Sonora Pass & Early Explorers

Oldest of the trans-Sierra emigrant trails to California is spectacular Sonora Pass crossed by Highway 108, second highest (9,626 ft.) of all the highway crossings of the range. It is lower by 321 ft. than Tioga Pass to the south, the pass that goes through Yosemite National Park.

It just so happens State Route 108 which reaches its highest elevation at Sonora Pass is one of the closest Sierra-Nevada Mountains crossings to where I live. (The other is Tioga Pass.) Many times I have driven this pass to the mountain towns on the west side of the summit. Several times I have driven over Sonora Pass on my way to Bridgeport in Mono County. The road is extremely winding and steep on the east side.

Some of what makes crossing the Sierra-Nevada Mountain range so treacherous is it is a steep range. It rises quickly from the Central Valley, most of which is under 1,000 feet above sea level to heights of almost 10,000 feet above sea level. As steep as it is on the west side, the drop on the east side into the Mono Basin and Owens Valley is even steeper.

About twenty years ago my husband and I drove a 3-cylinder Diahatsu over Sonora Pass to Bridgeport. That night it snowed. Although the roads were clear by the time we decided to return home, on the way back, the car could not build up enough power to drive up the steepest parts of the road east of Sonora Pass. Fearing Tioga Pass was already closed for the winter snow season, we drove north to Carson Pass to get on the west side of the mountain range. Such has been my experience with driving Sonora Pass even in these modern times.

Donner Pass to the north is probably the most famous due to the tragedy that took place there. However, Sonora Pass was also an early pass attempted by explorers seeking the best crossing from the Great Basin of Nevada to the fertile lands of California west of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains.

Plaque at Sonora Pass Summit

Some believe the Bartleson-Bidwell party, with mules, horses and oxen, made the first crossing on October 18, 1841. However, the U.S. Forest Service indicates they crossed north of Sonora Pass in the Carson-Iceberg area. Other sources claim they crossed about eight miles south of the current Highway 108.

The first documented immigrant traverse of Sonora Pass appears to have been in the late summer of 1852 by a wagon train known as the Clark-Skidmore Company which made it to Columbia in Tuolumne County. Once they arrived, Sonora citizens sent a delegation in 1853 to divert emigrants from the more northerly routes leading to Sacramento.  The wagon train of William Duckwall and George Trahern were persuaded to follow this route, struggling over boulders and precipices. They lost cattle and some wagons but reached Relief Camp where Sonorans had provisions for sale at Relief Camp for the many pioneer parties that were soon winding down the mountains. By 1853, several thousand emigrants had followed the route. 

"Grizzly" Adams took the trail over Sonora Pass in April, 1854, and reported “On all sides lay old axle-trees and wheels....melancholy evidence of the last season's disasters."

By 1855, the original Walker River Trail had been abandoned as a wagon route.  A new route eliminated the old emigrant trail.  The new trail followed more closely the present route of Highway 108.

Evening at Blue Lake near Sonora Pass - Ctsy Jeff P., Berkeley, CA, USA

One can only imagine the challenges faced by nineteenth century explorers trying to get across this mountain range, especially if they arrived late in the year and found themselves caught in snow storms. From the Mono Basin to the east, travelers following the West Walker River headed towards the mountain peaks as seen in the following photograph probably had no idea of the difficulties ahead of them due to the steepness and rough rockiness of the way.

My Independence Day 1881 – Zina Abbott’s Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs is available both as an ebook and in print on Amazon. If you have a Kindle Unlimited account and have not yet read all three of my first three books in the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series, this book containing three novellas will count as one book on your KU queue. You may find the book description and purchase link by CLICKING HERE.

Sources:

Plaque dedicated September 10, 1983; Bodie chapter No. 6 for Matuca chapter No. 1849, E clampus vitus
https://tchistory.org/TCHISTORY/Wonders_17.htmWikipedia

The Story of Yellow Bird and Elizabeth Wilson Ridge by Cheryl Pierson

This love story starts many years before the lovers ever met. It begins with something that happened when John Rollin Ridge was an eleven-year-old boy, and witnessed his father’s bloody murder.

John Rollin Ridge, called Cheesquatalawny, or “Yellow Bird,” by his fellow Cherokee tribesmen, was the son of John Ridge, and the grandson of a prominent Cherokee leader, Major John Ridge. Major Ridge was one of the most powerful and wealthy members of the eastern Cherokee tribes in the early 1800s. By the time John Rollin Ridge was born in 1827, the State of Georgia had discovered gold on Cherokee lands and wanted them relocated. Cherokee leaders, at first, were opposed to signing treaties with the U.S. Government, refusing to go.




