Law West of Fort Smith: A History of Frontier Justice in the Indian Territory, 1834-1896

Lincoln, NE: Bison Books, 1968. Reprint . Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Minor edge and corner wear; lightly scuffed and scratched; spine is lightly creased; some light shelf wear; overall a very crisp and clean used copy! Black and tan illustrated wrapper with black lettering. 349 very clean unmarked and uncreased historical and informative pages nicely enhanced by black and white photographs and illustrations! "Centering on the career of "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker, this book is "a startling reminder of what really went on in the Old West." - "The New Yorker." For twenty-one years, from 1875 to 1896, Isaac C. Parker, Judge of the U.S. Court of the Western District of Arkansas, was the law west of Fort Smith, holding exclusive jurisdiction over 74,000 square miles and 60,000 people in Arkansas and Indian Territory. In this colorful yet carefully researched account of the "Hanging Judge," Glenn Shirley also traces the careers of such famous criminals as the Daltons, Belle Starr, the Buck gang, and Cole Younger; records the processes of the court; and tells how the district's 200 deputy marshals worked against overwhelming odds to bring justice and order. The appendix includes a chronology of the 79 hangings ordered by Parker; a list of commutations and pardons, reversals and acquittals, and bonds fortified; and two of the Judge's famous charges to the jury, in themselves notable documents of legal history....