The Old West really was pretty violent Tom Smith

Some new work suggests that the revisionist view that the Old West really was not that homicidal is actually false.  To clarify the double negative -- if you lived back in cowboy, wagon train, rootin' tootin' times, your chances of gettin' gunned down were pretty good, much better (or worse) than today.

But what we make of this (let's not forget) depends on whether the yellow bellied snakes had it comin'!  Maybe the folks who gunned down these cattle rustlers, bushwhackers, claim jumpers and stage robbers were doing a public service.  Just because the judge and jury was a Colt .45 doesn't mean it weren't justice.  Shane!  Shane! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Comments

[enemyofthepeople]

A great book on the subject (sorry for long URL):

http://www.amazon.com/Gunfighters-Highwaymen-Vigilantes-Violence-Frontier/dp/0520060261/ref=sr_1_1/002-3967764-3492051?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188324183&sr=8-1

I'd lend it to you, but for some reason books from my Western library never come back (hint, hint).

[dearieme]

You'll be telling us next that the Vikings weren't Scandiwegian outreach workers.

[tom smith]

Uhm sorry, enemy of the people. I think I have not returned books to several people -- which one are you? Montana vigilantee? Apaches?

[enemyofthepeople]

Not to worry. I'm worse about that than anybody I know. One of the books was Myers' biography of Doc Holliday. The other may have been on Butch Cassidy (can't remember for sure). I'll get them back someday--no rush