Ten Commandments of the Old West

[Capt Hamp Cox]

Ten Commandments of the Old West


1.Thou shalt not appear too inquisitive about one’s past.

2.Thou shalt be hospitable to strangers.

3.Thou shalt give thine enemy a fighting chance.

4.Thou shalt not shoot an unarmed man.

5.Thou shalt not make a threat without expecting dire consequences.

6.Thou shalt not practice ingratitude.

7.Thou shalt defend thyself whenever self-defense is necessary.

8.Thou shalt not rob.

9.Thou shalt honor and revere all womankind; ay, shalt thou never think of harming one hair of a woman.

10.Thou shalt look out for thine own.

This was just as unwritten as the constitution of England, yet just as binding and just as effective.  It was the unwritten law of the Western frontier, and the pioneers understood it quite plainly and they appreciated it – and what is more, they enforced
it.

From The Badman of the West by George Hendricks
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What say you, Historians?  Think Hendricks' assessment was/is accurate?

Hamp

[DDO]

I think they are all pretty true except for #3. Being pragmatic people, I believe their enemies would be dealt with as expediously as possible. Giving some one a "fighting chance" is an ego trip. They may have given them a warning that they were considered an enemy and it might be best to vacate the territory, but any more than that would be foolhardy.

Dewight

[lostone1413]

I have to agree I think number 3 might have been said but not practiced to much. From what i've read the move with the walk down the face off then the shoot out very seldom ever happened and one of the few times it did was at the OK Corral