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West of the Dead Line #1
Bringing in Pike Cudgo
After the cold-blooded murder of two lawmen, Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, along with his colleagues, Deputy Heck Thomas and Posseman Jud Coldstone, pursue a ruthless Seminole “freedman” into the harsh country of the Wichita Mountains.
Aided by a band of Cheyenne hunters, Reeves and his allies seek to bring the outlaw Pike Cudgo to justice.
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The Dead Line, as it came to be called, was a railroad, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, cutting across the middle of Indian Territory. It ran straight south from Caldwell, Kansas to Fort Reno, I.T., then on down through the Cheyenne and Comanche and Kiowa lands, crossing the Red River into Bowie, Texas.
It was a line on the map, a demarcation. West of it there was no law, only outlaws. On trails out there, notes would be put up on trees and posts, sort of reverse wanted posters, letting lawmen know they’d be killed if they continued their pursuits west of the Dead Line.
During the 225 year of the U.S. Marshals Service, over 200 deputies have been killed in the line of duty. Of those, more than 120 lost their lives in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories between 1850 and Oklahoma statehood in 1907.
In the storied history of the American West, no place comes remotely close to matching the dangers and mortality these federal officers faced doing their jobs. Their courage, resolve, and dedication to duty were beyond reproach... for the most part. Those who survived became titans in the legends of the West.
These stories are fiction, but the encounters these lawmen faced, and The Dead Line, are not.
Aided by a band of Cheyenne hunters, Reeves and his allies seek to bring the outlaw Pike Cudgo to justice.
--------------------------------------------
The Dead Line, as it came to be called, was a railroad, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, cutting across the middle of Indian Territory. It ran straight south from Caldwell, Kansas to Fort Reno, I.T., then on down through the Cheyenne and Comanche and Kiowa lands, crossing the Red River into Bowie, Texas.
It was a line on the map, a demarcation. West of it there was no law, only outlaws. On trails out there, notes would be put up on trees and posts, sort of reverse wanted posters, letting lawmen know they’d be killed if they continued their pursuits west of the Dead Line.
During the 225 year of the U.S. Marshals Service, over 200 deputies have been killed in the line of duty. Of those, more than 120 lost their lives in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories between 1850 and Oklahoma statehood in 1907.
In the storied history of the American West, no place comes remotely close to matching the dangers and mortality these federal officers faced doing their jobs. Their courage, resolve, and dedication to duty were beyond reproach... for the most part. Those who survived became titans in the legends of the West.
These stories are fiction, but the encounters these lawmen faced, and The Dead Line, are not.
24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2014
4 people want to read
About the author
Phil Truman
17 books175 followersI'm a Heartland American who still believes in God, country, and apple pie (ummm). I've been married to the same woman for 40 years and plan to remain so as long as she and God permit it. I'm a father of two, grandfather of two, a Protestant, a veteran. Some would call me a curmudgeon (and have); I prefer conservative. I left the business world in 2007 to become a full time writer. I have three published novels - RED LAND OUTLAW, LEGENDS OF TSALAGEE, GAME, all of which have been #1 Best Sellers on Amazon. The 4th & 5th novels are in the pipe. I am a regular contributor to the Western Fictioneers blog http://westernfictioneers.blogspot.com/ . I never read books about teenage vampires, probably because I'm a former high school teacher; and have not, nor will I ever, read a Harry Potter book. The thought of flying, magical children frightens me.
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