What Was Life Like For a Sheriff in the Wild West
There were some bad apples too.
The Wild West is often exaggerated and romanticized in pop culture. It was a time plagued with criminals and outlaws. The sheriffs of the time were the brave souls who strived to maintain law and order on the frontier. They led dangerous lives, living on the edge, chasing outlaws, and battling crime.
The Sheriff was a political position
As a sheriff, you had to know your way around a gun. However, skills with firearms were far from the only thing you needed to earn the badge. Sheriffs were elected officials back then and were voted into power by county residents. So a sheriff had to be not only a lawman but a politician as well.
In the summer of 1869, James Butler Hickok, aka “Wild Bill” was elected sheriff of Hays City, Kansas. He wanted to get the spiraling crime rate in the town under his control.
However, perhaps Hickok’s approach was a little too aggressive for the people’s liking. He killed at least two people in shootouts. His reputation as a sheriff was now being “more feared than loved” and he was voted out of office for the violence in favor of his deputy Peter “Rattlesnake Pete” Lannihan.
