He may be little known today, but Ben 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 protégé and
high-ranking officer of the law. Tracing his life from jailhouse to
White House, from Dodge City to San Juan Hill, Robert DeArment and Jack
DeMattos present a full-length biography of Daniels, the most
controversial of Teddy Roosevelt's "White House Gunfighters."
The book faithfully traces Daniels's early years, the time he spent in
the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary, 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 turbulent Arizona Territory.
Daniels was as quick with his mind as with a gun, but he had a rough
ride to redemption.
This original biography belongs on the shelf of every gunfighter buff
and anyone interested in the broader story of the Old West. It rescues
Daniels from the footnotes of history and shows us the amazing life of
one of the West's most intriguing gunmen.