But the State of Georgia confiscated Cherokee lands in 1832, including the homes and thriving plantation owned by some members of the tribe, including another prominent family, the Waties. Major Ridge and his son John opposed the removal, but because of the inevitability of the outcome of the situation, they and some of the other leaders reversed their stance on negotiating with the federal government. Major Ridge, and John Ridge, along with Stand Watie and his brothers, formed the powerful Ridge-Watie-Boudinot faction of the Cherokee council, standing in favor of the Cherokee Removal. Their signing of the Treaty of New Echota sold Cherokee lands and facilitated the removal of the Cherokee people to Indian Territory—what is now Oklahoma—an act considered treasonous by many.

Another faction of Cherokees following John Ross refused to ratify the treaty signing. This segment was known as The Anti-Removal National Party. The word was out—traitors were to be executed.

Blood Law (also called blood revenge) is the practice in traditional customary Native American law where responsibility for seeing that homicide is punished falls on the clan of the victim. The responsibility for revenge fell to a close family member (usually the closest male relative). In contrast to the Western notion of justice, blood law was based on harmony and balance. It was believed that the soul/ghost of the victim would be forced to wander the earth, not allowed to go to the afterlife, unless harmony was restored. The death of the killer (or member of the killer's clan) restored the balance. (From Wikipedia)

Members of this Ross group targeted Stand Watie and his brother, Elias Boudinot, along with their uncle, Major Ridge for assassination. On the morning of June 2, 1839, John’s father, John Ridge, was dragged from his bed by some of the tribesmen of The Anti-Removal National Party and murdered as his wife and children, including young John, looked on. This event would color John’s life until the end.

Mrs. Ridge took her family to northwestern Arkansas. Young John’s thirst for vengeance was tempered only by a young woman he met and fell in love with, Elizabeth Wilson.


They first met when John was studying Latin and Greek with a local missionary. Elizabeth worked for the missionary. John wrote to his cousin, “There is a prettily shapely girl of about 16 or 17 years, who is very friendly and gives me a quantity of enjoyment in her company, whenever I get tired of dusty pages of legal technicalities.”

Elizabeth was part Native American, and John was half Cherokee. To her, he was the handsomest man she’d ever seen, and she believed him to be a talented writer—one of the most intelligent men in the country. John was not only entranced by Elizabeth’s beauty, but the sweet honesty and goodness of her character, and her brilliance. They married in May, 1847, and though they were happy, their love couldn’t overcome the bloody images that John tried to forget, the tragedy that consumed him.


(Elizabeth Wilson Ridge--John Rollin Ridge's wife)
As an adult, he often dreamt of the morning of his father’s murder, awakening from sleep screaming. Elizabeth was at his side, calming him. She promised to help him fulfill his desire for revenge any way she could.

“There is a deep seated principle of revenge in me which will never be satisfied, until it reaches its object,” he told her.

Eventually, they traveled to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) where they joined forces with other allies of the Ridge faction, all of them eager to track down and punish those responsible for the deaths of the Major Ridge, and members of Stand Watie’s family. In the end, thirty-two of the thirty-six men who had been responsible for the murders were found and killed.

John squared off against one of the four remaining assassins, Judge David Kell. When Kell advanced on John, John shot him, claiming it was done in self-defense. But John had no faith in getting a fair trial (Cherokee court) and he and Elizabeth ran to Missouri, settling in Springfield.

John became a freelance writer, selling articles to various newspapers to supplement his salary in the county clerk’s office. He and Elizabeth now had a baby girl, Alice.


>
(Alice Bird, daughter of Elizabeth and John)
The Ridges lived an idyllic life. But John’s health failed him at the age of thirty-nine. He became afflicted with “softening of the brain,” a disease that took its toll quickly through the spring and summer of 1867.

>
(John Rollin Ridge and his daughter, Alice)
John Rollin Ridge, Yellow Bird, died on October 5, 1867, leaving behind a collection of fine articles, sketches and poetry. In 1868, Elizabeth published an anthology of his poetry.


Elizabeth died in 1905 and was buried beside her husband in Grass Valley.
>>
The Maple tree on the right was planted by Elizabeth (Wilson) Ridge's - Rollin's wife. The tree was brought back from Gettysburg by Alice Bird in 1876. On 10/10/1976, a plaque was mounted on the tree for a dedication.

