Mr. Garrity and the Graves - S5-E32
Deliberate mistake: Garrity blackmails the town citizens into paying him not to resurrect their unlamented "loved ones." Amazingly, every man in the saloon just happens to have hundreds of dollars ($500 - $1200 each) in his pocket to pay up with. In 1890 money, that's roughly equivalent to a group of modern-day bar patrons all carrying ten to thirty thousand dollars around in their pockets. The scenario was apparently used in spite of its incredibility just to more quickly advance the plot.
Answer: It's explained in the episode. The aliens are experimenting to see how humans react to various scenarios. This just happens to involve them using super strength.
Thanks. It's been a long time since I saw the episode so I forgot.