. However, the busy bushrangers didn’t notice when an armed group of five men suddenly appeared right behind them, wearing duster coats and Stetsons which suggested that they were Americans. One of them was actually the infamous assassin Jim Miller, who was in Australia today for both business and pleasure.
One of the American assassins aimed his Sharps at the bushrangers and fire. One was hit right in the abdomen and fell down holding his gaping chest and screaming. Ned Kelly and the others heard the shot, and when they saw the assassins aiming their guns at them, they tried to run away and find cover as fast as they can. But Jim Miller aimed his shotgun and shoots of the bushrangers in the leg, blowing his calf and putting him down on the ground yelling in pain. Coldly and calmly, Miller approached the poor wounded man in the open before yelling at the retreating Ned Kelly, “So you’re the famous Ned Kelly I’ve been hearin’. Well Mr. Ned mah name is Jim Millah and some of your English friends from the bank corporations hired me to put you in permanent retirement.”
He then aims his shotgun at the crying Aussie before pulling the trigger and blowing his whole head off, leaving only a decapitated body. Jim Miller slowly backs away to the other assassins in cover while reloading his shotgun. “I’m really honored to meet you Mistah Ned. I really do. Highly obliged. But to be honest, while I like your badass beard you don’t look too much to me,” he said as he signaled his assassin to encircle the whole town and trap the bushrangers before they can escape.
Ned Kelly on the other hand, puts on the rest of his armor including his helmet, and tells his men to hold their ground. He then yells “Go to Hell and kiss’s Satan’s arse you yankee piece of shite!” before firing his rifle at Miller. The assassin only smiles at him before disappearing into the town's alleyways.
As the assassins tried to look for the bushrangers in the alleys, the Aussies suddenly ambushed them from the windows of a building and killed two of the unsuspecting yanks. The others soon ran back cursing and looking for cover as the bushrangers happily fired at them.
One assassin soon turned his rifle his Winchester rifle around and hit one of the bushrangers in the neck. The assassin continued firing at the remaining bushranger, and the Winchester rifle's sheer rate of fire overwhelemed the bushranger and soon pinned him down. With his window cover starting to be blasted to bits by the American rifle, the bushranger turns towards the exit as fast as he could. The bushranger finally got out of the building, and when the assassins saw him they instantly gave chase. As the yanks run towards him in excitement, they suddenly crash against what felt like a big wall of steel. The assassins, who were on the floor with their heads still shaking in pain, couldn’t believe their eyes at what they're seeing standing right in front of them. The devil himself, clad from head to waist with gleaming steel armor, appeared from the dusty air and looking at them in contempt.
Shocked and utterly scared out of their souls, the assassins tried to shoot at the metal man with their rifles and pistols but the bullets only bounced off of him. The assassins soon ran out of ammunition, and the metal man, who was actually Ned Kelly in armor, aimed his Betsy rifle and shot one of the assassins in the head, killing him.
The other screamed and tried to crawl away as fast as he could from this behemoth. But Ned Kelly raised his Betsy carbine while shouting in rage, “You think you can come in here and murder anyone for money? You think of yourselves as tourists happily murdering decent Australian folks like game? You will pay for what you did!” He then starts to bloodily and painfully bludgeon the assassin with his rifle. He bashed at his lower spine, splitting it in two and causing immense pain on the yank. He bashed at his bones, breaking both ribs and limbs. And as the assassin turn around crying in pain, Ned Kelly then bashes at him again in the gut, making the assassin spit blood. Then Ned Kelly finishes him off with a powerful swing to the face, popping one of eyes and sending it flying on a home run. Ned then throws away his carbine and draws his Adams.
The other bushranger was still on the run, now lost and confused as he tries to find his way back to the horses. Jim Miller suddenly appeared right in front of him and yells “Peekaboo!!!”, surprising the bushranger and making him fire his Adams revolver in reflex. The bullet hits Jim Miller in the sternum and the assassin staggers back in pain. Seeing this, the bushranger took the opportunity and emptied his revolver straight to Miller’s chest. The assassin took all the bullets and fell down on the dusty floor. However, the bushranger couldn’t believe his eyes when Jim Miller just laid down there laughing, even though he swore that he hit him multiple times. "Buddy, it seems that this is not your lucky day," Jim Miller said while laughing like a psychopath. Little did the bushranger know that Miller was actually wearing a bulletproof breastplate that stopped the bullets, and the laughing assassin just stood back up right in front of the awed bushranger, before cutting him in half with both barrels of his shotgun.
Jim Miller, still giggling like a psychopath, slowly limps away back to the town’s bank in search of Ned. Fortunately for him, Ned was already there waiting for him in the open. Now, as the dust and wind settles and a tumbleweed rolls between them, the stage is set for a final showdown between the two.
“You… slimy… whore-born bastard! I’ll cut your head off!” Ned Kelly shouted at Jim.
Jim Miller on the other hand couldn't believe this. He was now busy staring at this thing right in front of him encased in steel armor and plates. "Magnificent..." he said in daze not minding Ned shouting at him in anger.
Ned Kelly then wasted no more time and fires his pistols at Jim Miller. The assassin managed to duck and dodge the bullets. Some did hit Miller but his armor manage to protect him, and the assassin fired back at Ned Kelly with his shotgun. The buckshot however only bounces off of Ned, slightly pushing him back, but nonetheless didn’t penetrate. Ned Kelly continues to fire his revolvers but Jim Miller keeps changes from cover to cover and dodging the bullets, soon starting to run circles around the armored bushranger while taking pot shots with his shotgun. Ned Kelly tries to keep up with Jim Miller but the assassin was too quick, and his armor kept him pin down under one spot in the open.
“Whatsammater Ned? Can’t catch me?” Jim taunted as he dodges and rolls around Ned Kelly.
“Bullocks!” Ned Kelly cursed as his bullets missed Jim at every turn.
Then, as Ned’s pistols finally became empty, Jim quickly shoots Ned Kelly right at the pelvis, blowing up a huge chunk of it. Ned Kelly fell on the ground crying in pain as Jim Miller discards his shotgun and approaches him with his Colt pistol. He then sits down besides the downed Ned and puts the barrel of his pistol right in Ned’s left eye. “Any last words Mistah Ned?” Jim asked.
Ned Kelly just closes his eyes and sighs, “Well… such is life," before Jim Miller pulls the trigger and finally ends the bushranger’s life.
Expert’s Opinion[]
Experts believes that Jim Miller won because of his better weapons which offer faster rates of fire than Ned’s. While the Kelly armor was undoubtedly more durable, experts still believed that Miller’s armor was better because it was lighter and more maneuverable. Add also the fact that Miller had the experience advantage on Ned Kelly since he was an assassin who killed more people than the bank-robbing Ned.