![]() Some settlements were quickly known for violence and attracting the seedier elements of society, such as Las Vegas, New Mexico El Paso, Texas the mining camps across the West and the cowtowns of Kansas. ![]() Because of this, it easily lured numerous criminals, some escaping punishment for other crimes, some who wanted to take advantage of its having no laws, and probably a few who wanted to start over. There were no laws, no courts, and little or no government. Living in the American West was not easy at that time. Some hunted for gold some, who had the means, started businesses others became cowboys, and those with sharp gun handling skills became gunfighters. And then, the question of what to do once they got there. With many men without opportunities for jobs, their homes and lands in ruins, family members killed or missing, and few skills, with the exception of gun handling, they headed westward in search of new lives. ![]() The gunfighter era was an outgrowth of the Civil War. The wild and lawless period in the West lasted for about 70 years, with the first shooting incident by a person who could be considered a professional gunman taking place in Texas in 1854.
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