History
Randy Clayton was the son of a ranch owner during the days of the American Frontier. Randy's uncle Cash sought to claim the family ranch and hired some outlaws to kill Randy's father while he and Randy were out of town. This plot was interfered with by the original Rawhide Kid who killed the shooters but failed to stop them from murdering Randy's father. When Randy and Cash returned home they found the Rawhide Kid, and Randy was convinced that the Kid was a member of the gang that shot his father. However, before the boy could execute the Rawhide Kid on the spot, the hero spooked the boy's horse and escaped. After the Rawhide Kid left, Cash offered to buy the ranch from Randy who was the heir of the property following his father's death. As Randy refused to do so, Cash revealed that he hired the men to murder his father and then knocked the boy out, intending to kill him as well in order to inherit the ranch. Randy was taken to a nearby cave to be killed, but the Rawhide Kid -- having deduced Cash's plot -- came to the boy's rescue, killing Cash in the process. With no life left for him back at the ranch, Randy convinced the Rawhide Kid to let him travel with the hero as his sidekick.
Not long after paring up with the Rawhide Kid, Randy's horse suffered a broken leg, forcing the boy to kill it to put it out of its misery. The pair then rode into the town of Last Chance, Texas where they attempted to buy Randy a new horse but learned that all the horses in the region had been stolen by a masked outlaw named White-Face who had also killed the last few sheriffs and taken control of the city. Randy became deputy of the town when the Rawhide Kid decided to become sheriff and deal with White-Face and his gang. After the Rawhide Kid killed White-Face and freed the stolen horses the pair retired from law enforcement in Last Chance. Randy bought a new horse he named Smokey and the pair continued their travels. Not long after, Randy assisted the Rawhide Kid in learning why Tall Eagle's band of Sioux Native Americans were attacking white settlers, revealing that the tribe had been taken over by their medicine man Saganak. The pair helped free Tall Eagle and prevented the tribe from causing a bloody war with area settlers.[1]
When the Rawhide Kid was incarcerated after being framed for the robbery of the Hondo Bank, Randy helped break him out of jail and the Kid cleared his name by exposing the real crook: Jarad Ketchum. By this point the Rawhide Kid decided that Randy needed a good education and enrolled him in a schoolhouse in the town of Tumbleweed. The pair fell afoul of the corrupt school administrators until the Rawhide Kid taught them a lesson. Shortly after this, Randy was kidnapped by a gang of outlaws who then forced the Rawhide Kid to rob a stagecoach. However the Kid double crossed them and rescued Randy.[2] Randy and his classmates were soon impressed into skipping class by a man named Nogood Norris who tried to convince the children that they didn't need an education, although Randy wasn't entirely convinced. However the children were taught the importance of a good education when the Rawhide Kid used his intelligence to best Norris in a series of competitions, convincing Randy and his classmates to return to their schooling. Shortly thereafter, Randy and the Rawhide Kid uncovered valuable green gold in a supposedly cursed region known as the Valley of 1000 Shadows. When they returned to town to strike a claim, Randy accidentally let slip the gold's location to a gang of outlaws who sought to claim it. However thanks to the Rawhide Kid and Randy's interference they merely succeeded in inheriting the curse over the region when the outlaws were slain in an avalanche.[3]
Back in school, Randy learned that his friend Juddy Clayton's father was framed for a murder. When Juddy attempted to break his father out of jail, Randy tipped off the Rawhide Kid who stopped the boy from getting into trouble and then found evidence that cleared Mr. Clayton's name. While out camping one night, Randy's horse Smokey was spooked by a mountain lion attack making the mare useless for anything. After putting Smokey to pasture, Rawhide and Randy travelled to a nearby range where they captured a majestic white stallion whom randy named King. Not long after this, Randy discovered a river bed with a cache of valuable fire opals. Unaware of their value, Randy took one to use as a corker to play marbles with his classmates. When a pair of outlaws recognized the corker for its true value, they tried to buy and later steal it from Randy. The Rawhide Kid however stepped in and sent them packing, but not before Randy let slip the location of the other opals. Rawhide and Randy then raced against the outlaws and claimed the fire opals for themselves, netting them enough worth to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.[4]
