Outgunned

by Waters, Robert A.

• ISBN13: 9781581823868
• ISBN10: 158182386X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: Cumberland House

Summary

In the movies the outlaws ride into town, terrorize the local citizenry, and finally meet their match when the heroic sheriff arrives to thwart them. In real life, however, it was different. Some of the most notorious outlaws in American history -- from the days of the Old West through the Prohibition era -- were actually killed or captured by everyday townspeople. Outgunned! True Stories of Citizens Who Stood Up to Outlaws -- And Won describes more than a dozen such instances in which citizens' grit, courage, and determination brought criminals to justice. Among the thrilling tales: Jesse James, whose James-Younger Gang was decimated by armed townsfolk while attempting to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Tom Horn, assassin for Wyoming cattle barons, who was shot by citizens during an ill-fated jailbreak. George Birdwell, onetime chief lieutenant to Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, who was gunned down with his partners by the enraged residents of the all-black town of Boley, Oklahoma. The Dalton Gang, whose bold plan to simultaneously rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, ended with four of the gang members dead at the hands of armed citizens. Anthony Chebatoris, who, after murdering an innocent bystander during an attempted bank robbery in Midland, Michigan, was shot by a dentist who kept a deer rifle in his office. Many books romanticize outlaws or lawmen, but Outgunned! is the first to present the true stories of ordinary citizens who banded together to protect themselves and their neighbors from criminals. All of the stories are documented in contemporary accounts or by noted historians, although in some cases new information has also been found and incorporated into the stories. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Robert A. Waters is the author of The Best Defense: True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves with a Firearm. He lives in Ocala, Florida John T. Waters, Jr. has worked in law enforcement and for the Internal Revenue Service and is currently employed as a counselor in Ocala, Florida

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(4)
Preface	13	(154)
1 The Hog Gun	23	(16)
2 Black Jack's Last Dance	39	(18)
3 The Execution of Anthony Chebatoris	57	(12)
4 "The Most Enterprising All-Black Town in America"	69	(14)
5 Santa Claus, Bank Robber	83	(16)
6 Kraft State Bank Robbery	99	(12)
7 Henry Starr's Last Ride	111	(8)
8 Yankee Dollars	119	(32)
9 The Great Coffeyville Raid	151	(16)
10 High Mountain Robbery	167	(10)
11 The Planned Bank Robbery Watch	177	(14)
12 Train Man	191	(12)
13 Final Solution	203	(18)
Afterword	221	(8)
Bibliography	229	(4)
Index	233