I had read recently that Wyatt Earp did not become famous until many years after the events in Tombstone Arizona . once the biography of him was written amd it got me thinking .
Who enjoyed legendary status in the wild west? From what research I've done , Jesse James and Wild Bill hickok seemed to enjoy a kind of celebrity in their day. But what about people we now consider synonymous with the Old West? Was Billy the kid a house hold name in New York city? Was john Wesley harding famous in France? Was the cowardice of Robert Ford known the world over? Of was it just local news , not particularly interesting to outsiders?
I believe John Wesley Hardin wrote his memoirs during his lifetime and that Pat Garrett wrote his book about Billy not long after killing him. That points to both of them having achieved national notoriety, most likely through the many daily newspapers back then.