Immoral Mathematics

The Swede says that out where they are, the Nebraska Territory, there wasn't any law yet. Which was true for the most part, in the Territories, especially the Indian Nations, that were not yet states and outside of towns with an appointed sheriff the only law enforcement with any authority was the United States Marshalls Service. Although as of 1865 the amount of land that were still territories was vast and Deputy US Marshalls were not plentiful, they were few and far between and encountering a Deputy Marshall in the Territories was unlikely, unless they were out on a manhunt. As such people often took the law into their own hands when dealing with criminals like horse thieves, murderers and rapists; vigilante justice was quite common and accepted in the Territories.