BROTHERS IN ARMS Frank (left) and Jesse James at the start of their murderous careers, c1865
ALAMY X1, KOBAL X1
Hollywood has done an excellent job of painting the Wild West as a lawless landscape, where sheriffs were lucky to last a day and outlaws were the real heroes. But, while there is some truth in that image, the bigger picture is far more complex.
The normal mechanics of law and order were notoriously absent from the Wild West, where authorities struggled to keep pace with a restless and ever-expanding frontier. Boomtowns and border settlements had transient populations, massively dominated by single males – many armed and accustomed to violence from involvement in the multiple conflicts that scarred the era.