Page 103 - The Lost Ways

Crime in the West

What kinds of crimes did those sheriffs have to deal with though? Another stereotype we
get from movies is that the Old West was a lawless, violent place. The truth is, in general,
it wasn’t.

In fact, a typical Western town in the 1860s had a lot less crime and disorder than it does

today. That’s mostly down to the people who lived there and the lives they led. The new
lands of the West attracted a wide range of personalities, from visionaries that dreamed
of building a paradise to misfits on the run from the law to families, but the untamed land
was a ruthless judge.

To survive more than a few weeks out there, never mind to successfully establish a farm
or business, you had to learn to work together. Neighbors helped each other by trading
supplies or lending muscle to a building project. Merchants gave credit on an honor
system, and those who abused that trust soon found themselves unwelcome in town.

After the Civil War, the ranks of the pioneers swelled with veterans, who brought their
own camaraderie with them.

All this meant a level of trust soon developed in a Western town. People knew their

neighbors; they worked beside them and socialized with them. They knew they could rely
on each other for help. In this atmosphere, petty crime was frowned on, and violence was
surprisingly rare.

When violence threatened, it usually came from outside. There were gangs of outlaws
that were often made up of men who’d failed to fit in with the frontier society and banded
together with others like them. As big ranchers moved in and came into conflict with small
farmers, they sometimes hired gangs of gunslingers to enforce their will.

Later the early railway barons would resort to the same tactics. When the federal
government began its war against the Plains Indians, the previous good relations between
settlers and the tribes broke down, and warriors began attacking farms and even small
towns.

In fact, the threats that faced those old-time lawmen were a lot like the ones you’re likely
to be dealing with in a SHTF scenario, but they’re probably going to fall on you a lot

quicker.

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