problems with lawlessness in cowtowns

• the new towns were created by railroads were knows as 'hell on wheels' - lawless, rowdy - cowboys went their when they finished herding the cows to the town and put them on the trains - they spent money celebrating
• Abilene was a cow town in Kansas - population went from 500 to 7000 once the railroad reached it - lawlessness came along with the people - gunfights, murders, saloons, brothels - saloons attracted gambling, swindlers and outlaws
• A jail was constructed in 1870, the cowboys tore it down

  signs saying guns weren't allowed to be carried in towns were shot full of holes
• Thomas Smith was hired in 1870 - marshal - he used his boxing skills to knock out cowboys who disobeyed the laws, he was forceful - Nov 1870 he was killed (shot) whilst arresting a suspected murderer
• Abilene returned to its lawlessness in April 1871 when Wild Bill Hickok was appointed marshal - he did little to enforce the law on the cowboys - spent his time gambling in saloons - sacked and the town leaders decided the only way to stop lawlessness was to stop cowboys and their herds coming into the town
• Army deserters from the civil war added trouble to the towns as did the arrival of ex-soldiers - gangs of outlaws were often made up from former soldiers who were traumatised and unable to find work in peacetime
• former confederate soldiers (losers) were also resentful towards the government and less likely to follow laws
• the Reno Gang were a group of Civil War deserters, con-men and thieves who terrorised communities in the West - in 1866 the Reno Gang robbed a train and managed to crack open a safe with $16000 in it
• The Pinkerton National Detective Agency caught John Reno but it didn't stop the gang - their forth train robbery amounted $96000 - on their fifth attempt one member was caught and gave up the rest of the gang for a reduced sentence
• The Reno Gang was caught and arrested by the Pinkertons - a vigilance committee arrived, took the men and lynched them (hung)
• law enforcement was too weak to deal with outlaws and this increased their population
• why did it happen


  weak government
• what were the problems when trying to install law and order in the towns


  poor quality law men

  not enough law men for huge sized plains
• how was lawlessness tackled


  communities solved the problems themselves

  eg Abilene - stopped cowboys and cattle coming in

  railroad companies employed Pinkerton Detective Agency
• however, most places in the west were not lawless - even in the will west cow towns murders were rare - because life was hard and many people were struggling to make a living, theft was common - but because no one could afford to lose property in this way local communities tried hard to stop, catch and punish thieves