Beyond the Law

Train robbers, horse thieves, murderers. These are only a few of the accusations leveled against the Dalton Gang, the fraternal band of Western lawmen turned outlaws in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Daring in their exploits, the gang members turned their backs on laws they found to be criminally flawed and stole horses, bootlegged whiskey into Indian Territory, and committed the first American train robbery.

A rare firsthand account originally published in 1918, this volume details the time when sheriffs were paid for each man they hanged, law enforcement rode under the banner of “Smith & Wesson” rather than “To Serve and Protect,” and outlaws ruled the rails.