VIGILANCE IS DEFINED AND SET IN THE CONTEXT OF THE AMERICAN CHARACTER AND EXPERIENCE. SIX SELECTED VIGILANTE EPISODES ARE TRACED IN ACTION-NARRATIVE FORM. EACH EPISODE IS A MODEL ILLUSTRATING A PARTICULAR KIND OF VIGILANTISM AND IS REPRESENTATIVE OF MANY OTHERS. THE AUTHOR DRAWS TOGETHER FACT AND FICTION AS THEY EVOLVED INTO VIGILANTE MYTHOLOGY AND MOVES INTO EVENTS OF THE SEVENTIES. BY SELECTIVELY IGNORING WHAT IS GROTESQUE AND DANGEROUS ABOUT VIGILANCE AND CONCENTRATING, INSTEAD, ON ITS HEROIC FACADE, AMERICANS HAVE FASHIONED A BRITTLE BUT ENDURING RECOURSE AGAINST THEIR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FRUSTRATIONS, THE AUTHOR NOTES. NOTES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND AN INDEX ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED).