Guest Kathleen Ball

Our guest today is Kathleen Ball. She will first review a wonderful book I've had on my bookshelf for years, titled Texas Tears and Texas Sunshine. The four sections of the book have headings such as those in the title, and they are actually names of frontier quilt patterns.

The other two patterns used are Log Cabin and Lone Star.

Welcome, Kathleen!

Kathleen's review of Texas Tears and Texas Sunshine
Jo Ella Exley complied a collection of incredible writings of frontier Texas through the eyes of Texas Pioneer women. From what she named the Log Cabin: Colonization of 1821--35 to the Texas Sunshine: The Last Frontier, 1865--1905.

It’s a book telling of hardship, illness, deprivation and death. These remarkable women persevered and survived. They are an example of the resilience of the human spirit. Their faith and strength of character got them through the immense difficulties. These women built Texas.

One narrative that really struck me was the story of Rachael Parker Plummer. On May 19, 1836 married with a young son, Indians near Fort Parker captured her, which is present day the town of Groesbeck. They soon separated her from her son and she became a slave of the Comanche’s. She gave birth to her husband’s child and it was murdered in front of her.

A Mexican trader eventually bought her. When asked, she was told that her husband, mother and father were all still alive. When she mentions her reunion of her family, she talks about her parents and the whole town embracing her. There was no mention of her husband.

It made me mad. She survived and he wasn’t there. Not uncommon, but sad.

I found this book riveting. Each woman’s story is different but they all had a common goal to thrive in the Texas frontier.

(Texas Tears and Texas Sunshine can be found on Amazon)

Blurb for CALLIE'S HEART

Callie Daniels' mother has one dying wish. She wants neighboring rancher, Garrett O'Neill, to marry her seventeen-year-old daughter. Callie knows it’s not supposed to be a conventional marriage. Garrett O'Neill would keep Callie's ranch safe and Callie would go away to college.                                                         

Four years later, Callie comes home with stars in her eyes and happily ever after in her heart. She plans to make their marriage real until finds the new housekeeper, Sylvie in Garrett's arms.

Heartbroken, Callie moves out. She sustains injuries from her horse and Garrett forces Callie to move back in to his house.

Callie finally gets her heart's desire. Alone in a line shack, they make sweet love for the first time. Unfortunately, the love light is gone from Garret's eyes the next morning.

Excerpt:

She knew that it wasn't a real marriage. Somehow, her heart became involved. The truth cut painfully. Callie walked over to the full-length mirror and gazed at her reflection. Her skin appeared too white and her blonde hair too dark. A few weeks in the Texas sun would take care of that. Her sadness reflected back to her in her violet eyes. Sometimes people stared at her eyes they were an unusual color.

She shook head in disgust, went to her closet, and found a pair of her old jeans and a faded red t-shirt. She couldn't believe she had worn a dress and left her hair down for her supposed husband. No more pretending to be anything other than a rancher. Dressed in her normal clothes, she pulled on her old scuffed boots and tried to smile.

Looking in the mirror again, Callie braided her hair down her back. Her heart still broke, but she refused to cry. Putting on her black Stetson, she walked out of her room and out of the house. It wasn't her house anymore. It never was. They had decided to close up her homestead and have her move into Garrett's farmhouse. It had all been an illusion, the same as her marriage.

The newly painted barn looked good. Callie's step lightened as she made her way to her horse, Pirate. Pirate had been her horse since forever. He'd been a gift from her father. From the first time she sat on Pirate's shiny black back, the two had become inseparable. Laughing as Pirate nickered at her; she opened the stall and walked in. Immediately she hugged her best friend, wishing she could just cry against his neck.

It surprised her to see Garrett waiting on his porch when she led Pirate out of the barn. Callie looked away and jumped onto the saddle. She knew he wanted to say something but she just couldn't. Turning Pirate, she headed out toward open land.~*~

Buy links
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007QGX0BM/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_.zxPpb14H3KV7

http://www.bn.com/w/lasso-springs-book-one-kathleen-ball/1109853022

Website:  http://www.kathleenballromance.com

About Kathleen Ball
A voracious reader, Kathleen quickly discovered the world of romance novels and she knew she was home. At the encouragement of her sister Tricia, she decided to try writing. Kathleen wrote her first book three years ago. She was shocked to find out that people loved what she wrote. All of Kathleen's novels are award winners.

Callie's Heart is her first published novel. It is the first book in The Lasso Springs Series. Kathleen lives in Texas. She moved there from Rochester, New York. She is having the time of her life exploring Texas culture.

Kathleen is married to her wonderful husband Bruce and they have one son, Steven a Marine. They just welcomed new additions to their family, a new daughter in law, Brittany and her cute as a button son, Colt.

She feels blessed to be supported in her writing by her family and friends.

THANK YOU, KATHLEEN, FOR BEING OUR GUEST.
VISITORS--PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT FOR KATHLEEN.
Celia

Come home to Hearts Crossing Ranch for some...Soul Food

by Tanya Hanson

So...can a vegetarian really be chuck cook on a wagon train? Can she really start up a veggie restaurant smack dab in the middle of cattle country? You just might have to check out Soul Food, the fifth book in my Hearts Crossing Ranch series, to see! It’s just been released from Pelican Book Group and Amazon!  

