Shane Lawson

[Shane Lawson]

Name: Augustus Shane Lawson Jr.
Occupation: Bounty Hunter
Aliases: Goes by his middle name of Shane, uses the Alias of John Burrows sometimes.
Age: 35, Born December 1st, 1845
Appearance: Standing at 5'11 with green eyes, Lawson's body is well built and toned from years of physically demanding work as a Ranger and Bounty Hunter. His hair color is naturally a dark brown, but usually appears lighter given the long exposer to the hot sun and dirt. Commonly he maintains a beard, unless he settles for awhile in a town where he'll often shave it off. His form of dress varies, usually wearing rather a rugged set of clothes while in the field, though he keeps a set of 'fine' clothes for mingling at saloons or other occasion.

Belongings:
2 Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army Revolvers with 5 1/2" Barrell with walnut grips
1 Colt Model 1878 Double Barreled Shotgun 20" Inch Barrell
1 Sharps Model 1874 Rifle 34" Inch Heavy Octagon Barrel in 45-110 Caliber
1 1866 Remington Model 95 Double Derringer .41 Rimfire
1 Bowie Knife
Gold Pocket Watch ((gift from his father))
A antique gold locket
Gun Belt, Saddle,clothing plus his belongings back home.
Nickel Drinking Flask
Collapsible brass telescope
Black Stallion

Any distinguishing features: A small scar on his left cheek, as well as many other minor-to-moderate scars on his forearms and chest. On his back there are two rather nasty gunshot scars as well
as one on his right thigh.
Place of Birth: Austin, Texas
Family:

Father Captain Augustus Lawson
Age: 65
Mother: Clara McCrae Lawson
Age: 53
Sister: Kathrine Lawson
Age: 34
Brother: Woodrow Lawson
Age: Deceased

Brief Personal History:
The son Texas Ranger Captain Agustus Lawson and Clara McCrae Lawson, Agustus Lawson Jr. ((Known by his middle name of Shane)) was born in 1845 in the Republic of Texas, in a home located outside of Austin, less a month later The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States Goverment and granted statehood. During the early years of his life, Shane would see little of his father who was usually away on business with the Texas Rangers, However shortly before the begining of the Mexican-American war, his mother became pregnant with his sister, Kathrine. With the declaration of war by the United States against Mexico in 1846, Captain Gus Lawson mustered out of Ranger Service and into that of the U.S. Army. Fearing for the safety of his family in the face of war, The Captain sent his family north to relatives living in the fledgling settlement of Dallas. While her husband served as a invaluable scout and guerrilla for the United States Army, Clara struggled with first with one child, then another in a strange new and quite small town. Despite the hardship, with some help from Gus's family she managed to endure through the rest of the war. With the end of the war in 1848 Gus returned home for a few months to spend time with the family he'd only seen sporadically over the last couple of years. But this didn't last long as the Captain returned to the Rangers before long and was again patroling the open range. Though he saw his father relatively little growing up, Young Shane idolized his father and wanted to follow in his footsteps as a Texas Ranger someday, the one side effect of his fathers absence though was a close relationship with his mother and a very close one with his sister Kate. From 1849 through 1850 the two siblings enjoyed a close relationship, and many adventures growing up but in that year they were joined by another sibling, Woodrow. With the birth of his third child, and interests in making life comfortable for his family Agustus left the Texas Rangers, and with his long time partner they invested and entered the cattle business.

Though long cattle drives would ultimately keep Gus away from his family for almost as much time as his Ranger service, the profit from the trade proved to be quite lucrative. By 1855 Lawson had established the North-Star Ranch, a 2,000 Acre Ranch located north of Dallas. The size of the operation and herds grew over the years, which allowed for a higher standard of living for the Lawson family. Shane and Kate continued to stick together, enjoying the many exciting features of the ranch as well as being over protective of their little brother. Over the course of the next five years, Shane would spend much time practicing his riding skills and at the age of 14 his father taught him how to handle a pistol, and later a rifle. Honing these skills would consume much of his free time until his 16th Birthday. By December 1st of 1861 the American Civil War had began, and Texas had succeeded from the Union. Shanes father feared the repercussions for the war, especially for the cattle business as the war cut off access to many areas and drove the price of cattle through the floor, but before hs could forbid his son to do it, Shane told his sister his plan to run away and join the fighting and then executed his plan, leaving only a note for his parents and brother.

