The Most Brutal Punishments Of Wild West

PART 2:

Wyoming on November 20th 1903 Horn’s execution was notable for its use of the Julian Gallows an automated hanging machine triggered by The Condemned man’s own weight on a trap door as horn stepped onto the trapo he reportedly quipped hurry up I’ve got an appointment in hell at noon and I don’t want to be late Horn’s last meal was impressive he requested a breakfast of bacon eggs potatoes toast coffee and a Cuban cigar which he smoked on his way to The Gallows the James younger gang one of the most infamous Outlaw groups of the

era saw several of its members meet their end at The Gallows while Jesse James was gunned down rather than hanged his brother Frank narrowly avoided execution multiple times however gang members Jim Cummins and Bill Ryan were both publicly hanged Cummins in 1888 and Ryan in 1896 their executions drawing massive crowds eager to see the demise of such renowned criminals Cole Younger another member of the gang cheated death and spent 25 years in prison before being paroled he later joined a wild west show proving that even for those who escaped

The Noose the spectacle of the old west continued public hangings were not without their critics even in the Rough and Tumble world of the Wild West some saw them as barbaric spectacles that degraded Society rather than deterred crime in 1881 the Rocky News editorialized public executions are relics of a barbarous age and should be abolished they serve no good purpose and are demoralizing in their Tendencies this sentiment was echoed by some of the era’s most famous figures Mark Twain who witnessed a public hanging in Nevada in

1864 wrote in his book roughing it I never wish to see another of them it was awful too awful for description despite such criticisms public executions continued to be a significant part of Frontier Justice well into the early 20th century the last public hanging in the United States took place in Owensboro Kentucky in 1936 well after the traditional Wild West era had drawn to a close this execution of a young African-American man named Rainey beia drew a crowd of 20,000 and was widely seen as a shameful spectacle helping to push the practice

of public executions into obsolescence betha’s last words were simple and poignant God bless you all I hope you get straightened out I’ll see you all on the other side shackles and Sagebrush the Grim Saga of wild west prisons and chain gangs in the Untamed expanse of the American frontier where lawlessness often reigned Supreme the concept of Justice took on a harsh and unforgiving form the prison systems of the Wild West if they could be called systems at all were a far cry from the rehabilitative institutions we know today they were

crucibles of suffering makeshift Hells carved out of the very landscape that had promised freedom and opportunity to so many one of the most notorious examples of Frontier incarceration was the Yuma Territorial Prison which opened its gates to its first inmate William Hall convicted of grand leny on July 1st 1876 perched on a blood overlooking the Colorado River in Arizona this prison was a study and contradiction its imposing stone walls and iron barred cells spoke of permanence and security yet the harsh desert environment

surrounding it seemed to mock any notion of civilization the prison quickly earned the nickname hell ho among both inmates and locals the conditions at Yuma were brutal to say the least prisoners were crammed into cells measuring just 9x 12 ft with up to six men sh sharing this claustrophobic space the desert heat was merciless often soaring above 120° fah in the summer months one former inmate known only as Charlie in prison records wrote in his Memoirs the very air seemed to burn our lungs and the iron bars of our cells

were too hot to touch we were not just prisoners of men but of the Relentless Sun itself in 1881 seven prisoners died from heat exhaustion in a single week leading to the installation of crude ventilation systems yet paradoxically Yuma Territorial Prison was considered one of the more Humane institutions of its time it boasted a library of over 2,000 books and prisoners were allowed to take classes and learn trades this unexpected nod to Rehabilitation was the brainchild of the prison’s first superintendent Thomas Gates who believed

that even in the depths of punishment a man might find the seeds of his own Redemption the prison even had a band The Yuma Prison Orchestra which performed for both inmates and the public on holidays but for every humor there were dozens of makeshift jails and holding pens that defied any notion of Humane treatment in the mining town of Tombstone Arizona the local jail was little more than a hole in the ground covered with iron bars prisoners were lowered into this pit and left to the mercy of the elements and what ever