Here’s a quick blurb: With her restaurant on the brink of failure, Kelley Martin comes home to Hearts Crossing Ranch in Colorado both to renew her spirit and make some quick cash as chuck cook on the family’s famed city slicker wagon train adventures. Falling for handsome temporary geneticist Jason Easterday is definitely not on her list of things to do. And despite her wavering faith, Jason’s lack thereof shows her there’s no future for them...even if his kisses indicate otherwise.

Always on the move, Jason Easterday has lived his life searching for...something. When he meets Kelley Martin and allows God into his life, Jason feels he's finally found his place. With Kelley at his side, he'll have a home of his own and a wife to adore. But Kelley won't give him the time of day, and she's leaving town to return to her ex. Now, he must find a way to hold his ground, get her back, and remain where his heart has led him.

I’m excited at the new installment of the Martin family, a fictional group of folks I’ve come to love. As for their gorgeous spread Hearts Crossing. I wish it were a real place so I could go visit. The book covers are turning out just like I imagine it in my head.

Anyway, a gentle old horse named Peach Cobbler, belonging to Kelley’s larger than life ma, figures in many of the stories. And with Kelley being an expert in Dutch oven cooking, I just couldn’t help sharing a recipe with y’all. Bear in mind I haven’t tried it. But I just may on our next all-family cook out in August.

Hope you enjoy both the recipe and the book!

                                           Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

---

6 jumbo cans of sliced peaches in heavy syrup; drain only 3 cans

2 boxes of white or vanilla cake mix

1 stick of butter

  

A cast Iron dutch oven is ESSENTIAL for this recipe, nothing else works.

Layer 1: Drain 3 cans of peaches and put in cast iron Dutch oven. Add 3 more cans of peaches, do not drain liquid, to the Dutch oven.

Layer 2: Pour both boxes of cake mix over the top of peaches (do not stir)

Layer 3: Slice up one stick of butter into little pats and drop all over the top of cake mix.

Put the lid on the Dutch oven and put in the campfire, near hot coals, not on the hot coals.

Place hot coals on top of the Dutch oven lid. VERY IMPORTANT.

In about 20 minutes, give the Dutch oven a 180 degree turn, to insure an even bake.

In about 20 more minutes, check under the lid.

Dessert is finished when peaches are soft and carmelized, juice will really thicken, you will have a hot, bubbly , golden brown, topping.

Don't let the Dutch oven turn all glowy red, or your cobbler will burn.

                                                            *******

Thanks,

~Tanya Hanson

www.tanyahanson.com

www.petticoatsandpistols.com

JEDEDIAH SMITH and The Great Basin Adventure

by Anna Kathryn Lanier

I love finding out-of-the-ordinary books and while searching the shelves at Half-Price Books, I came across TRUE TALES OF THE WILD WEST by Paul Robert Walker.  After reading several of his chapters, I finally discovered that this book was of the ‘young adult’ category.  The book is very well written and researched.  As the book’s blurb says, “Walker shares ten [legendary characters and stories] to present a delightfully readable and highly entraining history of the West…”  One of the characters he writes about is Jedediah Smith, a trapper who traveled further than any other white man of his time.

NOTE: TRUE TALES OF THE WILD WEST is part of the Sweethearts of the West Basket on Brenda Novak’s Auction for Diabetes Research.  Check it out HERE.

Sweethearts of the West Basket

Jedediah Smith was one of the first, if not the, first white man to see much of the Southwest United States. He most certainly saw more of it than any other white man in his time.  Born in 1799 in New York State, Smith moved around as a child when his father tried to stay ahead of the growing population and nearer the frontier’s edge.  Perhaps he inherited his traveling spirit from his father. According to family legend, Smith read Biddle’s 1814 edition of the Lewis and Clark journals and vowed to make his own way west.  In 1822, he joined up with William H. Ashley’s fur trading expedition.

JEDEDIAH SMITH

In 1824, Smith rediscovered the South Pass across the Rockies in present-day Wyoming.  First used in 1812-13, the location was then lost until Smith found it again.  This discovery paved the way for the tens of thousands of pioneers to use the pass as part of the Oregon-California Trail during the Western Migration.

In 1826, Ashley sold the company to Smith and two other men during the annual rendezvous of fur traders.  Smith’s partners went north, but he headed southwest, “to be the first to view the country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that ran through a new land.”

The route he took had in fact been an expedition taken by two priests in 1776. The priests had mapped out the area, including a river they named Rio Buenaventura. In later maps, this river was greatly exaggerated, so that by the time Smith attempted to follow the directions, he thought it to be a large river traveling from the Rockies straight to the Pacific Ocean.  There is, as we now know, no such river.

What Smith found instead of a vast river and much wildlife, was a barren wasteland—the Great Basin of Southern Utah, also known as the Mohave Desert. It turned out to be an adventure he barely survived.

