A Decent, Orderly Lynching. The Montana Vigilantes.

FREDERICK ALLEN

Publication: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004, Norman

First edition. 8vo. Limited edition of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. This is copy 57. Brown fabricoid, titles stamped in copper and red metallic gilt on the front cover and spine, all edges gold gilt, brown endpapers, xxiv, 421 pp., author's note, introduction, illustrated, portraits, maps, epilogue, appendix, notes on sources, notes, bibliography, acknowledgments, index. "The deadliest campaign of vigilante justice in American history erupted in the gold camps of the Rocky Mountains during the Civil War, when a private army hanged twenty-one troublemakers, including a rogue sheriff. Hailed as great heroes at the time, the Montana vigilantes are still revered as founding fathers who brought order to a lawless land." Author and historian, Frederick Allen, concludes the vigilantes were justified in their early actions, as they fought crime in a remote corner hundreds of miles beyond the reach of government. But the author has uncovered evidence that the vigilantes refused to disband after territorial courts were in place. Remaining active for more than six years, they lynched more than fifty men without the benefit of trials. Many of the targets of the vigilantes were found to be not guilty of any crimes at all. The photographs that illustrate this book are excellent and historically important. As new, unread copy without dust jacket as issued.

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