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A refuge for outlaws at the close of the 1800s, the Arizona Territory was a wild, lawless land of greedy feuds, brutal killings and figures of enduring legend. These gunfighters included heroes as well as killers, and some were considered both. Bandit Pearl Hart committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the country, and James Addison Reavis pulled off the most extraordinary real estate scheme in the West. With fearless lawmen like C.P. Owens and George Ruffner at hand, swift justice was always nearby. In this collection, Arizona's official state historian and celebrated storyteller Marshall Trimble brings to life the rough-and-tumble characters from the Grand Canyon State's most terrific tales of outlawry and justice.

Swindlers, confidence men and outlaws--the mountain shadows and Ponderosa pines surrounding Prescott conceal their grim histories and crooked ways. The small hamlet turned mining town became Arizona's first capital in 1864, and with wealth and power came every type of vice and crime. One block west of the famed Whiskey Row, the roaring red-light district attracted ladies of easy virtue, who often became victims of crimes of passion and coldblooded murder. Legendary crook Fleming "Jim" Parker escaped from Yavapai County Jail on the back of the sheriff's stolen horse. Cattle rustlers terrorized nearby ranches, while tavern brawls and liquor-fueled shootouts dominated newspaper headlines. More than ten legal hangings brought criminals to justice. Local author Parker Anderson recounts these and more wicked misdeeds from Prescott's wild early days.