William B Secrest

He may be little known today, but Ben Daniels was a feared gunman who typified the journeyman gunfighter every bit as much as those whose names have become legend. Yet his story has eluded researchers and yarn-spinners alike—until now. Two prominent western historians have teamed up to tell the story of Ben Daniels’s rise from outlaw and convict to presidential protege and high-ranking officer of the law. Tracing his life from jailhouse to White House, from Dodge City to San Juan Hill, Robert DeArment and Jack DeMattos present a full-length biography of Daniels, the most controversial of Teddy Roosevelt’s “White House Gunfighters.” The book faithfully traces Daniels’s early years, the time he spent in the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary, his rebirth as a Dodge City lawman—including the controversy over his shooting a man in the back—and his part in the Battle of Cimarron. Following military service with the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, Daniels was appointed by President Roosevelt as U. S. marshal for turbulent Arizona Territory. Daniels was as quick with his mind as with a gun, but he had a rough ride to redemption. This original biography belongs on the shelf of every gunfighter buff and anyone interested in the broader story of the Old West. It rescues Daniels from the footnotes of history and shows us the amazing life of one of the West’s most intriguing gunmen.

Like some mysterious Paladin, Harry Love seemed to suddenly appear on the California landscape at a time when he was particularly needed. As captain of the California Rangers, Love pursued Joaquin Murrieta and his bandits, and the outlaw was captured and killed. Then, his job done, he again faded into obscurity. Where did he come from? What was his life before, and after, the Murrieta affair? From Texas to California, this enigmatic and shadowy figure has been a figure of myth. Those who wrote of Murrieta, including John Rollin Ridge, knew little about Love. He has been fair game for those who sought to sensationalize his career, or create it out of whole cloth. For the first time the story of Harry Love is now told. Based upon years of research, digging deep into archives and contemporaneous accounts, tracking down obscure legends and lore, California historian Bill Secrest recounts with vitality and long-needed honesty the tale of Love, Murrieta, and the world in which they lived. As an army courier and express rider in Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico during and after the Mexican War, Love was a popular and well-known figure. His 1850 exploration of the Rio Grande and its possibilities for navigation were important and covered in newspapers throughout the U. S. and Mexico. First visiting California by sea in 1839, Love returned in 1850 during the Gold Rush. A vivid picture of the lawlessness of the land and the animosity between Mexicans and Americans is drawn by the author, highlighting the events in which Murrieta and his associates were involved. A detailed history of the Rangers and the bandits they pursued is given. Murrieta looms large in this tale. Without Murrieta, there would not have been a Harry Love as we know him. It was both the high point and the turning point of his life. Thus this biography includes a complete account of California's most famous outlaw, who met his fate in 1853 at the hands of Love and his Rangers. Following the killing of Murrieta, Love settled near Santa Cruz. As a pioneer sawmill operator and farmer, his life became more prosaic. His marriage floundered, his mill was destroyed, his plans came to naught. But the account of his years in the mountains above Santa Cruz offers a unique glimpse into pioneer life after the Gold Rush.

He may be little known today, but Ben Daniels was a feared gunman who typified the journeyman gunfighter every bit as much as those whose names have become legend. Yet his story has eluded researchers and yarn-spinners alike - until now. Two prominent western historians have teamed up to tell the story of Ben Daniels's rise from outlaw and convict to presidential protégé and high-ranking officer of the law. Tracing his life from jailhouse to White House, from Dodge City to San Juan Hill, Robert DeArment and Jack DeMattos present a full-length biography of Daniels, the most controversial of Teddy Roosevelt's ""White House Gunfighters.""The book faithfully traces Daniels's early years, the time he spent in the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary, his rebirth as a Dodge City lawman - including the controversy over his shooting a man in the back - and his part in the Battle of Cimarron. Following military service with the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, Daniels was appointed by President Roosevelt as U. S. marshal for turbulent Arizona Territory. Daniels was as quick with his mind as with a gun, but he had a rough ride to redemption. This original biography belongs on the shelf of every gunfighter buff and anyone interested in the broader story of the Old West. It rescues Daniels from the footnotes of history and shows us the amazing life of one of the West's most intriguing gunmen.