Eventually Shane ended up with the famous Texas Brigade, with the 1st Texas regiment where he would put his long gun skills to good use. Over the course of the war, Shane would see action with all of the battles engaged in by the Army of Northern Virginia, except Chancellorsville. This included action at the Battle of Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg where he showed courage under fire during the fight for the Devil's Den. Though his reasons
for running off to war were both noble and idealistic ((Believing he was fighting for the rights of his home state, and that glory and honor could be found in war)) the reality of war changed Shane's views quite dramaticlly and would shape him forever. Through the conflict, he lost many friends and even a couple of cousins who'd also joined the regiment and saw the true horrors of war, but despite the hardships he distinguished himself honorably throughout the war and received much recognition for his bravery and riding/shooting skills. On April 9th, 1865 the unit surrendered to Union Forces and of the estimated 5353 men who enlisted in the three Texas and one Arkansas regiments, only 617 remained at the time of surrender at Appomattox, Virginia.

There Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to General Ulysses S. Grant, at the Appomattox Court House. Grant allowed Rebel officers to keep their sidearms. A Second Lieutenant at the time of the surrender Shane Lawson used his pistol to steal a horse, and his Sharps Rifle before setting out on the long journey back home to Texas. Shane arrived home just shy of his 20th Birthday, where he was finally reunited with his family whom he hadn't seen ((though kept in contact via letters)) since he ran away to join the war. Though his father had disapproved of his decision, he was proud of his son for the courage he'd shown as well as of the man he'd become. The Shane that'd came home from war was different, more mature, serious and focused but as proud and happy as his family was to have him back, he discovered the family had fallen on some hard times. The war had driven cattle prices down and closed off markets and devastated the trade. For a time Shane remains close to home, helping his family through the tough times and enjoying the company of his brother and sister. However by 1870 he had grown restless and joined up with the Frontier Forces to range the frontier in addition to the Minute Men companies and soon his younger brother Woodrow followed in his footsteps. With the growing threat of lawlessness in Texas, Legitslatures created two Ranger Forces to cope with the situation 1874, The Frontier Battalion, a organization called Special Forces. Shane ended up serving with Captain McNellys Special Forces as would his brother later.

For the next four years Shane Lawson served with the Texas Rangers and captured many outlaws, returned many heads of stolen county and took part in such incidents as the Mason County War and conflicts with Indian tribes. Despite having survived the Civil War without injury, Shane is wounded twice in the line of duty but recovers. Despite showing a promising career with the Texas Rangers, it comes to an end in 1878 with the murder of his brother Woodrow during an attempt to capture an outlaw wanted for multiple murders. Returning home they lay his brother to rest, as well as learning that the Outlaw has fled into the badlands of New Mexico to evade capture or worse. Unable to be content with allowing the killer of his brother to escape justice, Shane resigns from the Texas Rangers amid much protest from his fellow Rangers and his father and decides to hunt the man down himself. This decision also meets with considerable protest from his sister, but despite this Shane leaves his home behind to journey out west.

Over the course of the next two years, Shanes search for his brothers killer is mostly fruitless with the man always slipping out just ahead of him. To keep from starving he begins hunting and collecting on dangerous bountys while searching for the one outlaw that always somehow eludes him. Soon, Lawson earns a reputation for a talented and dangerous ((for outlaws)) hunter who usually collects on the bounties he sets out for. Eventually his work and search for his primary target takes him out into the wild wests of Arizona and other territories, and now? Lost Haven..

Personality: Outwardly cool and well composed to strangers, he rarely lets his emotions get the better of him though occasionally his temper does slip and now and then he'll crack a joke or sarcastic remark. Around friends he can be warm and friendly, though regardless he's always a very serious individual.

Other important notes: TBD