Law West of Fort Smith: A History of Frontier Justice in Indian Territory 1834-1896
by Glenn Shirley
Category: Law

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.