Inscription on tombstone:
John Rollin Ridge
California Poet, Author of "Mount Shasta"
And Other Poems,
Born March 19, 1827 In Cherokee Nation,
Near What Is Now Rome, Georgia,
Died in Grass Valley, October 5, 1867,
In Grateful Memory

OF HER I LOVE
I READ but a moment her beautiful eyes,
I glanced at the charm of her snowy-white hand
I caught but the glimpse of her cheek's blushing dyes
More sweet than the fruits of a tropical land;

I marked but an instant her coral-hued lips,
And the row of sweet pearls that glimmered between--
Those lips, like the roses the humming bird sips
On his bright wing of rainbows, when summer is green.

I timidly gazed on a bosom more white
Than the breast of the swan, more soft than its down--
To rest on whose pillows were greater delight
Than all else of rapture that heaven may own.

I gazed but a second on these, and on all
That make up the sum of her angel-like form,
And ere I could think I was bound in her thrall,
And peace fled my breast, as the birds flee a storm!
I am bound in love's pain, and may never be free,
Till the bond is dissolved in her own melting kiss:
Till her loveliness, like the embrace of a sea,
Enclasps me, and hides me in the depths of its bliss.

John Rollin Ridge

Isn't this beautiful? What a love they had, and how eloquently he expressed the depth of what he felt for her! Have you ever read a fictional story that came close to this real-life love story? What was it?

You can find my works here:https://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson

Thanks for stopping by and reading today!

SETTLING THE WEST, Part 2 by ARLETTA DAWDY

        In Part 1, May 6, I related the origins of Settlement Houses in America and their movement to the West. On the West Coast, one of the most famous such institutions of all time and continuing into the present was what is now known as Cameron House in San Francisco.

          Established in 1875 by the Women’s Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, it was the only “foreign” US based mission of that organization. The goal was to serve the needs of Chinese female nationals sold into “Yellow Slave Traffic” for prostitution and domestic service. Most slaves were brought here at a very early age, often under 10 years.

Two major Chinese organizations controlled Chinatown: The Chinese  (business) Six Companies and the Tongs, criminal groups. The latter controlled the slave labor through kidnappings, bribery of white city officials, physical abuse and false documentation. The power of the tongs ran rampant, leaving the Six Companies nearly ineffective in their attempts to curb the violence.

The Occidental Mission School for Girls was directed by Margaret Culbertson who led raids on the brothels, homes and streets of the city, and opium dens to rescue the slaves. In 1894 a 25 year old woman was brought by a friend to the home to meet Miss Culbertson. As the story goes, it was to open the young woman’s eyes to the

real world of San Francisco. The director told her a package of dynamite had been left on the mission’s porch that day and questioned if the young woman wished to continue her visit.  She did. Donaldina Cameron was that young woman.

Miss Cameron was the youngest of seven children born in New Zealand; she was two years old when her parents immigrated to California. It seems she led a very protected, religious life until her immersion in the work of the Mission. She began her work at the Mission teaching sewing classes but was soon inaugurated into the rescue work. She accompanied Miss Culbertson and two police officers from the Chinatown Squad. Members of the squad were sometimes prone to accept bribes to warn purveyors of the pending raid, and so the place might be deserted when the Mission and police folks arrived.   

     

Rescued women or children had to agree to convert to Christianity and abide by the rules of the Mission which called for learning English and domestic skills and foregoing all Chinese cultural customs. It was a harsh and rigid policy that endured throughout Donaldina Cameron’s reign as Superintendent of the Mission after Miss Culbertson’s death in 1897 and her retirement in 1934. Donaldina’s attitude toward her charges has been described as  “patronizing” and earned her varied nicknames in the course of her long life (98 years.) She was “the Jesus Woman” to the tongs, ”Lo Mo” (foster mother or old mother) to girls who favored her and “The Angry Angel of Chinatown”  to community admirers.

         

Donaldina Cameron is credited with the rescue of over 3000 girls and women. She established homes for the offspring of those rescued: a school/home for boys, another for girls and one for babies outside of San Francisco.

 1906 Mission Home for Girls before the Fire

The Mission Home was and still is at 920 Sacramento Street in the heart of Chinatown. The 1906 earthquake did not bring the brick home down but purposely set fires to control all that raged across the area did so. The home was rebuilt in 1907 and continues to serve the community with multiple services and with a connection to the Presbyterian Church. In 1942 the home was re-named: Donaldina Cameron House.

                                                                   * * * * * * * *

ARLETTA DAWDY writes from Northern California where her 40 year career in Social Work began in San Francisco’s Mission Neighborhood Centers and Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Association.  She was responsible for the development of services to girls’ gangs, teen parents and bilingual young families. Social Work training and experiences inform her writing of family dynamics and the human condition. Her books are set in SE Arizona.

Donaldina Cameron and the Occidental Mission Home for Girls appear in BY GRACE, the second book in Arletta’s HUACHUCA TRILOGY.

References: 1. Wikipedia, Donaldina Cameron

                    2. www.cameronhouse.org

                    3.Kamiya, Gary, THE WOMAN WHO FOUGHT CHINATOWN SEX SLAVERY FOR DECADES, www.sfchronicle.com, February 2, 2018. Also on cameronhouse.org website.

Photos: Google Images

THE FLY GIRLS -- THE WASP

For this Memorial Day weekend post, I’m sharing the Fly Girls, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and their home in the only all-woman air base ever, Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Theirs is, to me, an amazing story.

As a celebration, I’m giving away a set of the e-books for my Texas Time Travel trilogy to one commenter, which includes TEXAS STORM, in which a WASP is sent forward from 1943 to today.

Back to the WASPs and their story.

After a great deal of political positioning, backstabbing, and juggling which I’m sure you don’t want to hear, the new women’s ferrying group was assigned to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Sweetwater is the home of many very nice people as well as rattlesnakes, tarantulas, black widows, and scorpions with dusty winds, a huge cotton compress, and high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter. I grew up in West Texas, so I take those things for granted.

I wonder what the women arriving from more temperate and picturesque locales thought when they first saw their new home. For instance, since the mid twentieth century, Sweetwater has been home to the world’s largest annual Rattlesnake Roundup. (Yes, I shuddered when I wrote this.) Although the roundup didn’t become official until later, those rattlers were around when the WASP were.

Even though each WASP had a pilot’s license, she was trained to fly "the Army way" by the U.S. Army Air Forces. More than 25,000 women applied for the WASP and 1,830 were accepted into the program. You can see that being accepted into the program was quite an honor.

Start of the WASP Program

The women pilots were required to pay their own way there and the return fare if they washed out; they also had to pay for their room and board. The WASPs were treated as much as possible like male cadets. They marched wherever they went and lived in barracks.

Elizabeth  L. Gardiner at
controls of a B-26 Marauder

The WASP program began on a civilian basis because it was an experiment. While the women fliers functioned in the military, they lived under civilian law. They did not receive government insurance, and hospitalization for sickness or illness was difficult to work out.

WASP Barracks 

The women were assigned six to a room divided by a bathroom and a room with six bunks on the other side. Twelve women sharing one bathroom may sound like a nightmare. Remember, this was at a time in history when most homes had only one bathroom and many still had only an outhouse. The bathrooms did have two toilets and four sinks as well as an open shower space (no privacy). In addition to their bunk, they had a small locker-like closet, a library-table desk, and a chair.

They received approximately 210 hours of flying time, about equally divided between PT-17s, BT-13s and AT-6s. Approximately 285 hours were devoted to ground school instruction. The training period lasted seven months.

Wearing her "zoot" suit coveralls over
her uniform and with her parachute
strapped to her, helmet on head, a
manikin poses for museum visitors.

Graduates of Avenger Field went on to flying assignments throughout the United States. They ferried 12,650 planes of seventy-seven different types, including B-17s. Fifty percent of the fighter planes manufactured were ferried by WASPs. After proving themselves as ferry pilots, they towed targets, flew tracking, smoke-laying, searchlight, strafing, and simulated bombing missions, gave instrument instruction, and tested damaged airplanes, a dangerous task.

Following training, the WASP were stationed at 122 air bases across the U.S. assuming numerous flight-related missions, and relieving male pilots for combat duty. They flew 60,000,000 miles—yes that’s sixty million miles—of operational flights from aircraft factories to ports of embarkation and military training bases. They also towed targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, simulated strafing missions, and transported cargo.

Women in these roles flew almost every type of aircraft flown by the USAAF during World War II. In addition, a few exceptionally qualified women were allowed to test rocket-propelled planes, to pilot jet-propelled planes, and to work with radar-controlled targets. 

Many had been pilots before the war and loved flying (as the heroine in my book). Her first and last names are after two of the thirty-eight women WASP who died in the program. Eleven died during training and twenty-seven on active duty missions. Although these women loved flying and were patriotic, this was not a game.

