Wells, Fargo Detective: A Biography of James B. Hume

Wells, Fargo Detective: A Biography of James B. Hume

In the tradition of his award-winning biographies, Meriwether Lewis and Foolâ€™s Gold, acclaimed historian Richard Dillon recreates the life of one of frontier Americaâ€™s most gifted lawmen, James B. Hume.

Dillon paints a vivid picture of Hume, the greatest of Wells, Fargo and companyâ€™s detectives, who ranged all over the West in search of robbers of the firmâ€™s express shipments.

Formerly a sheriff in Californiaâ€™s Mother Lode gold mining country, Hume did not operate in the usual manner of most western lawmen. Instead of using his gun in apprehending badmen, this courageous lawman preferred to rely on his brains. In collaboration with famed San Francisco policeman Isaiah Lees, Hume pioneered scientific detection in law enforcement in the American Westâ€”a science later known as criminology.

In one of historyâ€™s most fascinating arrests, Hume used a laundry mark to track down Black Bart, the poetry writing stagecoach robber.

â€œDillon . . . has written a colorful biography of an Indiana farm-boy, James Hume, who heeded the â€˜Go Westâ€™ cry of his time. . . . Dillonâ€™s portrait of the man is remarkably human and rounded.â€
â€”Publishers Weekly

â€œIn a fast-paced story, historian Dillon gives life to this remarkable Wells, Fargo detective. While all the excitement of the chase is here, Dillon also gives a sensitive view of the whole man.â€
â€”American West

â€œRichard Dillon always writes with an adroit selection of words and phrases. In Wells, Fargo Detective he adds sardonic humor by reprinting extracts from the amazingly cold and stormy love letters Hume wrote his â€˜intended.â€™â€
â€”Arizona and the West

â€œThis biography by Richard Dillon reads as smoothly as a novel. He used James Hume's own letters and diariesâ€¦. He not only relates the fascinating events of Hume's public life but mines his personality as well and finds a heroic and likable figure.â€
â€”Carmon Friedrich
Country USA
Manufacturer The Write Thought
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2012-06-11
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	The Write Thought
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2012-06-11
Format	Kindle eBook

Wells, Fargo Detective: A Biography of James B. Hume

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