RIDE FOR REDEMPTION

About this book

"He may be little-known today, but Ben Daniels was at the center of the action in the Old West - whether on the buffalo ranges of Texas, in the roaring cowtown of Dodge City, or in the mining boomtown of Cripple Creek. Truth be told, Benjamin Franklin 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 K. DeArment and Jack DeMattos present a full-length biography of Daniels, the most controversial of Teddy Roosevelt's "White House Gunfighters," showing that, while not as celebrated as other great shootists, he was as colorful, and his story is as engrossing as any of theirs." "The book faithfully traces Daniels's early years, the time he spent in the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary for stealing government mules, 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 the turbulent Arizona Territory. Daniels was as quick with his mind as with a gun, but he had a rough ride to redemption."--Jacket.