Thomas James Smith, also known as Tom “Bear River” Smith, (June 12, 1830 – November 2, 1870) was a lawman in the American Old West and briefly marshal of cattle town Abilene, Kansas. He was killed and nearly decapitated in the line of duty.
Smith was also commissioned as a deputy US marshal, and was insistent that he could police Abilene using his hands rather than using guns. For a time, he was somewhat successful, although he was forced to use guns in the course of his duty on a few occasions. On one occasion, shortly after taking office, Smith singlehandedly overpowered two men known for their bad temperament, “Big Hank” Hawkins and his partner, known only as “Wyoming Frank”. Smith banished them both from Abilene, after beating them both at the same time using only his bare hands. However, being the marshal of a town like Abilene at that time proved to be a dangerous job to have. He implemented a law of “no guns in town limits”, which was extremely unpopular with many of the cowboys that drifted through town, and over the next two months Smith survived two assassination attempts. Several other incidents and arrests led him to develop a solid reputation, and he became widely respected and admired by the Abilene citizens.
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