<P> The majority of outlaws in the Old West preyed on banks, trains, and stagecoaches . Some crimes were carried out by Mexicans and Native Americans against white citizens who were targets of opportunity along the U.S.--Mexico border, particularly in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California . For example, Pancho Villa was a bandit from Durango, Mexico who also conducted cross-border raids into New Mexico and Texas . Some individuals, like Jesse James, became outlaws after serving in the Civil War . Some were simply men who took advantage of the wildness and lawlessness of the frontier to enrich themselves at the expense of others . Some outlaws migrated to the frontier to escape prosecution for crimes elsewhere . </P> <P> Law was present, if spread thin, in the American Old West . It was usually present on three levels: the Deputy U.S. Marshal, the county sheriff, and the town marshal or constable . Sometimes their jurisdictions overlapped which could lead to conflicts like those between Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp and Cochise County, Arizona Sheriff Johnny Behan . When an outlaw committed a crime, the local sheriff or marshal would usually form a posse to attempt to capture them . Rewards were posted for outlaws which encouraged citizens to capture or kill them for the reward, leading to the profession of bounty hunter . </P> <Ul> <Li> John Hicks Adams (1820--1878) </Li> <Li> Robert Clay Allison (1840--1887) </Li> <Li> Burt Alvord (1867--1910) </Li> <Li> Charlie Anderson (1844--1868) </Li> <Li> David L. "Billy Wilson" Anderson (1862--1918) </Li> </Ul> <Li> John Hicks Adams (1820--1878) </Li>

Who was the most famous outlaw in american history