Page 102 - The Lost Ways

That meant there were no state governments to take care of law enforcement.

The federal government’s
response was to send U.S.
marshals into the new territories.
The United States Marshals Service
is the country’s oldest law
enforcement agency and was set
up in 1789 as the enforcement arm
of the federal courts. Marshals
were ideal for the job because they
had extensive powers; they could

hire local deputies or recruit a posse. Virgil Earp was a U.S. Marshal, and he hired Wyatt
Earp (picture) and Doc Holliday as assistants.

But while marshals had a lot of power, there weren’t many of them—certainly not enough
to cover the huge and growing expanses of the West.

As towns became established, they started to take responsibility for their own law
enforcement in the shape of local sheriffs. The office of sheriff is an ancient one dating
back to Saxon England, but in the West, it took on a distinctive form. Instead of an official
appointed by the king, these new sheriffs were elected by the townspeople and given
responsibility for law and order.

Because they were elected, sheriffs tended to be trusted. There were exceptions

however—elections could be rigged, or enough voters could be bribed to elect an
unpopular candidate—but in general, the job was given to someone the people thought
could do it.

The position came with a lot of power and even more responsibility. The sheriff could
appoint deputies to help him with his duties, which were many. Sheriffs also often acted
as tax collectors and resolved disputes over grazing rights or access to water. They’re most
famous as lawmen though.

In the early days, before the western territories achieved statehood, sheriffs literally had
the power of life and death. A sheriff could arrest wrongdoers, hold a trial, and carry out
the sentence. Sometimes that meant locking a drunk up in the town jail for a few days;
sometimes it meant a hanging.

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