True stories of nineteenth-century crooks, con artists, and quacks—including the man who “sold” the Brooklyn Bridge. Gunslingers and outlaws weren’t the only ones who made the West wild. The nineteenth century was the golden era of riverboat gamblers, crooked railroad contractors, and filthy-rich medical quacks. These crooks made a living deceiving people who took a stranger at face value and left their doors unlocked. Throw in some get-rich-quick schemes and a generous mixture of whiskey and there was never a shortage of suckers. Conman George Parker was able to stay in business for forty years by “selling” public structures such as Madison Square Garden and the Statue of Liberty. He even “sold” the Brooklyn Bridge as often as twice a week. For most, the Salted Gold Mine or the Magic Wallet cons were enough to satisfy their greed. However, the more ambitious grifters tried the Big Store, an illegal underground betting parlor like the one seen in the movie The Sting. With an honest-looking face and a lack of morals, these scammers played a big role in giving the frontier its lawless reputation—and this book tells their stories.

A lively reference covering a century’s worth of shooters, sheriffs, and more in the Lone Star State. The Lone Star State is known for producing both vicious outlaws and valorous lawmen. While Machine Gun Kelly terrorized urban civilians, lawmen such as Ranger John Barclay Armstrong tried to keep things under control. This is the story of Texas’s most famous criminals, intrepid lawmen—and in the case of James Edwin Reed, both—as well as such figures as the legendary Judge Roy Bean. This reference brings to life a time before the West was tamed, and also includes a chronology of well-known crimes and a locale list of notorious events.

The most notorious lawmen of the Old West. In the Old West, lawmen could not always be depended on to keep the peace-in many cases, the lawmen themselves were corrupt. Ranging from disgusting men such as Dirty Dave Rudabaugh to respected US Marshalls such as Wyatt Earp, these fascinating lawmen ruled the Old West. Murders, feuds, and robberies come to life as these men fight to the death for absolute power.

Everyone loves a heel, especially one to whom nothing was sacred and who charmed his or her way into the hearts, minds, and wallets of bumpkins and belles alike. This collection offers twenty-four tales of petty bandits, sleazy bunko artists, and conniving conmen and –women who traveled West to seek their fortunes by preying on the men and women who went before them to settle and explore. These stories of who they were, what they did, and why they are remembered for their deeds include ample and engaging historic illustrations of the shady characters at work and at play.

This lively and entertaining book tells the stories of con artists, gamblers, swindlers, and other nefarious characters who stampeded west in the quest to make money off the men and women who stampeded west in search of land and gold.

Western movies are full of images of swaggering outlaws brought to justice by valiant lawmen shooting them down in daring gunfights before riding off into the sunset. In reality it would not have happened that way. Real lawmen did not simply walk away from a gunfight--they had to face the legal system and justify shooting a civilian in the line of duty. Providing a more realistic view of criminal justice in the Old West, this history focuses on how criminals came into conflict with the law and how the law responded. The process is described in detail, from the common crimes of the day--such as train robbery and cattle theft--to the methods of apprehending criminals to their adjudication and punishment by incarceration, flogging or hanging.

In the Old West, upright lawmen were scarce. Often, the men who were bound to keep the peace were just as corrupt as the men they pursued. These dishonest deputies chose their professions based on convenience rather than conviction, and the most revered were often the wiliest. These men held grudges, ruled with violence, and instilled fear in all who crossed their paths. Offered here is an untainted perspective of these outlaws that discerns fact from myth. Legends such as Wyatt Earp and renegade lawman Dirty Dave Rudabaugh are presented as real men with quirks and weaknesses. The authors deconstruct not only the Dalton's last stand in Coffeyville, Kansas, and the gunfight at the OK Corral-among other famous heists-but also the triumphs and flaws of their organizers. The Old West's former outlaws turned good, former lawmen gone bad, and honorable citizens who moonlighted as robbers and rustlers are presented in these pages. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Laurence J. Yadon is an attorney, mediator, and arbitrator who presents on various legal subjects, Oklahoma history, and crime history. He has assisted the Department of Justice in litigation matters before his local United States district court and has successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court. He is the co-author of Pelican's 100 Oklahoma Outlaws, Gangsters, and Lawmen: 1839-1939; 200 Texas Outlaws and Lawmen: 1835-1935; Ten Deadly Texans; Old West Swindlers; and Arizona Gunfighters. Yadon resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Robert Barr Smith is a History Channel commentator and the author of more than thirty articles and five books on the American Old West. He has edited several titles, including Pelican's 100 Oklahoma Outlaws, Gangsters, and Lawmen: 1839-1939; 200 Texas Outlaws and Lawmen: 1835-1935; Ten Deadly Texans; and Arizona Gunfighters, and he co-authored Old West Swindlers, also published by Pelican. A retired colonel, Smith served more than twenty years in the Judge Advocate General's Corps and earned the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit while serving in the United States Army. He is a former deputy attorney general of California and a retired professor of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma. Dirty Dave Rudabaugh � Hoodoo Brown and Company � Henry Newtown Brown � John Larn � Bob and Grat Dalton � Wyatt Earp � King Fisher � Ben Thompson � Henry Plummer � Joseph Alfred Slade � Doc Middleton � Frank M. Canton