Until the early twentieth century, life in the American West could
be rough and sometimes vicious. Those who brought thieves and
murderers to justice at times had to employ tactics as ruthless as
their prey. In this follow-up to his first collection of
biographies of the West's most recognized man-hunters, noted
western historian Robert K. DeArment recounts the remarkable
careers of eight men - Pat Garrett, John Hughes, Harry Love, Harry
Morse, Frank Norfleet, Bass Reeves, Granville Stuart, and Tom Tobin
- who pursued notorious criminals. Volume 2 of Man-Hunters of the
Old West shows that limited resources and dire conditions often
made extralegal violence necessary for survival. Harry Love, the
famous killer of California bandito Joaquin Murrieta, and Tom
Tobin, who ended the murders of the Espinosa gang in Colorado,
tracked their quarries to remote hideouts, shot them, and cut off
their heads to prove they had been eliminated. Felon trackers, like
the vigilante organizations that preceded them, on occasion
administered summary justice - the on-the-spot hanging of their
captured prey - especially if they believed the established court
system was not working. Some of the man-hunters in DeArment's
accounts were freelance scouts and trackers; others were career
officers of the law. At least one, Frank Norfleet, was a private
citizen turned dedicated nemesis of con artists. Love, Stuart, and
Morse began life as easterners who made their way West. All the
others were midwesterners or far westerners. Some of these
man-hunters wrote about their adventures, and were written about in
turn. Garrett's account of his hunt for Billy the Kid remains a
best seller, for example, and both Reeves and Hughes have been
credited for inspiring the Lone Ranger of TV and movie fame.
DeArment discusses constant threats to the man-hunters' survival,
the federal government's undependable presence, and extralegal
violence as major themes in western law enforcement. In recounting
these eight men's adventures, this volume reveals the forces that
made brutality seem commonplace.
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