Nice quick reading, Legends, Liars, and Lawbreakers is short histories of eight of Washington State’s early criminals and one crime-fighting priest. Most of them turn out to be pretty mundane, such as James William Byrd. He murdered three men over unpaid wages. But the story really covers Esther Bowers, a local violinist who played for convicts at the Walla Walla pen. So Byrd made her two nice boxes. End of the story. Others were more interesting, like that of Chief Leschi who went to war with the Washington Territory over ignored treaty rights. During the war, several people were killed, and after the war was over Leschi was convicted for those deaths and hanged. In any case, all the pieces are about 10 pages long, so nothing is covered in any real depth. But a fun little read none the less. Some of the characters were colorful, and we don’t really seem to have criminals with much flair anymore. For that I enjoyed the read.
Title: Legends, liars, and lawbreakers: incredible tales from the Pacific Northwest
Author: Valerie Green
Series: Amazing Stories
Publisher: Altitude
Format: Paperback
Length: 128 p.
Publication date: March 2004
ISBN-10: 1-55153-771-0
Subject: Criminals — British Columbia — Biography
Subject: Criminals — Washington (State) — Biography
Subject: Impostors and imposture — British Columbia — Biography
Subject: Impostors and imposture — Washington (State) — Biography
Subject: British Columbia — Biography
Subject: Washington (State) — Biography
LAC classification: FC3805.G74 2004
