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 Getting Away With Murder On The Texas Frontier - Notorious Killings and Celebrated TrialsBill's latest work is a sure 'nufff page-turner, one of those books that's just hard to put down. Step back in time, and let Bill take you back to the early days of frontier Texas. It is said that 'truth is stranger than fiction', and this work certainly bears that out.
This is rough-and-tumble Texas at its best (and worst). Mr. Neal has scoured the long-forgotten records of county courthouses and memories of old-timers to bring us to a period when men could kill others in cold blood - and get away with it ! A combination of evolving laws, a Southern-style "code of honor", and sometimes bizarre courtroom antics provide the reader with a thorough treatise on "Getting Away With Murder On The Texas Frontier". Ready to buy it ? You can order securely here. "This Is Texas"In 1916, in the tiny West Texas town of Benjamin, a gunman slips into a courtroom and murders the defendant. In 1912, in Fort Worth's finest hotel, a young man kills an old gentleman in cold blood in the middle of the lobby. The verdict in both of these murderer's trials ? Not Guilty. The explanation ? "This is Texas". Historical Novels Review, Feb. 2007Human life was cheap on the old frontier, unless one shot a horse . That's only one of the conclusions to be drawn from this collection of Old West tales that are by no means tall. Where popular culture tells us that western myth-makers were often apt to "print the legend", this work reminds us that the real story was often better than any legend. Neal's book combines a scholarly attention to detail with the earthy feel of old saddle leather...
From "Bank Robbery Murder Scene", page 53
"All this shooting and commotion commenced before the outlaws ever got around to the business of looting. They didn't do much of a job of that, either. They eventually sacked up $416 from one teller's cash drawer. An adjacent cash drawer held about $1000, but they didn't find it. They tried, briefly but unsuccessfully, to open the unlocked door to the vault where the big bucks were stashed. However, by this time, a clamor was growing outside in the street and all hell was breaking loose. The robbers realized they could not afford to tarry any longer." |
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