Soon Randy met the Rawhide Kid's former partner, the elderly trapper Java Joe, after the pair rescued him from some fur trappers trying to steal his catches. Randy became fast friends with Joe and listened raptly to Joe's tales of his former partnership with the Rawhide Kid. Not liking Joe around, the Rawhide Kid went to confide with the local sheriff, unaware that Randy partially overheard their conversation on his way to school and believes that the Kid was talking about him. Randy went back to Java Joe and told him what he believed he heard and the two decided to break off on their own. They ran afoul of the fur thieves again and were rescued by the Rawhide Kid who cleared up matters and had a change of heart and decided to let Java Joe stay with them. However, it appears that Java Joe left their company not long after anyway. Randy and his classmates later uncovered that an impostor was posing as the son of wealthy rancher Lyle Lambert in an attempt to kill him with Hooded King Cobras smuggled into the US from India in an attempt to steal the Lambert ranch. Thanks to Randy's accidental discovery, the Rawhide Kid was able to save Lambert's life. Randy soon learned a valuable lesson about the wild after rescuing a female mountain lion from some hunters, and later rescuing her cub. Randy insisted on keeping the lion cub as a pet, but eventually realized that he had no right to keep the animal and returned the cub to its mother.[5]
When Shotgun City was taken over by Gunner Gans and his gang, the Rawhide Kid and Randy Clayton revealed that they were using a forged letter to take power and put a stop to them. Not long after this, a man named Barlow stole Randy's horse King, but the Rawhide Kid tracked Barlow down and recovered the horse. The Kid and Randy were also integral in preventing a misunderstanding from leading the people of Shotgun City to accidentally shoot US Marshall Whit Towney when he was mistaken for the outlaw known as the Hornet. When Randy's school is robbed by two young men, the Rawhide Kid confronts them and helps them break free from the control of outlaw Toady Gibbs and reform.[6] The Kid then rescued Randy and his friend Tad from the Fargo gang who were hiding out in a nearby abandoned mine. With Randy, the Kid also helped recover weapons stolen from Fort Slater after they were stolen by a gang of outlaws. Shortly thereafter Randy became a target of Toady Gregg and his gang after discovering gold dumped by a Pony Express, but as usual the Rawhide Kid was there to protect his ward from danger[7]. Soon after outlaw Wildcat Gantry managed to take over at the town sheriff, imposing a no gun law in order to commit robberies unimpeded, but was soon stopped by the Rawhide Kid and Randy. The Rawhide Kid later failed to stop a gang of outlaws who succeeded in stealing over ten thousand dollars. But when the outlaws captured Randy the young boy proved so much trouble they surrendered to the authorities.[8]
Later, the town of Shotgun City was in an outrage when Judge Jim Blake found outlaw Trigger Flaig innocent of his crimes, Jim then left town in shame. Randy looked after Blake's son Simmie while the Rawhide Kid went searching for Jim. He uncovered that Flaig was threatening Blake's son, and convinced the disgraced justice to return to Shotgun City to retry Flaig, and deliver the proper guilty sentence. Rawhide and Randy also helped prevent a war between the local Comanches and the people of Shotgun City that was being instigated by a gang of outlaws looking to profit from the sale of weapons. The Rawhide Kid then began a crusade to clear out Faro Price a crooked gambler in town. However the Kid was framed for Price's murder by his chief rival Slick. Randy, with the help of his Native American friend Takuma broke the Rawhide Kid out of jail and assisted him in clearing his good name.[9]
