Before Dallas Stoudenmire accepted the position as marshal of El Paso, there existed no authority except that of the six-shooter, and very little precedent for a peace officer to follow. No one before had held the job for more than a couple of months. Yet, within two years, with the help of Jim Gillett, his young deputy, Stoudenmire had cleaned up the town, a task that earned him many enemies and, in the end, death. This is the story of Dallas Stoudenmire-auburn-haired, fiery-eyed, six-foot, two-inch gunfighter, container of laughter, liquor, and death-during the two tumultuous years in the early 1880’s when he served as almost the only law north of the Rio Grande and west of Fort Worth.

A state-by-state review of the history of outlaws and outlaw activity in the Old West.

The story of Dallas Stoudenmire.

True stories of sheriffs, marshals, rangers, and others in frontier law enforcement who fought to bring order to the lawless West—includes photos. Faced with ruthless criminals, trigger-happy gunslingers and assorted desperados, the lawmen of the Old West tried, and sometimes died, in their efforts to bring some semblance of order to their towns and communities. This book introduces more than thirty of them, from familiar names like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson to lesser-known figures from Dallas Stoudenmire, John Selman, and Bass Reeves. Some at the time believed that former criminals would make the most effective lawmen. Consequently, notorious gunfighters might be employed as town marshals to bring law and order to some of the most lawless of towns. These lawmen had to deal with the likes of the Dalton Gang, the James Brothers, and the Rufus Buck Gang, who thought nothing of raping and murdering innocent people just for the hell of it. These outlaws would frequently hide in Indian Territory, where there was no law to extradite them. The only law outside of Indian Territory was that of Judge Isaac Parker, who administered the rules with an iron fist; the gallows at Fort Smith laid testament to his work. The requirements needed to be a peace officer in the Wild West were often determined only by the individual’s skill with a gun and their courage. At times judgment was needed with only seconds to spare, and that also meant there was the odd occasion where justice and law never quite meant the same thing. The expression ‘justice without law’ was never truer than in the formative years of the West—and this book tells that story.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the Lone Star State can certainly boast of immense ranches, vast oil fields, enormous cowboy hats, and larger-than-life heroes. Among the greatest of the latter are the iconic Texas Rangers, a service that has existed, in one form or another, since 1823. Established in Waco in 1968, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum continues to honor these legendary symbols of Texas and the American West. While upholding a proud heritage of duty and sacrifice, even men who wear the cinco peso badge can have their own champions. Thirty-one individuals—whose lives span more than two centuries—have been enshrined in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. In The Ranger Ideal Volume 2: Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame, 1874-1930, Darren L. Ivey presents capsule biographies of the twelve inductees who served Texas in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Ivey begins with John B. Jones, who directed his Rangers through their development from state troops to professional lawmen; then covers Leander H. McNelly, John B. Armstrong, James B. Gillett, Jesse Lee Hall, George W. Baylor, Bryan Marsh, and Ira Aten—the men who were responsible for some of the Rangers’ most legendary feats. Ivey concludes with James A. Brooks, William J. McDonald, John R. Hughes, and John H. Rogers, the “Four Great Captains” who guided the Texas Rangers into the twentieth century.

Spanning a thirty-year period, from the late 1800s until the 1920s, Hell Paso is the true story of the desperate men and notorious women that made El Paso, Texas the Old West’s most dangerous town. Supported by official court documents, government records, oral histories and period newspaper accounts, this book offers a bird’s eye view of the one-time “murder metropolis” of the Southwest.

Standoffs, saloons, and sunsets spring to mind when one envisions the rough and tumble early days of the American frontier.

A gunslinger goes up against his own kin in this western from USA Today bestselling author Ralph Compton. Nathan Stone is a living legend in the West as a lawman, an outlaw, a gambler, and a wanderer through the wildest towns and terrain. He has blazed a vengeance trail, giving no quarter and asking for none. Fearlessly, he plays his cards and uses his Colt .45s as best he can in games of chance, skill, and savagery, for stakes of life or death. Now he’s riding on a course that will test his rawhide nerves and lightning draw against the likes of Doc Holliday, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, the fleeing James brothers, and the incredible John Wesley Hardin as he heads toward a fateful rendezvous with the one gunfighter as fast and deadly as he: a teenage kid who kills like a man—Nathan’s own son... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

Sifting factual information from among the lies, legends, and tall tales, the lives and battles of gunfighters on both sides of the law are presented in a who's who of the violent West

GIANT ACTION! GIANT ADVENTURE! THE GUNSMITH GIANT - TROUBLE IN TOMBSTONE Special Giant Edition Ex-gunfighter Dallas Stoudenmire is now heir to a Texas border town that draws the dregs of the West like flies. In El Paso, being honest is a sure way to get yourself killed. And Dallas is smart enough to know that he needs help. But riding shotgun for his friend is just the beginning for Clint Adams...The Gunsmith leaves El Paso behind and teams up with the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday in a showdown against the Wild West's most notorious killers—in a trouble spot called the O.K. Corral... Now, the classic all-action Gunsmith series explodes into even bigger action—in Clint Adams Giant Gunsmith adventure!