Frances Green, Margaret "Peg" Kirchner,
Ann Waldner, and Blanche Osborn

Because they were not considered part of the military, a fallen WASP was sent home at family expense. If her family could not afford the expense, other WASP chipped in to send their fallen comrade home. Traditional military honors or notes of heroism, such as allowing the U. S. flag to be displayed on the coffin or a service flag in a window were not allowed.

After completing their months of military flight training, 1,074 of them earned their wings and became the first women to fly American military aircraft. While the WASP were not trained for combat, their course of instruction was essentially the same as male aviation cadets. The WASP thus received no gunnery training and very little formation flying and aerobatics but went through the maneuvers necessary to be able to recover from any position. The percentage of trainees eliminated compared favorably with the elimination rates for male cadets in the Central Flying Training Command.

When the B-29 Flying Fortress was being tested and crashed several times due to an engine fire, it spooked most pilots from flying in the plane. In fact, many refused, something I didn't realize was possible without severe punishment. Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets was assigned to get this plane flying. To show the men the plane was safe and reliable, Tibbets recruited two of the WASP to fly the four engine B-29, Dorothea “DiDi” Moorman and Dora Dougherty. Instead of the regular six months training plus two years toward an Aeronautical Engineer degree, DiDi and Dora had three days to get ready for their demonstration. Of course, the two women had already qualified as WASP and had ferried numerous types of planes.

Tibbets did not inform the women about the engine’s fire problem. On one of the training flights, the engine caught fire and filled the cockpit with smoke. Dora didn’t hesitate for a second and instructed her male flight engineer to feather #3 and pull the fire extinguisher. Handling the emergency by the book, she got the fire out and, with the remaining three engines turning, landed the plane safely.

Tibbets' plan was a resounding success. The WASP convinced their male counterparts that the B-29 was safe and reliable provided it was managed properly. The men stopped complaining. For those of you who don’t know, it was Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets who piloted the Enola Gay (named after his mother) to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

The B-29 known as the Flying Fortress,
The Enola Gay

In 1944, WASP members at Maxwell Air Field founded the Order of Fifinella organization. Earlier, Fifinella had been designed by Disney and gifted to women pilots. The organization's initial goals were to help the former WASP members find employment and maintain contact between themselves. Through the years, the Order of Fifinella issued newsletters, helped influence legislation and organized reunions. The group held its final meeting in 2008 and was disbanded in 2009.

Fifinella

The records of the WASP program were classified and sealed for 35 years, making their contributions to the war effort little known and inaccessible to historians. In 1975. under the leadership of Col. Bruce Arnold along with the surviving WASP members organized as a group again and began what they called the "Battle of Congress". Their goal was to gain public support and have the WASP officially recognized as veterans of World War II.

Statue of Fifinella
at Avenger Field Museum

In 1977 the records were unsealed after an Air Force press release erroneously stated the Air Force was training the first women to fly military aircraft for the U.S. The documents were compiled that showed during their service WASP members were subject to military discipline, assigned top secret missions, and many members were awarded service ribbons after their units were disbanded. 

It was also shown that WASP member Helen Porter had been issued an Honorable Discharge certificate by her commanding officer following her service. This time, the WASP lobbied Congress with the important support of Senator Barry Goldwater, who himself had been a World War II ferry pilot in the 27th Ferrying Squadron. During hearings on the legislation, opposition to the WASP members being given military recognition was voiced by the Veterans Administration, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I don't know why these groups disapproved but can only guess it's because the WASP did not go into battle.

President Barack Obama signing the bill for 
the Congressional Gold Medal paperwork

On July 1, 2009 President Barack Obama and the United States Congress awarded the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. Three of the roughly 300 surviving WASPs were on hand to witness the event. During the ceremony President Obama said, "The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since. Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve." 

Madge Moore, WASP

On May 10, 2010, the 300 surviving WASPs came to the US Capitol to accept the Congressional Gold Medal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders. On New Year's Day in 2014 the Rose Parade featured a float with eight WASP members riding on it.

