Man-hunters of the Old West


Book Description

Noted western historian Robert K. DeArment recounts the remarkable careers of eight men--Pat Garrett, John Hughes, Harry Love, Harry Morse, Frank Norfleet, Bass Reeves, Granville Stuart, and Tom Tobin--who pursued notorious criminals.




Man-Hunters of the Old West, Volume 2


Book Description

Until the early twentieth century, life in the American West could be rough and sometimes vicious. Those who brought thieves and murderers to justice at times had to employ tactics as ruthless as their prey. In this follow-up to his first collection of biographies of the West’s most recognized man-hunters, noted western historian Robert K. DeArment recounts the remarkable careers of eight men—Pat Garrett, John Hughes, Harry Love, Harry Morse, Frank Norfleet, Bass Reeves, Granville Stuart, and Tom Tobin—who pursued notorious criminals. Volume 2 of Man-Hunters of the Old West shows that limited resources and dire conditions often made extralegal violence necessary for survival. Harry Love, the famous killer of California bandito Joaquin Murrieta, and Tom Tobin, who ended the murders of the Espinosa gang in Colorado, tracked their quarries to remote hideouts, shot them, and cut off their heads to prove they had been eliminated. Felon trackers, like the vigilante organizations that preceded them, on occasion administered summary justice—the on-the-spot hanging of their captured prey—especially if they believed the established court system was not working. Some of the man-hunters in DeArment’s accounts were freelance scouts and trackers; others were career officers of the law. At least one, Frank Norfleet, was a private citizen turned dedicated nemesis of con artists. Love, Stuart, and Morse began life as easterners who made their way West. All the others were midwesterners or far westerners. Some of these man-hunters wrote about their adventures, and were written about in turn. Garrett’s account of his hunt for Billy the Kid remains a best seller, for example, and both Reeves and Hughes have been credited for inspiring the Lone Ranger of TV and movie fame. DeArment discusses constant threats to the man-hunters’ survival, the federal government’s undependable presence, and extralegal violence as major themes in western law enforcement. In recounting these eight men’s adventures, this volume reveals the forces that made brutality seem commonplace.




Man-Hunters of the Old West


Book Description

Settlers in the frontier West were often easy prey for criminals. Policing efforts were scattered 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 detailed account of their careers redeems their reputations and reveals the truth behind their fascinating legends. As DeArment shows, man-hunters were far more likely to capture felons alive than their popular image suggests. Although “Wanted: Dead or Alive” reward notices were posted during this period, they were reserved for the most murderous desperadoes. Man-hunters also came from a variety of backgrounds in the East and the West: of the eight men whose stories DeArment tells, one began as an officer for an express company, and another was the head of an organization of local lawmen. Others included a railroad detective, a Texas Ranger, a Pinkerton operative, and a shotgun messenger for a stagecoach line. All were tough survivors, living through gunshot wounds, snakebites, disease, buffalo stampedes, and every other hazard of life in the Wild West. They also crossed paths with famous criminals and sheriffs, from John Wesley Hardin and Sam Bass to Wyatt Earp, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid. Telling the true stories of famous men who risked their lives to bring western outlaws to justice, Man-Hunters of the Old West dispels long-held myths of their cold-blooded vigilantism and brings fresh nuance to the lives and legends that made the West wild.




Fifty Years on the Old Frontier as Cowboy, Hunter, Guide, Scout, and Ranchman


Book Description

The keen-eyed, cool-headed, and fearless men (Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Buffalo Bill Cody, Big Foot Wallace, and Captain Jim Cook, among others) who were pivotal personalities for more than half a century in the almost ceaseless task of clearing the way for and guarding the lives and properties of explorers, emigrants, and settlers in the West, are an extinct type of pioneer, Accounts of the heroic deeds of this handful of men, however, remain today as indelible records that dramatize the melting away of this country’s vast frontiers.




