New York: The Macaulay Company, (1930) dj. Hardcover first edition - An account of the outlaws "who preyed on traffic along the Natchez Trace from Natchez to New Orleans from about 1880 until 1885, among other violent and lawless acts, planned to build an empire using the labor of stolen slaves." According to Eudora Welty's biographer, this book inspired her 'The Wide Net' and 'The Robber Bridegroom.' "Even today, Coates brings the history of the Natchez Trace land prates to life. While 'Outlaw Years' may not be the most accurate history of the Trace, Coates reveals the mood and atmosphere of the 1800s. Many versions of the blood-thirsty Harpe brothers existed and Coates simply chose descriptions which made sense to him. In his defense, Coates rescued many old histories and travelogues from complete obscurity by retelling the stories of the Natchez Trace land pirates." (lemuriablog) This copy is one of the very uncommon true first editions published by Macaulay (not the Literary Guild book club edition) with a dust jacket with rather sensational claims on the back cover. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 15 internal full page plates. Bibliography. 308 pp, map endpapers.