HONORABLE MENTION: Tom Smith-Lawman Without A Gun

He was a professional middleweight boxer in the 1840's before he decided to become a policeman in the city of New York, but he later left due to a accidental killing of a 14 yr old boy.  It was rumored before becoming a police officer that he had worked for the Union Pacific railroad in the town of Bear River, which was full of rowdy drunk railroad workers, who were causing chaos in the small city until its residents formed a vigilante group and hung three of the railroad workers and random arrest.  The railroad workers revolted by burning the jail down and the fleeing vigilantes went into hiding inside a log cabin and took sniper shots at the vengeful railroad workers where one of their bullets struck one of Tom's friends.  Feeling enraged, Tom pulled out a gun and charged at the log cabin while under fire, but he maintained his position,  After the attack, Tom Smith walked to a nearby friend's house and collapsed right in front of him nearly dying from his bullet wounds, but he fully recuperated and this was where he earned the nickname of Tom"Bear River" Smith.

In 1870, Tom headed to Abilene, Kansas, which was in need of a town marshall, but his quiet demeanor did not impress the city council and they selected a ex-calvary man instead, who quickly coward out upon seeing the bullets holes on a "No Guns Allowed" poster.  The city council immediately turned to Smith, who after receiving his badge, mounted on his tall grey horse named "Silverheels" and rode to the Texas section of Abilene and encountered a large Texan named "Big Hank".  Smith advised Big Hank about the gun ordinance, but Big Hank refused to give up his guns so after a second attempt, Tom delivered a devastating punch and send him to the ground taking Hank's gun from his holster.   Big Hank got back on his feet and was never seen again.

Tom's next opponent was a cowboy named "Wyoming Frank", who heard of Smith and was determined to get rid of the lawman once and for all, so he confronted him in a gunfight.  Tom would try to get closer to Wyoming Frank, but he would back up to make enough room to draw his weapon. After a refusal from a second attempt to collect Wyoming Frank's firearm, Tom threw two thundering blows just as Wyoming Frank backed out the saloon through the double doors, where he quickly confiscated his pistol before he hit the ground.  Wyoming Frank was never seen again.

Tom Smith was paid $150 a month plus $2.00 per conviction and in 48 hours of his employment as the town marshall everyone in the town of Abilene had turned in their weapons.  During the next two months, Smith had survived two assassination attempts and left a trail of bruises and broken ribs where there were claims of a man, who almost bit off his tongue when a blow to the jaw was delivered by the lawman and another incident where a violator made a flip in the air while on his horse when Smith landed one of his devastating right crosses to his forehead.

Then on November 2, 1870, Smith went to arrest a murderer named Andrew McConnell ten miles outside Abilene , but when the wanted criminal heard that he had a arrest warrant, he shot Smith in the chest.  The lawman quickly returned fire and they both grappled to the ground.  When Smith was on top of McConnell, a friend of his named Moses Miles struck Smith from behind with his handgun and then attacked him with a ax nearly decapitating him.  Thomas "Bear River" Smith was buried at the Abilene cemetery where his body remains today.  Both McConnell and Miles were later captured and sentenced to serve long terms in prison.  Afterwards, the town of Abilene returned to the land of lawlessness until a new town marshall took over the realms named James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickock, but that's another saga.

Thomas "Bear River" Smith