Frank Hamer’s ties to an outlaw family. Frank Hamer has gone down in history as one of the greatest lawmen of all time. But before he became a Texas...
Strange Connections
read more
lawmen
The Legend Begins
The unofficial start to Frank Hamer’s career. Legendary Texas Ranger Frank Hamer got his law enforcement career started in something of an unusual...
Switching Sides
Zeke Proctor—outlaw turned lawman. Zeke Proctor was a hard man, living in the Cherokee Nation in the 1870s. He was responsible for several killings....
How Common was the Cross Draw?
The cross draw was popular among cowboys of the Old West so their pistols wouldn’t get in the way of their work around the ranch. It was also easier...
Shot or Sprained?
What kind of injury did Bill Tilghman suffer during a famous raid? There are a lot of Old West stories that may or may not be true. One of...
The Power of the Pardon
A territorial governor let himself go scot-free. Isaac Stevens was a controversial governor of Washington Territory. In the 1850s, he enacted brutal...
Sheriff’s Duties: Other Than Keeping the Peace
As a rule peace officers in the Old West weren’t held to the high standards they are today. It wasn’t unusual to rough up a suspect in order to get...
Braves and Badges
Early American Indian Police played a strong role in the settlement of the West. Before recorded history, American Indians practiced some form of...
The Dead Robber Reward
A legendary lawman took issue with a controversial bounty system. In the 1920s, Texas was beset by bank robberies. So in 1927, the Texas Bankers...
The Myth of Frank Hamer
The legendary lawman’s first killing never happened. The story goes that legendary Texas Ranger Frank Hamer killed his first man when he was just...
Picking the Wrong Horse
Bill Tilghman lost the job of his dreams by backing the wrong candidate Bill Tilghman may have been a great lawman, but as a politician he left much...
Bounties
How was reward money collected in the Old West? Was it paid out by local law enforcement, banks, the court system, or did it come from some other...