Billy Bailey lost more than the vote… Billy Bailey wandered into Newton, Kansas (photo) in 1871, probably at the end of a cattle drive. He had a...
A Political Dispute
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old west lawman
The Corroded Badge
A crooked lawman in New Mexico. Eugenio Alarid was a lawman in Las Vegas, New Mexico in the 1890s. But hidden behind the badge was an outlaw; Alarid...
The Sheriff of Cochise County – Part 2
In 1886, the citizens of Cochise County elected John Slaughter sheriff, the office he would hold for two terms. He could have stayed on but felt...
Sheriff Carl Hayden and the Beardless Boy Bandits
Most of the lawmen in the Old West weren't flamboyant, tight-lipped, tight-trousered puppets as portrayed in the movies, nor were they shady...
Death of an Outlaw
Lawman Bass Outlaw got into one fight too many. In 1894, Bass Outlaw was a deputy U.S. marshal—a former Texas Ranger, fired for habitual...
The Seminole Burnings
Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman's Courageous Work was the Greatest of His Legendary Career. The largest and most sensational criminal trial that...
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...
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...
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...
Ketchum and Hamer
Two legendary Old West names came together in 1900. In 1900, sixteen-year-old Frank Hamer—later a Texas Ranger legend--was severely wounded by Dan...
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...
Burt Mossman’s Rangers Part 1
Burt Mossman was Governor Murphy's choice to be the first captain of the Arizona Rangers. The rawhide-tough cowman had made quite a reputation for...