Ladies, thank you for your service. Thank you to all who served your country!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qpw01

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qcs01

http://waspmuseum.org/ Sarah Byrn Rickman

Fly Girls, by P. O’Connell Pearson, Simon and Schuster

WASP of the Ferry Command, by Sarah Byrn Rickman, UNT Press

Now, about my book in which a WASP, Jeannie Luttrell, is forced to parachute from her plane in a storm in 1943 and lands in 2018: TEXAS STORM, book 3 of the Texas Time Travel trilogy is now available from Amazon. The trilogy starts with TEXAS LIGHTNING, in which Penelope Jane "Penny" Terry comes forward from 1896. In the second book, TEXAS RAINBOW, Eleanore "Ellie" St. Eaves comes forward from 1921. The three books involve men from the Knight family, handsome and wealthy brothers Jake and Bart and their cousin Caleb. Click on each title above to be taken to the purchase link. These books have received great response from readers.

Deadwood South Dakota Like You've Never Seen It Before by Paty Jager

I'm proud to be part of a 17 author anthology that is available in both ebook and print. Wild Deadwood Tales has stories that are set in Deadwood and show the historical and contemporary lives in that town. All the short stories in the anthology had to be connected to Deadwood.

Some authors spun a short story that goes along with a series they write. Others used historical events to concoct their version of history. Others used the ghosts of Deadwood's past to build their story. Which gives readers a variety of genres in which to learn about Deadwood.

My short story in the anthology is Saving Dallie. I have one of my main characters from my Silver Dollar Saloon series in Deadwood along with his Silver Dollar Saloon partner, to check out a brewery in Deadwood. While there, Beau Gentry sits in on a card game at the Gem Theater.

The theater was notorious for the owner telling women he wanted them to come to the theater to sing and they ended up working as prostitutes. When they tried to leave, he would beat them up and threaten to kill them. Al Swearengen wasn't a nice person.

At the time of my short story there were 75 saloons in Deadwood. Many were canvas and wood structures using barrels and wood as the bar. There were 7 wholesale liquor dealers, 5 brewers, and 38 bartenders. making the liquor trade an employer of 3% of the population.

Not only was there liquor at the Gem Theater, there was gambling. Hundreds of professional gamblers arrived in Deadwood hoping to take some of the gold from the prospectors pockets while the prospector was gambling for entertainment.Nearly every saloon had gambling. The games played the most were blackjack, poker, faro, roulette, and policy- a game like keno. In my story, Beau is sitting in on a game where a miner throws his daughter into the pot. Beau knows that the girl will do more than sing if Swearengen gets a hold of her.

Not every bar in Deadwood had prostitutes, but every house of prostitution had a bar. Most of the bars who professed to be theaters, such as the Gem, had women and men who sang and danced. Most of the entertainment was said to be "ribald song and smutty jest."

The Gem was one of the lowest places and one of the longest running even though it was dubbed, "dissolute and degraded." While it started out with accolades and boasted being neat and tasteful, it soon fell into "an infamous den of prostitution under the guise of being a dance hall."  Many leading citizens prospered financially from the establishment. Swearengen's wife continually wore at least one black eye and his "girls" were managed by a man who treated the women worse than Swearengen treated his wife.

Saving Dallie

Beau Gentry, owner of the Silver Dollar Saloon, has vowed to help every woman he comes across that reminds him of his mother’s past.  When a miner tosses his daughter into the pot at a poker game and the winner is a brothel owner, Beau is determined to keep the young woman out of the man’s hands. Even if it means putting himself in danger as they travel from Deadwood to Shady Gulch.

If you'd like to checkout the other stories in the Anthology you can find the information here:

WILD DEADWOOD TALES Anthology

Rodeos and romance, Old West adventure, and even a few ghostly tales. Deadwood's wild past and exciting present come alive in seventeen original short stories written by USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors to benefit the Western Sports Foundation. Contributing authors: E.E. Elisabeth Burke, Zoe Blake, Paty Jager, Teresa Keefer, Megan Kelly, Sylvia McDaniel, Amanda McIntyre, Peggy McKenzie, Angi Morgan, Nancy Naigle, Jacqui Nelson, Terri Osburn, Ginger Ring, Maggie Ryan, Lizbeth Selvig, Tina Susedik and A.C. Wilson

Proceeds from this limited edition collection go to benefit the Western Sports Foundation, an organization providing critical assistance to athletes competing in Western lifestyle sports. Whether they need help recuperating from an injury or planning for the future, WSF is there for them.

website: http://bit.ly/DeadwoodTales

universal by link https://www.books2read.com/WDTales


Paty Jager is the award-winning author of the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.This is what readers have to say about the Silver Dollar Saloon series: “Paty Jager brings her characters to life, right off the pages of her book. You will laugh, cry, be sad, and get angry right along with the characters.”

Source: Deadwood:The Golden Years by Watson Parker