CowPokin' Fun -- HANGING THE SHERIFF

from the book
A Note From The Publishers

Few books have had the impact among readers of Montana history as R. E. Mather and F. E. Boswell's Hanging the Sheriff, originally published in 1987. Rather than see this seminal book go out of print, we have brought into existence this second edition. We hope to break new ground with an introduction by Merle Wells, Ph.D., a pillar of Idaho history, and an afterword by R. E. Mather in which she calls Sheriff Henry Plummer's innocence "more than theoretical." The stories of a secret gang of outlaws led by a charismatic, murdering sheriff are myths, nothing more than "fabulous tales... created in an attempt to exonerate the vigilantes, as well as increase newspaper sales."

We know that some people prefer that history stay the same. Victorian interpretations should not be challenged, what's known is known, let sleeping dogs lie. The West should remain the hackneyed black-hats-versus-white-hats struggle Hollywood prefers.

This book ruffles the feathers of some very well-placed historians. Which is unfortunate.

But, west of the Mississippi we believe that ruffled feathers make good trout flies, and historical inquiry -- the search for truth -- is much more important. New interpretations demand encouragement. The story of Henry Plummer and the Montana vigilantes demands authors who are not put off by complexity but revel in it. There was a lot going on beyond a phony professor's morality tale.

There still is.

-- Jeffry J. Smith [and] Mark H. Weber
Historic Montana Publishing

"A welcome and overdue reexamination of the Montana vigilantes and a timely warning against the ready acceptance of the vigilante mentality."

--Frank R. Grant in The Western Historical Quarterly

* * * * *

"A thoughtful look at the enigma of Henry Plummer."

--Salt Lake Tribune

available from your favorite internet or local bookseller

Hanging The Sheriff
ISBN: 0-9663355-0-3

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