In 1878 a "war" erupted in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory. Gen. Philip Sheridan, a Civil War hero, observed that "the population of that section is divided into two parties, who have an intense desire to exterminate each other . . . It is said that one of these parties is made up of cattle and horse thieves, and the other party of persons who have retired from that business." In Lincoln County, as in other western areas during this period, the legal system ceased to function because impartial authority could not be maintained; it seemed that nearly everyone had a vested interest in whatever dispute plagued the community. The area was perfect cattle country, and in 1866 John Chisum, a Texas cattleman, found a ready market for his beef: the federal government, having placed the Navajo and Apache on reservations, needed to...