Vermin chose to join them Wyatt herb who served as Deputy Sheriff of Tombstone in 1880 described it as a place where hope goes to die and Only the Strong or the Mad survive one Infamous inmate Buckskin Frank lesle spent three months in this pit in 1889 for murder upon his release he quipped I’ve been to helenback and hell was more comfortable in the cattle town of Dodge City Kansas the jail was a simple wooden structure that offered little protection from the bitter Winter Winds or the sweltering summer heat it

was here that the infamous Gunslinger clay Allison found himself incarcerated in 1876 Legend has it that Allison in a fit of rage or Madness gwed off his own toe to escape while the veracity of this tale is questionable it speaks to The Desperate Measures prisoners might contemplate to escape their confinement bat masteron who served as Sheriff of for County Kansas from 1877 to 1879 once said of the Dodge City jail I’ve seen dog kennels with more comfort and dignity the concept of the Chain Gang while not unique to the wild west found

particularly brutal expression in this unforgiving landscape in Texas prisoners were often leased out to private contractors for hard labor A system that was barely distinguishable From Slavery the infamous Sugar Land Prison Farm established in the 1870s saw convicts toiling in the sugarcane fields from dawn to dusk their ankles Shackled together with heavy iron chains by 1883 the state was earning over $85,000 annually from convict leasing a significant sum at the time JB wilmouth a reform-minded journalist who visited

Sugarland in 1883 wrote I saw men whose ankles were raw and bleeding from the Chafe of the shackles whose backs were striped and scarred from the Lash this is not Justice this is Vengeance masquerading as law his expose in the Galveston Daily News sparked outrage but led to little immediate change it wasn’t until 1910 that Texas began to phase out the convict Leasing system in the mountains of Colorado chain gangs were put to work in the Silver Mines laboring in dark dangerous conditions for up to 16 hours a day the mortality rate was

staggering records from the Colorado territorial Correctional Facility in Canon City show that in 1871 alone nearly 20% of the prison population died from accidents disease or exhaustion the prison’s most famous inmate Alfred Packer convicted of cannibalism in 1874 reportedly said upon seeing his first meal in the prison the potatoes are almost as good as the ones we ate in the the mountains the use of chain gangs served a dual purpose not only did it provide cheap labor for the rapidly expanding industries of the west but it

also acted as a powerful deterrent to Crime the sight of Shackled men laboring under the watchful eyes of armed guards was a stark reminder of the consequences of running a foul of the law in 1887 a visitor to the Arizona Territorial Prison in Yuma described the Chain Gang as a pitiful sight yet one that might give pause to even the most hardened criminal yet for all its brutality the Chain Gang system was not without its critics even in the hardened West in 1887 Colorado governor Alva Adams declared the leasing of convicts is a

blot Upon Our civilization it is a system born of avarice and cruelty his words however fell largely on deaf ears and the practice continued well into the 20th century it wasn’t until 1923 that Texas became the last state to officially abolish convict leasing though informal practices persisted for years after the harsh realities of Western prisons and chain gangs gave rise to a unique subculture among the incarcerated prison slang from this era reflects the Grim humor of those trying to survive in these conditions a hanging

was referred to as a necktie party while the prison itself was often called The Stone Hotel the guards were screws and to be released was to ride the owl a reference to leaving undercover of Darkness one particularly colorful term was calaboose cocktail referring to the often putrid water provided to prisoners one of the most curious aspects of wild west incarceration was the phenomenon of the trusty system certain prisoners usually those with longer sentences or special skills were given positions of responsibility within the prison these

trustees might serve as Cooks clerks or even armed guards watching over their fellow inmates this system while reducing the need for paid staff also created a complex hierarchy among prisoners and was ripe for abuse in the Nevada State Prison established in 1862 trustees were known to run gambling operations and even a rudimentary maale service for other inmates in the Wyoming territory Al prison which opened in 1872 trustees were even allowed to live outside the prison walls in small cabins one such trustee a forger named Joseph

sang used his position to create a thriving moonshine business selling his elicit spirits to both guards and prisoners alike when his operation was finally discovered in 1890 the warden reportedly said I don’t know whether to have him shot or offer him a job in administration sangs on entrepreneurial Spirit was not unique in 1883 two trustees at the Texas state penitentiary in Huntsville managed to escape after amassing a small fortune running the prison’s General Store the wild West’s most famous Outlaw Butch Cassidy spent