The Adventures of the Mountain Men


Book Description

The “mountain men” were the hunters and trappers who fiercely strode the Rocky Mountains in the early to mid-1800s. They braved the elements in search of the skins of beavers and other wild animals, to sell or barter for goods. The lifestyle of the mountain men could be harsh, existing as they did among animals, and spending most of their days and nights living and camping out in the great unexplored wilds of the Rockies. Life outdoors presented many threats, not least among them Native Americans, who were hostile to the mountain men encroaching on the area for their own purposes. For a certain kind of pioneer, this risk and more were outweighed by the benefits of living free, without the restrictions and boundaries of “civilized” settlements. In The Adventures of the Mountain Men, editor Stephen Brennan has compiled many of the best stories about the mountain men—the most daring exploits, the death-defying chances taken to hunt big game, the clashes with the arrows of Native Americans, and also the moments when the men were struck by the incomparable beauty of the unsullied, majestic Rocky Mountains.




Man-hunters of the Old West: Henry "Harry" Love. Thomas Tate "Tom" Tobin. Granville Stuart. Henry Nicholson "Harry" Morse. Bass Reeves. Patrick Floyd Jarvis " Pat" Garrett. John Reynolds Hughes. James Franklin "Frank" Norfleet


Book Description

Settlers in the frontier West were often easy prey for criminals. Policing efforts were scattered 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 detailed account of their careers redeems their reputations and reveals the truth behind their fascinating legends.




Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail


Book Description

No American president has been closer to the working life of the West than Theodore Roosevelt. From 1884 to 1886 he built up his ranch on the Little Missouri in Dakota Territory, accepting the inevitable toil and hardships. He met the unique characters of the Bad Lands—mountain men, degenerate buffalo hunters, Indians, and cowboys—and observed their changes as the West became more populated. Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail describes Roosevelt's routine labor and extraordinary adventures, including a stint as a deputy sheriff pursuing three horse thieves through the cold of winter. Whether recounting stories of cowboy fights or describing his hunting of elk, antelope, and bear, the book expresses his lifelong delight in physical hardihood and tests of nerve.




Good Hunting


Book Description

Written in the late nineteenth century and first published in Harper’s Round Table magazine in 1896, this collection of articles details turn-of-the-century America’s rugged wilderness. Good Hunting is an engaging read for those whose interests lie in hunting sports, and nature. Roosevelt, being the first president to begin many of the national park conservation programs in twentieth-century America, was a lover of the outdoors, and his writings are filled with notations and observations of the lands that he explored. From hunting elks, wolves, and bucks, Roosevelt provides stunning insight into some of northwestern America’s most well-known inhabitants. Good Hunting is a fascinating historical portal through which we can view a celebrated sportsman, president, and keen observer of the outdoors. The seven chapters in this book range from classic hunting articles, memorable anecdotes from other outdoorsmen, and even a detailed piece on the specifics of ranching—a topic of much interest at the turn of the century. This is a classic read for anyone wanting to learn more about a man who was so loved by a country, and to escape to the America of yesteryear. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.




Great Gunfighters of the Old West


Book Description

In the West during the late 1800s, guns were tools-as good or as bad as the men who used them. Buffalo hunters used guns to earn their living. Many Westerners hunted wild game to feed themselves and their families. Outlaws used their guns for evil reasons-to rob banks and trains, and to murder people. But lawmen used their guns to stop outlaws. The struggle between lawmen and outlaws was a battle between good and evil. It was a life and death struggle that took place in towns like Tombstone and Dodge City. But the forces of law and order finally won, and the West was tamed. Profiles include the good, the bad and the good gone back. Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Jesse James and John Wesley Hardin are just a few of the names included. Bill O'Neal has served two-terms as the "Official State Historian" of Texas. He has written more than 40 books and has appeared as an expert on numerous television shows and documentaries.




Indian Hunts and Indian Hunters of the Old West


Book Description

A fascinating account of the Old West as told to the author by a 90-year-old Navajo Indian named Juan de Dios. A mixture of big-game hunting and Southwestern Americana.