To protect their towns, the settlers often had to employ people who were expert in the use of firearms. Several lawmen in the Old West had learned to use their weapons when they were criminals.
Both the outlaws and the lawmen in the Old West had something else in common. They could do something many other people could not. They were willing to risk their lives to enforce the law or to commit a crime. And they were willing to do this with a gun.
FAITH LAPIDUS: A good example was a man named William Matthew Tilghman. He was arrested two times and charged with stealing when he was a young man. However, he later became a deputy United States marshal, a law officer.
On July fourth, eighteen eighty-eight, a man named Ed Prather began shooting his gun in the street in Farmer City, Kansas. People ran away in fear. Tilghman made him stop. Prather left the street angry and went into a drinking place. He began drinking alcohol and making threats.
Later, Tilghman went into the drinking place looking for Prather. Prather put his hand on the gun he was carrying. Tilghman told him to move his hand away from the gun. When he did not obey, Bill Tilghman pulled out his gun and shot Ed Prather two times. He died immediately.
STEVE EMBER: That was only one of the many times Bill Tilghman used his gun as a law officer. He served in many other towns. Often, all he had to do was walk into a room to stop a fight. Outlaws feared and obeyed him. Most criminals stayed away from a town where Bill Tilghman was the marshal.
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