Mississippi Outlaws and the Detectives

It is a story book. The Mississippi River has for many years more especially since the close of the war been infested by a class of men who never would try to get an honest living, but would prey upon their neighbors or attack the property of southern railroads and express companies; these marauders could be seen any day prowling along the banks of the Mississippi, in fact, the shores and immediate neighborhood were peopled by just such a class, who cared not how they obtained a living; for the crimes they committed, they often suffered infinitely worse punishment, more so than any suffering which could hare been entailed on them from leading a poor but honest life.