18 months in the Wyoming Territorial Prison from 1894 to 1896 for horse theft his time there was reportedly marked by good behavior and he became a trustee working in the prison laundry upon his release Cassidy allegedly said the thing about a laundry is there’s always a way to clean up your act he would go on to form the Wild Bunch gang shortly after his release suggesting that the prison’s rehabilitative efforts were not entirely successful the Apache ring employed in New Mexico territory during the 1880s

was a diabolical invention that turned the simple Act of walking into an excruciating ordeal prisoners were chained together in a circle forced to shuffle endlessly without rest or respite Billy the Kid who experienced this torment firsthand in 1880 at the Lincoln County Jail reportedly said I’d rather dance with death than do another turn in that infernal ring the punishment could last for days with exhausted inmates supporting each other to avoid the brutal consequences of falling Pat Garrett the sheriff who later shot Billy

the Kid described the Apache ring as a Dance with the Devil where the music never stops the ring wasn’t just a physical torment it was a psychological one as well prisoners were often forced to wear heavy iron collars connected by chains ensuring that if one man fell he would drag others down with him this cruel twist fostered a tense atmosphere of mutual dependence and potential betrayal among the inmates in 1885 at the territorial prison in Santa Fe a group of five prisoners endured the Apache ring for a record-breaking 7 days as

punishment for an escape attempt only three survived the ordeal in Texas the water cure took hydration to horrifying extremes prisoners were forc fed gallons of water until their stomachs distended painfully bringing them to the brink of drowning this technique used well into the early 1900s was particularly favored at the Huntsville prison one anonymous inmates account from 1893 described it as drowning from the inside out a baptism in Hell’s own font the method was not only used as punishment but also as a brutal form of

interrogation with prisoners often confessing to crimes they hadn’t committed just to stop the torture the water cure gained notoriety Beyond Prison Walls when it was employed by Texas Rangers in their Pursuit Of Outlaws in 1889 Ranger James B Gillette used the technique to extract information from a suspected Cattle Rustler near El Paso the incident sparked a public debate about the ethics of law enforcement with one El Paso Times editorial asking at what point does the pursuit of Justice become Injustice itself perhaps the most

visually striking of these punishments was the jail tree of laramy Wyoming from 1868 to 1876 law enforcement in this Frontier Town used a large cottonwood tree as a makeshift jail prisoners were chained to the tree exposed to the elements and public ridicule one of its most famous guests was Big Steve long a notorious Outlaw who spent three days chained to the tree in 1868 before his hanging long defiant to the end reportedly shouted to the Gathering crowd I’ll haunt this tree long after you’re all dust the jail tree became such a

landmark that when it was struck by lightning in 1900 the Wyoming State Journal eulogized it as the only jail that never had a prisoner escape it wasn’t just criminals who found themselves bound to the tree in 1875 a group of drunken Cowboys were chained to the tree overnight to sober up leading one local wag to comment that tree’s seen more stars than an astronomer the trees rle as a jail ended in 1876 with the construction of a proper jail house but its Legend lived on pieces of the tree were sold as souvenirs well into the 20th century

with one chunk allegedly making its way to a museum in London as an example of American frontier justice as the 19th century Drew to a close there were glimmers of Reform on the horizon the establishment of the federal penitentiary at lenworth Kansas in 1895 marked a shift towards more standardized and regulated incarceration lenworth introduced novel Concepts such as vocational training and a merit system for prisoners yet for many in the wild west prison remained a brutal Gauntlet where survival not Rehabilitation was the primary goal the

turn of the century also saw the rise of prison rodeos a uniquely Western form of entertainment that began in the Texas prison system the first recorded Prison Rodeo took place in 1931 at the Texas state penitentiary in Huntsville though informal events likely occurred earlier these rodeos featuring inmate Cowboys were both a form of recreation for prisoners and a public spectacle that Drew thousands of Spectators they represented a strange intersection of punishment and entertainment that would have been Unthinkable in earlier

decades in the words of one Anonymous prisoner scratched into the wall of a cell in the old Prescott Arizona jail here’s to those who’ve seen the elephant and heard the owl may God have mercy on our souls for these stone walls surely won’t it was a fitting Epitaph for an era when Justice was often as wild and unforgiving as the frontier itself as we reflect on this dark chapter of American History we’re reminded of the words of dovi who wrote the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons by this measure

