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Driving north through the narrow end of Lion Gulch, the red rock walls suddenly open to reveal a sweeping view of the “Slaughterhouse of the West.” This is Paradox, Colorado, a settlement named for the strange, paradoxical course of the Dolores River, which cuts across the valley rather than flowing along it. Unfortunately, the valleys past is not as paradoxical. Its a history marked by violence and lawlessness in the 19th century and into the 20th, like many across the west.

As I rolled down the highway, I was pointed towards "the door through which the world rushed into Montana," according to Lora...