SHERIFFS IN THE OLD WEST

WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE AN OLD WEST SHERIFF

SHERIFFS IN THE OLD WEST

Howdy folks, and welcome to another blog about life in the old west. Today we’re looking at the Sheriffs in the old west. Sheriffs have been depicted as ruthless gunslingers in movies for centuries. But a wild west lawman was much more than just a gunslinger. So let’s look at how the law functioned in the wild wild west. 

A SHERIFF AND A POLITICIAN: 

In the wild west, learning how to shoot wasn’t enough to become a sheriff. A sheriff was elected by the residents of his town or county. So a sheriff had to be persuasive and loved by the people to get elected.

POSSES

Sometimes a sheriff didn’t have enough deputies and lawmen to assist him when a gang of outlaws attacks the town. So a sheriff would gather a group of men from his town and deputize them if necessary. Rounding up a “posse” which comes from the phrase “posse comitatus” meaning “made up of civilians” was a powerful right that sheriffs possessed. And it is still in US law books today.

STRICT GUN REGULATIONS

Our depiction of the wild west as a lawless place where gun crimes were extremely common is nothing more than fiction. Sheriffs often enforced strict gun restrictions. In tombstone (Arizona today)visitors were required to surrender their weapons when they enter town and them over to the local hotel or sheriff office 

THEY COLLECTED TAXES

One of the duties of a sheriff was collecting taxes from the residents to pay themselves and their deputies.

Not all sheriffs were honest of course, some were former outlaws. For example, sheriff wider was an outlaw, David Updike stole thousands of dollars including gold bars while serving as Sheriff of Ada County, Idaho. 

 

The life of a wild west sheriff wasn’t easy. Not always as exciting as it seems in movies and tv shows. Perhaps it is as hard as the lives of people enforcing the law for today. 

That’s it for today’s fellers, we hope that you liked this blog. Stay tuned for the next one.