the wild west was indeed a frontier in more ways than one struggling to balance the demands of Justice with the ideals of human dignity in a land where both were often in short supply marked by the West Tales of stockades whips and Searing brands in the Untamed expanse of the American frontier Justice wore a harsh and unforgiving face the wild west a land where law often struggled to keep Pace with the rapid tide of settlement saw the Revival of ancient forms of punishment alongside new brutal Innovations stockades whipping posts and

branding irons became tools of order leaving their mark on both the bodies of The Condemned and the collective memory of a Nation The Stockade a remnant of colonial times found new life in the western territories in Tombstone Arizona the infamous booill graveyard stands as a Silent Witness to the town’s violent past but few visitors realize that just as Stones throw away once stood a stockade where Miss miscreant were held up to public ridicule in 1881 a local newspaper the tombstone epito reported that a man

named John Slaughter was sentenced to 2 hours in The Stockade for public drunkenness the editor Riley noted it is hoped that this novel punishment will have a sobering effect on our more boisterous citizens interestingly this John Slaughter was not to be confused with the famous Lawman John Horton Slaughter who later became sheriff of kochis County The Stockade in Tombstone was not unique similar structures could be found in Frontier towns across the west from Dodge City Kansas to Deadwood South Dakota whipping posts another hold over

from earlier times were a common site in Western towns in Dodge City Kansas known as the wickedest little city in America a whipping post stood prominently in the Town Square Marshall Wyatt herb who served in Dodge City from 18 1876 to 1879 is said to have favored the whipping post for minor offenses according to local law her once remarked there’s nothing like the sting of a good whipping to remind a man of the virtues of good behavior this sentiment was echoed by many lawmen of the era including bat masteron who served alongside her in

Dodge City Masterson was quoted as saying the sound of the Lash is sometimes the only language a criminal understands the ter ter of New Mexico saw particularly frequent use of the whipping post in 1887 in the town of Las Vegas New Mexico a horse thief named Miguel sandal received 39 lashes at the post the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the punishment was administered with Vigor and the culprits cries could be heard across the plaza this public spectacle served not only as punishment but as a deterrent with the newspaper

noting that such displays of Justice will surely give pause to those of criminal inclination the use of the whipping post in New Mexico was not limited to Las Vegas in Santa Fe the territorial Capital Records from 1885 show that a man named Jose Domingo galagos received 20 lashes for stealing a saddle the territorial Governor at the time Lionel Allen Sheldon defended the practice stating in this Wild Country we must use every tool at our dis osal to maintain order perhaps the most visceral and permanent form of punishment in the

old west was branding while primarily associated with marking cattle the practice was also applied to human beings particularly those convicted of horse or cattle theft in Texas the practice was codified into law the penal code of Texas adopted in 1856 stipulated that for a first offense of horse theft the convicted party would be branded with the letter h on their shoulder a second offense would result in branding with HT on the cheek this law remained on the books until 1879 when it was finally repealed during

its enforcement dozens of convicted thieves were branded including a notorious horse thief named John Wesley Harden who received the H brand in 1877 before escaping custody one of the most notorious cases of criminal branding occurred in Wyoming in 1884 a group of prominent ranchers frustrated with persistent cattle rustling formed the Wyoming stock growers association they hired range detectives who captured a man named Andy Ketchum accused of stealing cattle rather than turn him over to the authorities they took matters into their

own hands Ketchum was branded on his forehead with the letters HT for horse thief though he was accused of stealing cattle this cruel irony was not lost on Ketchum who reportedly spat out you fools can’t even get your lousy letters right the incident caused a stir even in the Rough and Tumble Wyoming territory the Cheyenne daily leader condemned the action writing such barbaric practices have no place in a civilized society even on the frontier the practice of branding criminals was not without its critics even in the Rough and Tumble West

in 1887 Judge Roy Bean the self-proclaimed lore west of the posos presided over a case in langry Texas where a young man was convicted of horse theft when some of the towns folk called for Branding Bean reportedly said we ain’t in the business of marking men like cattle a stint in my jail will do just fine this moment of Mercy from the usually harsh Bean highlights the growing discomfort with such permanent forms of pun M as the West began to settle Bean’s reputation for rough Justice makes this instance of leniency

all the more noteworthy as he once famously quipped it’s not the law that matters it’s who’s judging the case in some cases the threat of branding was used as a form of extrajudicial punishment and intimidation during the Johnson County war in Wyoming in 1892 a conflict between large cattle Barons and smaller Ranchers there were reports of small land owners being threatened with branding if they didn’t sell their land and leave the area one Homesteader Nate Champion wrote in his diary before being killed by the Cattleman’s Hired Guns

