The violence of the Wild Wild West is brought home forcefully to the author when the
stagecoach driver is brutally murdered.
It is not the brutality of the murder, but its seeming casualness that drives home the point that the West is still lawless territory. The
stagecoach driver is accused - if that is the proper word - of speaking ill of some outlaws. The outlaws take offence at being so slandered, and kill the stagecoach driver almost as if they were killing a stray dog. There is no one to help the stagecoach driver in his hour of need; worse, no one shows even an iota of sympathy towards him. In fact, the stagecoach driver is even blamed (by being too outspoken) for causing his own demise!
A Westward journey is
described; this is what holds the narrative together. The spirit of the West, as the author describes it, consists of three components - the fabled land of California, the "gold rush" ( a desire to get rich as quickly as posible, by any means possible), and the noble outlaws (noble because they had taken the law into their own hands).
The second part of the narrative deals with the outlaw Slade - who is spoken of in reverential terms by all and sundry. Though the author does not reveal his views, it is obvious that he is less than enamoured (and even a little fearful) of the bandit. The author describes the outlaw Slade as a man whose hands are steeped in blood; a man who needs no excuse or pretext to kill.
Nothing describes the situation prevailing in the West better than the fact that this outlaw Slade had been the division agent for the Overland Stagecoach Company. It takes a thief to catch a thief, they say, and Slade's job consisted in stopping anyone from stealing the property of the Company and preventing delays caused by the overall lack of security. To his credit, Slade aceived what was expected of him, but at the cost of killing several of the law-breakers who stood in his way.
However, the author seems less than convinced by these arguments; obviously, he thinks that they are self-serving.
Slade was respected, admired and feared in those outlaw lands. He even meted out his own justice to those who offended him (or the Company he worked for) in any way...
The irony of the situation is best described by the author when he has a personal (and somewhat unexpected) meeting with the outlaw Slade. Slade is described - in almost glowing terms - as a quiet, friendly and gentlemanly person. The obvious contrast between Slade's terrible reputation and his gentle manners cannot be overstated. Slade was politeness personified, and not a harsh word escaped from his lips. But the author felt that he was in constant danger as long as he was in the the outlaw's presence.
Reformed or not, it seems that the Vigilance Committee also felt the same way about him; for a few years later word came through that they had hanged him. Apparently, times were changing and the outlaw Slade had outlived his utility!