Outlaws of the Old West (The Mankind Series of Great Adventures of History)

Throughout history there have been men--and women too, for that matter--who have placed themselves above and outside the laws that govern ordinary men. Call them outlaws or criminals, their actions have been motivated by personal gain, vengeance, rebellion and so forth... reasons very justifiable to them. And those people are still with us, as a glance at the front page of any newspaper will show. The outlaws of the Old West weren't really that colorful, although some were ingeniously enterprising and ruthless. And by today's standards their crimes weren't that terrible. We are undoubtedly more appalled by reports senseless mass slayings today than the average person in Abilene was at the news of a stage holdup. And while citizens walking the streets of Dodge City might have been startled to find themselves in the midst of a spontaneous gunfight, we sometimes find ourselves wondering whether it's even safe to venture out onto the streets at all. This is not intended to underrate the crimes of the Old West, because taken on a relative basis they could be extremely serious to the victims. The Frontier was isolated and desolate. Limited transportation and the precarious trip itself had required men and women who had made the phenomenal journey from the East to leave behind many prized belongings. Consequently, private property was highly valued and would often be defended to the death. Whatever possessions existed, whether for practical or sentimental purpose, were essentially one of a kind items that could not be simply replaced. They were belongings that represented hardship and deprivation, and their loss through robberies and lootings could be a heartbreaking catastrophe. What really gives the outlaws of the Old West a unique quality--apart from the romantic lore that has grown up around them--is the stage on which they performed. And therefore, to fully understand their presence in the West and their quick-draw motivations with the six-shooter, we have to understand something of the times and temperament that was the American West. This intriguing illustrated collection of profiles presents a blending of the known and little known. The romantic lure of the Old West is separated from the desperate reality in accounts of the hellions and hellcats who made the west as wild and wooly as it was. There's Black Bart, the bandit poet; Elfego Baca, who single-handedly held eighty Texas gunslingers at bay for 36 hours before making his incredible escape; Pearl Hart, the last of the stage robbers; the enigmatic John Ringo; Billy the Kid; the smiling killer; then there's Butch Cassidy, Sam Bass, Belle Starr, Ben Thompson, and the most feared outlaw hunter of the West, Wild Bill Hickok. They're all portrayed against the background of hardship, adversity and development of the American West. Table of Contents Matthews, C. Ringo: champion of the outlaws. Brandner, G. John Wesley Hardin: deadliest gun of them all. Moore, A. Ben Thompson: the Texas terror. Cunningham, C. Sam Bass: robber. Brandner, G. Belle Starr: the bandit queen. Morgan, A. Billy the Kid: Western Robin Hood. Streib, D. T. Butch Cassidy and the wild bunch. Ross, S. Elfego Baca: the "bad" man of Socorro. Moore, A. Black Bart: the poet bandit. Wood, E. D., Jr. Pearl Hart and the last stage. Morgan, A. Wild Bill Hickok: outlaw fighter.