they said they’d brand me like a steer if I didn’t clear out I told them I’d rather die as a man than live as branded cattle Champions stand against the cattle Barons became a rallying cry for small ranchers throughout the territory his last words scrolled as his cabin burned around him read goodbye boys if I ever see you again I’ll have a story to tell the use of these harsh physical punishments began to WAN as the 19th century Drew to a close and more formal systems of Law and incarceration took hold in the west however their impact on

the popular imagination of the Wild West remained strong in 1902 Owen wister’s seminal Western novel The Virginian featured a vivid description of a near lynching where the threat of branding played a key role showing how these practices had already begun to pass into Legend wister’s novel helped cement the image of the Wild West in the American Consciousness including its harsh forms of justice as the Virginia himself says in the novel when you call me that smile a line that captures both the politeness and the underlying threat of violence

that characterized the era as the the frontier closed and the 20th century dawned stockades whipping posts and branding irons gradually disappeared from the landscape of Western Justice yet their memory lingered a stark reminder of a time when the law was often as wild as the land it sought to tame these brutal forms of punishment born of desperation and a harsh environment left an indelible mark on the history of the American West as permanent as the brands once seared into to the Flesh of those judged Beyond

Redemption as one old cowand reflecting on his youth in the 1870s reportedly said the West was hard on horses harder on men but hardest of all on those who crossed the line the brands and scars told tales that words never could rope and retribution the dark dance of vigilante justice in the Wild West in the sprawling Untamed expanse of the American frontier where the long arm of the law often fell short Justice took on a raw and visceral form the wild west a land of opportunity and lawlessness gave birth to a breed of rough Justice

that would leave an indelible mark on American history vigilantism in the absence of established law enforcement ordinary citizens banded together forming vigilante groups that dispensed Swift and often brutal punishment to those they deemed deserving as the legendary Frontiersman Wyatt her once remarked fast is fine but accuracy is everything in a gunfight you need to take your time in a hurry the Montana Vigilantes formed in 1863 stand as one of the most notorious examples of Frontier Justice in the goldrich territory of banck and Virginia

City a gang of Outlaws known as the Innocence led by Sheriff Henry plumber had been terrorizing the populace the vigilante fed up with the rign of Terror took matters into their own hands on a frigid January night in 1864 they strung up plumber and two of his deputies from a Gallows beam as plumber stood on the scaffold he reportedly pleaded for God’s sake give me a good drop the Vigilantes were unmoved and by the end of their campaign they had hanged 24 men without trial their actions were so impactful that the Vigilante secret password March

7th 7 7 later became the official symbol of the Montana highway patrol a chilling reminder of Frontier Justice’s lasting Legacy the San Francisco vigilance Committee of 1851 and 1856 provides another Stark example of citizen-led Justice in a city Rife with corruption and crime the committee comprising thousands of citizens seized control of the city they conducted trials hung criminals and even exiled some undesirables during their 18 56 campaign they famously lynched two notorious criminals James Casey and Charles Cora

from the windows of their headquarters the spectacle drew a crowd of 15,000 onlookers turning the execution into a public event that rivaled any official hanging the committee’s impact was so profound that it led to the resignation of David Brodrick as state senator and played a significant role in reshaping San Francisco’s political landscape as Committee Member William Tel Coleman stated we are here not to punish criminals so much as to protect ourselves lynchings the most brutal form of vigilante justice were not uncommon

in the wild west these extrajudicial killings often targeted not just criminals but also racial and ethnic minorities in 1885 in Rock Springs Wyoming a mob of white miners massacred 28 Chinese laborers and drove hundreds more out of town the the event known as The Rock Springs Massacre was a grim reminder of the racial tensions that often fueled vigilante actions similarly in 1871 Los Angeles witnessed one of the largest mass lynchings in American history when 18 Chinese men were hanged by a mob of 500 people this event known

as the Chinese Massacre of 1871 stemmed from a conflict between rival Chinese gangs but quickly Escala into widespread violence against the Chinese Community the story of Josiah beagull a suspected horse thief in 1863 Colorado illustrates the Swift and often misguided nature of Frontier Justice beagull was lynched by a mob after being accused of stealing horses as he dangled from the Rope a man rode up on the very horse begol was accused of stealing proving his innocence too late this tragic miscarriage of Justice led to the common

