Why weren’t the whores in trouble with Little Bill and the Posse for putting out the bounty on the Bar T boys?(other than a rock through the window)
I suspect he didn’t want to put the “Billiards Den” out of business. Although he did mention the possibility of running off the whores when Slim suggested that he run off the ranch hands. I speculate that Little Bill would have done so if the problem had continued.
Because, in the minds of the authority figures in the town, whores aren’t really people. This is why they put out the bounty in the first place, remember: When one of the whores was savagely attacked, the sheriff ordered compensation to her pimp. These women are property in all but name, and since property does not have agency, it’s absurd to punish property.
The Sheriff tries to solve the bounty problem by deterring people from seeking it - this is the stated reason he publicly beats English Bob. (The other reason, of course, is pure sadism). And if deterrence failed, perhaps he would have tried coercing the women into retracting the bounty offer, in order to solve the problem. But the situation simply went out of control too fast.
The men of the town don’t want to lose their whores. Simple as that.
I wonder what would have happened if Ned hadn’t been caught. Ned would Probably just have gotten his share of the money (minus the “Free ones”) and spent his days with Sally Two Trees. Same with Will and the Kid. Whereas Little Bill and a significant fraction of the town would have lived a lot longer. And Mr. Beachamp would never have written his amazing first-hand account of the shootout at Greelys Tavern and Billiards joint.
Well, Little Bill did slap them around a bit after they entertained Will and Ned, trying to find out who the new johns were.
Good responses, thanks guys.