Tough Towns True Tales from the Gritty Streets of the Old West

by Smith, Col. Robert Barr,

• ISBN13: 9780762740048
• ISBN10: 0762740043
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-11-01
• Publisher: TwoDot

Summary

The lawless days Old West lasted only a short time, but the stories of its outlaws and the havoc they wreaked are legendary. Tough Towns reveals the small American towns that fought back when criminal gangs invaded their quiet streets, making heroes of ordinary citizens and local lawmen who wouldn't be pushed around by armed hoodlums.

Author Biography

Robert Barr Smith is a law professor at the University of Oklahoma and a retired colonel, U.S. Army. He is the author of four books and nearly 100 articles of western and military history. A senior parachutist, he served in Vietnam, Germany, and all across the United States. He is a frequent lecturer on the West.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vi
Preface	ix
Map	x
Tuesday Afternoon in Meeker: The Wrong Town	1	(9)
Murder!: The Rifleman of Delta	10	(16)
The Hard Men of Campo: The Formidable Gaskill Boys	26	(11)
The Sixth Rider: Terminal Arrogance at Coffeyville	37	(14)
Bad Day at Southwest City: The Passing of Bill Doolin	51	(10)
At All Costs: The End of George Birdwell	61	(13)
Those Men Will Bear Watching: The James-Younger Gang's Disaster at Northfield	74	(15)
Die Game, Boys!: A Death in Sonora	89	(13)
Fiasco In Nogales: The Scaredy-Cat Bandits	102	(14)
End of the Road for the Bearcat: Henry Starr, King of the Bank Robbers	116	(13)
Treachery at Round Rock: The Demise of Sam Bass	129	(14)
The Last of the Dalton Boys: The Fall of Pompous Bill Dalton	143	(16)
Scary Christmas: When Santa Claus Went Bad	159	(16)
Fiesta in Parral: When Dirty Dave Rudabaugh Lost His Head	175	(13)
The Johnston County Home Guard: The Battle of Mill Creek	188	(12)
Home-Town Heroine: The Courage of Clara Aggas	200	(9)
A Quiet Tuesday in Wisconsin: The Tough Citizens of Menomonie	209	(10)
The Robbers of the Iron Horse: Killers and Oafs	219	(11)
Bibliography	230	(9)
Index	239	(4)
About the Author	243