Western saying first hang him then try him a similar case occurred in 1873 in Texas where Three Brothers William George and Philip Higgins were lynched for allegedly stealing horses it was later discovered that they had legally purchased the horses but the Revelation came too late to save their lives even well-known figures weren’t immune to the threat of lynching in 1882 Wyatt her and Doc Holiday narrowly escaped a lynching in Tombstone Ariz owna after the famous gunfight at the OK Corral a mob of cowboys seeking Vengeance for their

fallen comrades gathered outside the jail where her and holiday were being held it was only the timely intervention of the Town Marshall that prevented a lynching her later recounted the only thing that saved us from being lynched was the fact that our friends made it known that they would shoot the first man that made a move in that direction this incident underscores how even those on the side of the law could find themselves at the mercy of mob Justice the Lincoln County war of 1878 in New Mexico territory provides a

complex tapestry of vigilantism and personal vendettas what began as a conflict between two rival business factions escalated into a series of Revenge killings and lynchings the conflict Drew in figures like Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett blurring the lines between laurman outlaw laws and Vigilantes the war culminated in the 5-day battle in Lincoln where Vigilantes besieged a house containing members of the opposing faction eventually setting it on fire and shooting those who tried to escape one of the most notable

incidents was the killing of John tunl whose death sparked the conflict Billy the Kid who worked for tunel swore Vengeance saying I’ll take down every rotten scoundrel who helped kill Jon if it’s the last thing I do one of the most infamous lynchings of the era was that of John Heath in Tombstone Arizona in 1884 Heath was implicated in the Bisby Massacre where five men robbed a general store and killed four people while Heath’s accompli were legally hanged a mob decided Heath’s 25-year prison sentence was too lenient they broke into

the jail dragged Heath to a telegraph poll and lynched him his last words were reportedly boys you are hanging an innocent man and you will find it out before those other men are hung I have one favor to ask he continued that you will not mutilate my body by shooting into it after I am hung the mob honored this last request interestingly the telegraph pole used to hang Heath became a maab tourist attraction with people carving off pieces as souvenirs until the pole had to be replaced the practice of vigilantism wasn’t universally

accepted even in the wild west some some saw it as a necessary evil in Lawless territories While others viewed it as a dangerous precedent Theodore Roosevelt who spent time as a rancher in the Dakota territory expressed mixed feelings about vigilantism he wrote I do not like lynching I do not like any substitution of illegal for legal procedure but the spirit which makes a man a vigilante is fundamentally the spirit of orderly self-restraint and of Devotion to the law this ambivalence was sh shared by many Frontier settlers who saw

vigilantism as a temporary measure until formal law enforcement could be established as the frontier became more settled and formal law enforcement structures were established vigilantism began to WAN however its impact on Western culture and American Justice was profound as one Anonymous Frontier saying went there’s no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pacos in this Lawless expans Vigilantes filled the void For Better or Worse shaping the course of Western history with rope and gun the impact of vigilantism extended Beyond individual

cases influencing the development of formal law enforcement in the West for instance the Texas Rangers formed in 1823 often blurred the line between lawmen and vigilantes in their early years Captain Bill McDonald of the Rangers famously quipped no man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that’s in the right and keeps on a coming a sentiment that encapsulated both the determination and the potential for abuse inherent in Frontier justice as we close this chapter of History let’s reflect on the Savage Ingenuity of wild west Justice from the

sweltering hot box of Yuma Territorial Prison where inmates were left to bake in the Arizona Sun to the notorious water cure of Texas where prisoners were force-fed gallons of water until they nearly drowned the frontier’s punitive imagination knew no bounds as we bid farewell to this Grim Saga let’s Ponder the words of Judge Isaac Parker the infamous hanging judge of Fort Smith Arkansas who sentenced 160 men to death between 1875 and 1896 he once mused I never hanged a man the law did a cold comfort indeed for

those who faced Frontier Justice in the end these brutal punishments serve as a stark reminder of how far we’ve come and how Vigilant we must remain for as Oscar wild wisely noted the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons by that measure the wild west was wild indeed until next time may your Trails be free of Outlaws and your Justice more tempered than a hangman’s noose