Texas Jack Junior & the Mexican Joe Company
- Matthew Kerns
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
A Newly Discovered Photograph of Texas Jack Junior and the Mexican Joe Show Company
Every so often, I open my email and find that history surprises me with something truly remarkable. Last week, I got an email from Don Arth, who shared this image with me and graciously allowed me to share it with you.
This newly uncovered photograph, shared here publicly for the first time, captures Texas Jack Junior and fellow performers from the Mexican Joe Show Company, taken around 1886, just before the troupe departed for Europe in 1887.
This image comes from the family of Tex Bender, the cowboy fiddler and showman who was part of the company. Alongside Bender are several recognizable figures from the 1880s Wild West entertainment circuit:
Texas Jack Junior — the Wild West showman and trick roper, rescued by and named after the famous Texas Jack Omohundro, who would later introduce a young Will Rogers to show business.
Mexican Joe Shelley — standing to Jack’s left with a rifle in hand, a veteran scout and showman whose exploits were chronicled in newspapers across the country.
Tex Bender — billed as The Cowboy Fiddler. His blend of musicianship and cowboy storytelling made him a natural bridge between the frontier campfire and the vaudeville stage.
Sure Shot Annie — she doesn't look like Annie Oakley to me, and I don't think Annie toured outside of Buffalo Bill's Wild West at this time. Might be the woman who is listed in advertisements as "Severana, the Captive Apache Girl."
Round-Up Bob (one of the famed “Texas Giants”), and others who rounded out the troupe.
The Shelley–Bender Connection
Newspaper advertisements and reviews from 1887 confirm this lineup. Notices from Michigan, Indiana, and Minnesota announced Shelley’s Wild West Company, featuring “Tex, the Cowboy Fiddler, Mexican Joe, the Scout, Round-Up Bob, and the Texas Giant.”
A review in the Fort Wayne Daily News (February 18, 1887) praised the show and noted that “Texas Jack is the leading figure,” describing a lively and well-received performance.
An earlier announcement in the Jackson Citizen Patriot (February 4, 1887) promoted a one-night engagement at the Assembly Opera House, listing the same cast — “Tex, the cowboy fiddler; Mexican Joe, the scout; Round-Up Bob, the Texas giant; and Severana, the Captive Apache Girl.”
A lengthy profile in the St. Paul Globe (January 6, 1887) described Colonel Joe Shelley, also known as Mexican Joe, as “the slayer of Victorio, the Apache chief,” and traced his transformation from soldier to showman. His company, filled with sharpshooters, cowboys, and vaqueros, embodied the growing international fascination with the mythic American frontier.
A Bridge Between Two Eras
This photograph represents a fascinating bridge in the story of Wild West performance. The first of what we think of as "Wild West Shows" were combinations of the act Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro originated on stage, combined with the outdoor shooting exhibitions pioneered by Doc Carver, Captain Bogardus, and Ira Paine. Buffalo Bill kicked off the first full-blown Wild West entertainment with the Old Glory Blowout in 1882, and kicked off his Wild West with Doc Carver a year later.
Imitators popped up immediately. While Buffalo Bill Cody was taking his Wild West to London for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, Shelley and Bender were forming their own touring company, one that blended cowboy music, roping, Native performers, and theatrical reenactments.
Texas Jack Junior, who had adopted his name from his rescuer Texas Jack Omohundro, carried that legacy forward. He performed across North America and around the world, eventually hiring a young Will Rogers in South Africa, giving the future humorist his first professional show job.
Artifacts connected to this photograph, including a whip or riding crop carved with the name “Texas Jack," have survived in the Bender family for well over a century.
This image is an extraordinary visual link between two generations of frontier showmen: John B. “Texas Jack” Omohundro, who helped invent the cowboy as a national hero, and Texas Jack Junior, who carried that legend across the world’s stages.
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