Frontier Justice highlights eighteen crimes and subsequent punishments of the most interesting, controversial, and unusual executions from an era when hangings and shootings were a legal means of capital punishment. Chapters include: the bungled hanging of Tom Ketchum who was beheaded by the noose; the unique trigger for the trapdoor used to hang Tom Horn; "Big Nose" George Parrott who was skinned, pickled, and made into a pair of shoes; the double...

Stagecoach robbers evolved as a consequence of the discovery of gold or silver, or some other mineral treasure, and a town would "spring forth from the earth" overnight. Roads were soon built and stage lines began operating. A "pitching Betsy" would take out bullion and dust and bring in payrolls, always through country that was rough and isolated. The temptation to get rich quickly was too great for some, and the demand, "Hold! Throw out that treasure...