Law West of Fort Smith: A History of Frontier Justice in Indian Territory 1834-1896

By Glenn Shirley

Book Overview

Centering on the career of "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker, this book is "a startling reminder of what really went on in the Old West."-The New YorkerFor twenty-one years, from 1875 to 1896, Isaac C. Parker, Judge of the U.S. Court of the Western District of Arkansas, was the law west of Fort Smith, holding exclusive jurisdiction over 74,000 square miles and 60,000 people in Arkansas and Indian Territory. In this colorful yet carefully researched account of the "Hanging Judge," Glenn Shirley also traces the careers of such famous criminals as the Daltons, Belle Starr, the Buck gang, and Cole Younger; records the processes of the court; and tells how the district's 200 deputy marshals worked against overwhelming odds to bring justice and order. The appendix includes a chronology of the 79 hangings ordered by Parker; a list of commutations and pardons, reversals and acquittals, and bonds fortefied; and two of the Judge's famous charges to the jury, in themselves notable documents of legal history. Glenn Shirley, who has written widely on western law and outlaws, is also the author of Pawnee Bill: A Biography of Major Gordon W. Lillie and the editor of Buckskin Joe: The Memoirs of Edward Jonathan Hoyt."This is far the best and most readable book on Judge Parker and his hanging court."- Stanley Vestal, Daily Oklahoman"A startling reminder of what really went on in the Old West before the dime novel and Hollywood turned it into a kind of primrose path." -New Yorker"This book is top-quality and exciting history engagingly told."-New York Times Book Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803251831
• ISBN13: 9780803251830
• Release Date: January 1968
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 349 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Parker....The Right Man at The Right Time and Place

I bought this book at he Ft Smith Court House museum because my Great Grandfather rode for Parker. I was expecting information about the bad deeds of many of the desperados but I was pleasantly surprised to find additionally a comprehensive treatment of the legal aspects of Parker's tenure. As Glenn Shirley effectively documents, the Judge Parker known and respected by the citizens of Arkansas and the Indian Nations is a far cry from the one created by the Eastern press and the monied interests (including Congressmen) of the East. This book will provide the reader with a very balanced approach to what Parker saw as the rights of the victim and community with the rights of the accused. And as Shirley clearly points out Parker may have gone too far sometimes but early on extreme measures were needed.The body of the book covers many of the best known cases to be covered in Parker's court but also provides appendices on each and every person that Parker sentenced to hang (including those that were commuted, pardoned, reversed and acquitted). Byron Dobbs, a second generation lawyer that practiced law in Ft Smith for 40 years, provided a lawyer's appraisal of the Parker Court a number of years ago for the "Ft Smith Historical Journal". He wrote:Parker was given the near impossible task of providing justice between the white men and the Indian. The disgrace arose out of the failure of the U.S. and Congress to appropriately prevent intrusion upon the Indian land and in permitting such carnage as to result in the great number of murder trails and then Parker was condemned in the halls of Congress for imposing the only penalty authorized by Congress. Parker's accomplishments stand as a monument to law and order achieved under the most trying circumstances.Shirley's book simply and effectively documents these accomplishments.

Great reading on the history of Ft. Smith and Judge Parker

This is a very easy book to read. Not at all like a history book...but it is! It thoroughly tells the tales of the infamous characters that came through Judge Parker's (the hanging judge) court. It tells of the founding of Ft. Smith and the frustrations Judge Parker had to endure to tame the Indian territory around Ft. Smith utilitizing his marshalls and deputies from the likes of Belle Starr and the Daltons. I recommend it to all interested in the history of the west.