Prominent California historian William B Secrest, Sr. ("California Desperadoes", "When the Great Spirit Died") tells the fascinating story of the most ferocious animal in the West and how it met it's demise at the hand of man. Grizzlies were slaughtered out of fear, used for meat, and even forced to fight with bulls for the sheer sport of it. "California's Day of the Grizzly" includes the story of the life of greatest bear man of them all - Grizzly Adams! As with all of Secrest's books this one is lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and engravings.

It was another time. Deadly earthquakes, steamboat explosions. Hoods, train wrecks, and other tragedies were a part of everyday life in nineteenth-century California. Yet, the men and women of the day licked their wounds, mourned their dead, picked up the pieces, and plunged ahead to build a great prosperous new state that took its place in the forefront of our great Union. This is their stories, in their own words.

Like some mysterious Paladin, Harry Love seemed to suddenly appear on the California landscape at a time when he was particularly needed. As captain of the California Rangers, Love pursued Joaquin Murrieta and his bandits, and the outlaw was captured and killed. Then, his job done, he again faded into obscurity. Where did he come from? What was his life before, and after, the Murrieta affair? From Texas to California, this enigmatic and shadowy figure has been a figure of myth. Those who wrote of Murrieta, including John Rollin Ridge, knew little about Love. He has been fair game for those who sought to sensationalize his career, or create it out of whole cloth. For the first time the story of Harry Love is now told. Based upon years of research, digging deep into archives and contemporaneous accounts, tracking down obscure legends and lore, California historian Bill Secrest recounts with vitality and long-needed honesty the tale of Love, Murrieta, and the world in which they lived. As an army courier and express rider in Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico during and after the Mexican War, Love was a popular and well-known figure. His 1850 exploration of the Rio Grande and its possibilities for navigation were important and covered in newspapers throughout the U. S. and Mexico. First visiting California by sea in 1839, Love returned in 1850 during the Gold Rush. A vivid picture of the lawlessness of the land and the animosity between Mexicans and Americans is drawn by the author, highlighting the events in which Murrieta and his associates were involved. A detailed history of the Rangers and the bandits they pursued is given. Murrieta looms large in this tale. Without Murrieta, there would not have been a Harry Love as we know him. It was both the high point and the turning point of his life. Thus this biography includes a complete account of California's most famous outlaw, who met his fate in 1853 at the hands of Love and his Rangers. Following the killing of Murrieta, Love settled near Santa Cruz. As a pioneer sawmill operator and farmer, his life became more prosaic. His marriage floundered, his mill was destroyed, his plans came to naught. But the account of his years in the mountains above Santa Cruz offers a unique glimpse into pioneer life after the Gold Rush." The book includes an introduction, notes, epilogue, bibliography and index. Printed on acid-free paper and bound in red linen cloth with foil-stamped spine and printed dust jacket. Issued in an edition of 750 copies."

He came to California with the great Gold Rush, but instead of riches, Isaiah W. Lees discovered his great talent for solving crimes and catching criminals. He captured stage robbers in Missouri, tracked con men to New York and caught the notorious eastern bank robber, Jimmy Hope in the middle of a San Francisco heist. San Francisco in the 1850's, was the gateway to the gold fields, a city filled with adventurers, outlaws, con men and desperadoes of every description. In 1853, Isaiah Lees was appointed the first Chief of Detectives on the new Police Force and during nearly fifty years he acquired an amazing record. An innovator of police methods, Lees easily eclipsed such legendary lawman as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. When he retired as chief in 1900, the "San Francisco Chronicle" stated that 'in point of service, no one has ever equalled the record of Lees'. He was the right man, in the right place, at the right time, and this is his exciting, true story, told here for the first time.

The most persistent enemy of the native Californians was the firmly rooted white philosophy which preached that, one way or another, the Indian was doomed. Beyond the callous references to 'Diggers' and 'Poor Lo', the single most important catchword of the period was 'extermination'. It was used early and often and picked up by the newspapers and repeated in the army reports, letters, government documents, and journals of the time. It was a word that set the stage for slaughter. "When the Great Spirit Died" is a sad and tragic story that will haunt our country forever.

Punctuated by gunshots and posse hoofbeats, these true tales, many told for the first time, illustrate, in both words and rare photographs, perilous trails and dangerous men from a time gone forever. The Sotello brothers, John Keener, Bill Miner, Louis J Dreibelbis, Ramon Ruiz, and all the others were fascinating characters - a desperate breed who added their stories to the legends of the Old West.