Life of the Marlows: A True Story of Frontier Life of Early Days (Volume 3) (A.C. Greene Series)

The story of the five Marlow brothers and their tribulations in late-nineteenth-century Young County, Texas, was first related in 1892 by William Rathmell in Life of the Marlows. After killing a popular sheriff and escaping, Boone Marlow was murdered by bounty hunters. The other four brothers, arrested as accessories and jailed, made a daring break but were recaptured and later forced to fight off a lynch mob. Angry citizens ambushed the Marlows during a transfer to another town: two brothers were shot and killed, the other two severely wounded, and three mob members died. The surviving brothers eventually were exonerated, but members of the attack mob were prosecuted in cases that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Rathmell's book, biased in favor of the Marlows, has long been out of print. Robert K. DeArment has sifted through the evidence and presents an objective, annotated edition. Now the complete story can be told and readers can judge for themselves: were the Marlows as law-abiding as Rathmell claims? Or was the mob reacting with justified anger? The story of the five Marlow brothers and their tribulations in late nineteenth-century Texas is the stuff of Old West legend (and served to inspire the John Wayne movie, The Sons of Katie Elder ). Violent, full of intrigue, with characters of amazing heroism and deplorable cowardice, their story was first related by William Rathmell in Life of the Marlows , a little book published in 1892, shortly after the events it described in Young County, Texas. It told how Boone, the most reckless of the brothers, shot and killed a popular sheriff and escaped, only to be murdered later by bounty hunters. The other four brothers, arrested as accessories and jailed, made a daring break from confinement but were recaptured. Once back in their cells, they were forced to fight off a mob intent on lynching them. Later, shackled together, the Marlows were placed on wagons by officers late at night, bound for another town, but they were ambushed by angry citizens. In the resulting battle two of the brothers were shot and killed, the other two severely wounded, and three mob members died. The surviving brothers eventually were exonerated, but members of the mob that had attacked them were prosecuted in cases that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The original 1892 edition and expanded reprint of 1931 are both quite scarce. Later writers drew upon Rathmells account when telling the story of the Marlows, but all accounts were slanted sympathetically toward them, given the same bias by Rathmell. Now Robert K. DeArment, a noted historian of outlaws and lawmen of the West, has sifted through the evidence and presents herein an objective, annotated edition of Life of the Marlows , which contains extensive clarifying and corrective footnotes and an index. Now the complete story can be told and readers can judge for were the Marlows as law-abiding as Rathmell claims? Or was the mob reacting with justified anger? "The story of the five Marlow brothers and their tribulations in late nineteenth-century Texas is the stuff of Old West legend (and served to inspire the John Wayne movie, The Sons of Katie Elder). Violent, full of intrigue, with characters of amazing heroism and deplorable cowardice, their story was first related by William Rathmell in Life of the Marlows, a little book published in 1892, shortly after the events it described in Young County, Texas." "It told how Boone, the most reckless of the brothers, shot and killed a popular sheriff and escaped, only to be murdered later by bounty hunters. The other four brothers, arrested as accessories and jailed, made a daring break from confinement but were recaptured. Once back in their cells, they were forced to fight off a mob intent on lynching them. Later, shackled together, the Marlows were placed on wagons by officers late at night, bound for another town, but they were ambushed by angry citizens. In the resulting battle two of the brothers were shot and killed, the other two severely wounded, and three mob members died. The surviving brothers eventually were exonerated, but members of the mob that had attacked them were prosecuted in cases that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court."--BOOK JACKET.

this 1892 Account Of The Five Marlow Brothers And Their Tribulations In Young County, Texas, Is Now Back In Print And Expertly Edited And Annotated By Noted Western Historian Robert K. Dearment. After One Marlow Brother Killed A Popular Sheriff And Was In Turn Murdered By Bounty Hunters, The Other Four Brothers Were Arrested As Accessories And Jailed. Angry Citizens Ambushed The Marlows During A Transfer To Another Town: Two Brothers Were Shot And Killed, The Other Two Severely Wounded, And Three Mob Members Died In A Shootout That Inspired A John Wayne Movie, the Sons Of Katie Elder.

this Is Raw Late 1800s History At Its Finest And Most Tragic, A Story Of Hate, Death, Love, Injustice, Brutality, Vengeance, And Triumph. And It Is All Brought Together And Written By A Master Historian And Storyteller, Robert K. Dearment.—leon Metz, Author Of pat Garrett And john Wesley Hardin

this Book Will Be A Significant Addition To The Literature Of Frontier Violence.—bill O'neal, Author Of encyclopedia Of Western Gunfighters

Rathmell's book, biased in favor of the five Marlow brothers, has long been out of print. Robert K. DeArment has sifted through the evidence and presents an objective, annotated edition. Readers can judge for themselves: were the Marlows as law-abiding as Rathmell claims? Offers an account of the five Marlow brothers and their tribulations in Young County, Texas.