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Settlers in the frontier Western world were often easy victim for criminals. Policing attempts were spread at best and often amounted to vigilante retaliation. To create a semblance of order, freelance enforcers of the law known as man-hunters undertook the search for fugitives. These pursuers have often been portrayed as ruthless bounty hunters, no better than the felons they pursued. Robert K. DeArment's in depth account of the opportunities redeems their reputations and unveils the truth behind their interesting legends. As DeArment shows, man-hunters were far more likely to record felons alive than their popular image implies. Although "Wanted: Dead or Alive" compensation notices were placed during this period, these were reserved for the most murderous desperadoes. Man-hunters also originated from a variety of backgrounds in the East and the Western world: of the eight men whose tales DeArment says, one started out as an official for an express company, and another was the head of a business of local lawmen. Others included a railroad detective, a Tx Ranger, a Pinkerton operative, and a shotgun messenger for a stagecoach collection. All were challenging survivors, living through gunshot wounds, snakebites, disease, buffalo stampedes, and every other threat of life in the open West. In addition they crossed paths with famous criminals and sheriffs, from John Wesley Hardin and Sam Bass to Wyatt Earp, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Child. Telling the true tales of famous men who risked their lives to bring european outlaws to justice, Man-Hunters of the Old Western world dispels long-held myths of the cold-blooded vigilantism and brings fresh nuance to the lives and legends that made the Western world wild. The reserve is released by University or college of Oklahoma Press.
