WILD West historians are trying to piece together the story of a Blackburn man who left East Lancashire in the 1870s -- and ended up fighting in the Indian Wars alongside General Custer.

At the age of 18, Jacob Howarth found life as a book-keeper in Bridge Street "a little too humdrum" and set sail for a new life in America.

Unable to find full-time employment he enlisted in the army and for the next five years served in the infantry in Texas on border patrol subduing Native American tribes such as the Sioux and Comanche.

The amazing tale of Jacob Howarth -- who later returned to Blackburn to become a pillar of the community -- is being researched by Barry Johnson, a member of the English Westerners' Society, which specialises in the history of the American frontier.

Mr Johnson, from Birmingham, is hoping that surviving relatives of Jacob Haworth may still be living in East Lancashire and may have information or even documents which will help reveal more about his remarkable life.

He said: "It is a fascinating story. What is even more remarkable is that after five years in the army, Jacob Haworth, simply came back to Blackburn and carried on with his life as though nothing had happened."

Life on the frontier was hard. As part of the 11th Infantry, Howarth was posted to Fort Griffin, 200 miles in any direction from a railroad or village.

In a letter Mr Haworth remembered: "Horse thieving was rife and I have gone down to the river to bathe in the ealy mornging and seen a man hanging by the neck and riddled with bullets and a placard on his back 'Horse Thief No.8'."

Sergeant Haworth, as he soon became, served under Colonel Mackenzie, one of the best known 'Indian fighters' .

"For a fit and clearly educated young man, America offered a great deal of opportunities, yet Howarth didn't re-enlist or stay on as a settler," said Mr Johnson. "Instead he told an interviewer towards the end of his life, 'I came home as fast as ever I could'. After his adventures, perhaps it was simply a case of homesickness. We just don't know."

Back in Blackburn he lived in Chapel Street when he married Ann Woods of Bicknell Street. He was landlord of the Clarence Hotel and then worked as chief clerk to the local tax collector and for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company.

Through American records, Mr Johnson has discovered that Howarth applied to Washington for a pension in 1911, claiming that sleeping out on the prairie had left him with a disability. This was refused but later he was awarded a war pension and also an Indian War medal.

Even after his death in 1938 his widow received £30 a month until she died aged 92.

The couple had five children including a daughter, Mrs Susie Dyball.

Anyone with information about Mr Howarth can contact Barry Johnson on 0121 777 9235 or at 37 Larchmere Drive, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 8JB.