In one of their more unique adventures, the Rawhide Kid and his pal Randy crossed paths with Mr. Anson, who was targeted by outlaws for his hat which apparently was just a second hand duster. However they soon uncovered that it once belong to Sam Dodd, who went missing. bringing supplies and weapons to the soldiers fighting in the Alamo in 1836. As it turned out instead of a map to these supplies they only found a letter of encouragement written by President Andrew Jackson. It was during this time that Shotgun City elected a new sheriff named Ben Yarby. The Rawhide Kid and Randy often worked with, or turned outlaws over to Yarby for the remainder of his recorded career. The Kid later stumbled upon rustlers trying to use Shadow Gap to travel their stolen beef. The hero was captured and left tied up in the gap to be trampled to death by the moving beef. However the Kid sent his horse Apache for help, bringing Randy and Sheriff Yarby to his rescue and he eventually captured the rustlers.[10]
When it came to younger criminals the Rawhide Kid attempted to rehabilitate them, such as when he took in Jack Bell and helped him break free of the criminal lifestyle forced upon him by his uncle Matt Dawson, during this time Randy became fast friends with Jack and listened intently to his stories as well as learned some new tricks. When a freak lightning strike freed Bat Kimball from jail but left him temporarily blind, Randy gave him shelter and after hearing how he was framed helped him to to the town of Laramee. There with the help of the Rawhide Kid Bat captured the real criminal Mako Tilson.[11] When the Rawhide Kid helped new coming nestors that came to settle on recently opened government land, the Rawhide Kid and Randy prevented Bull Brennan from stopping them from setting up their new homes. The pair also provided shelter for lawman Russ Howland who was being chased by the notorious Briggs brothers and after a long stand-off helped Howland capture them. When rustlers cause a stampede that results in Old Ben Gannon losing his job, the Rawhide Kid and Randy helped him capture the rustlers and get his old job back. Later with the help of Randy and Sheriff Yarby, the Kid also helped famous gunslinger Duke Sperry find new meaning in his life.[12] After the Rawhide Kid and Randy prevented the Sloan gang from robbing a Pony Express, who later tried to convince locals that Randy's horse King had gone rogue, but this plot was also foiled. Not long after the children of Shotgun City, including Randy Clayton, and the nearby Comanche tribe sick. With the help of Dr. Gil Jackson, the Kid uncovered that they were all made sick from tainted water from a nearby river that was a dumping ground for poachers. They shut down the poachers operations and Jackson cured Randy and the other children. Rawhide and Randy also exposed a plot by Cameron to takeover some swampland in order to force area ranchers to pay him water rights.[13]
Later, much like with Jack Bell, the Rawhide Kid helped young Jimmy Alton get a second chance of living a good life, giving Randy another new friend to hear stories from and learn more skills. The Kid later recovered a baby panther cub whose mother was killed by poachers. He then Sheriff Yarby he cannot keep the cub when it grows up as it will be too expensive to feed. Unaware to the Kid at the time, Randy came home at that moment and believed the Kid was speaking of him and ran away from home. Randy soon crossed paths with the poachers who forced him into their service. However that night he tossed a carton of bullets into their campfire drawing the Rawhide Kid who rescued Randy. The pair cleared up the misunderstanding and were happily reunited. In the end the Kid decided to keep the panther cub after all.[14] Soon after a drought struck Shotgun City and was made worse thanks to the Gore Brothers damming up their water supply. When the Rawhide Kid and Sheriff Yarby went to confront the Gore Brothers, Randy sought out his Native American friend Takori. Takori brought the young boy to an ancient Native American well supposedly built to appease the Manidoog deity known as Manitou. Randy unleashed the water revitalizing the drought stricken area. However when he told the Rawhide Kid his story, the Kid dismissed it as fantasy. Not long after this, in a rare reversal, Randy Clayton taught the Rawhide Kid a lesson in not judging people by their appearances by being nice to ugly outlaw Clem Boggs, convincing him to change his criminal ways. Shortly thereafter the Rawhide Kid was framed for cattle rustling by an outlaw named Crack, who bore a striking resemblance to the Rawhide Kid. However with the help of Randy Clayton, the Rawhide Kid managed to capture his look-alike and clear his name.[15] The Kid and Randy also prevented the Fluke gang from sending stampeding herds of stolen cattle through Shotgun City in order to rob the local bank. In his last recorded adventure, the Rawhide Kid and Randy helped young Clyde Madison and his father Blast go straight.[16]