Smith, along with 18 other trappers and a handful of women (wives and two Indian women who had been kidnapped by the Utes and rescued by Smith and his men) and children, journeyed across a range of mountains into a low, dry country.  They followed small streams that would suddenly disappear into the sand, leaving them without drinking water in very harsh conditions. Eventually, Smith climbed a hill and looked through his spy glass to spot a corpse of trees.  Green plants meant water and he led his weary band to the creek.  There they found signs of beavers as well as Indians.  The Indians had fled—most likely not only fearing the white men, but their horses. Smith later said it was perhaps the very first time the Indians had ever seen horses and to them, the men were “sailing through the air.”

The trappers spent three days trying to catch beavers, all to no avail. Eventually, “they followed the creek back into the mountains and crossed another range to yet another stream.” At this point, the two men with wives wanted to turn back, but Smith said no.  As “free trappers” though, they were under no obligation or contract to stay with Smith, so they took their wives and children and headed back East.  Soon after, one of the single men also left, taking with him a horse, a rifle and both the Indian women the group had rescued from the Utes. Fifteen or so men, including Smith, pushed westward into the unknown.

 Where his travels took him.

Supplies were running low and the men faced starvation, but just when things became desperate, they discovered a large stream and dried stalks of corn planted by Indians several years before.  Shortly, they met up with those who had planted the corn in a village of Paiutes Indians.  One of the Indians held out a freshly killed rabbit as a sign of friendship. When Smith accepted the rabbit and gave a gesture of thanks, the trappers were surrounded by a group of friendly Indians. In exchange for a few trinkets, including bits of metal that could be used for arrowheads, the starving men were given corn and pumpkins.

“Smith later wrote that the simple food might seem ‘indifferent…to him who has never made his pillow of sand of the plain or to him who would consider it a hardship to go without his dinner yet to us weary and hungry in the desert it was a feast a treat that made my party in their sudden hilarity and Glee present a lively contrast to the moody desponding, silence of the night before.’”  Smith’s group spent three days among the Paiutes, trading for additional corn for their journey.

Following the river (now called the Virgin River) they came upon another Paiutes village.  There they met two men from the neighboring Mohave tribe who told them, via signs, that there was a larger river one day’s journey to the south where they could find plenty of beaver.  Smith guessed, correctly, that this larger river was the Colorado of the west.  Led by Indian guides, the men made their way to and then across the Colorado.  Finally they reached a large Mohave settlement in what is now southern Arizona.  The Mohave had had interaction with the Spanish so were more familiar with white men than the Paiutes.  They even had horses and Smith traded some of his tired animals for fresh ones. After resting a few days, Smith and his band of trappers headed out again, this time following the directions of the Mohave into the desert toward a river.

Jedediah Smith's party crossing the burning Mojave Desert

However, he was unable to find the river they had told him about and he was forced to return to the Colorado River. There he came across an even larger Mohave village, who welcomed his group with friendliness.  Being melon harvest season, he awoke to find hundreds of the melons outside his tent.

By now, it was late October and any attempt to head back East would mean being caught in the mountains during a winter storm.  Instead, with the help of two Indians who had been at a Spanish mission in California, Smith and his group crossed into the “dry rocky sandy Barren desert.”  Following a river Smith called Inconstant for its habit of disappearing into the sand (fortunately, it would soon reappear and is now known as the Mohave River) they made their way to what is now Victorville, California.

Both the Indians they came across and the priest at the San Gabriel mission were amazed to see white men come out of the desert. To them, only Indians lived east of the Mohave Desert.  Though no one “understood it on that day in November 1826,” Walker says, “they were the beginning of a great migration that would take the American people across the continent, settling the land from sea to shining sea.”

Smith continued his trapping and exploring for several more years. In 1830, after the death of his mother, Smith decided to settle down in St. Louis. He purchased a farm and townhouse, but he had to make one more trip into the Southwest.  When he had sold his share of the fur company, he had promised to procure supplies for the new owners.  While leading the caravan along the Santa Fe Trail in 1831, he was killed by Comanche warriors.

More reading:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/mtmen/jedesmith.html

Anna Kathryn Lanier
www.aklanier.com http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/ 

Never let your memories be greater than your dreams. ~Doug Ivester 

Cavalry Traveled Light

My latest release, Spirit of the Sky, is set during the Army's chase of the fleeing nontreaty Nez Perce. In order to write the book I not only needed to know the Nez Perce's point of view but also know about the cavalry and army chasing them. So I read not only books from the army and Indians view point but also books on the cavalry and forts.

These are some of the interesting things I learned.

Whenever possible, horse artillery was attached to the cavalry, and was followed by its own train of ammunition, supply wagons, and rolling forage. This large entourage made it easy for the Nez Perce to keep an eye on the army. That said the retreating Indians also had a large herd of nearly a thousand horses that were following their path making them also easy to follow. That many horses not only beat the ground up but could leave a large billowing dust cloud in its wake.

When marching the cavalry could cover around thirty-five miles in an eight-hour day with good weather and terrains. During the chase after the Nez Perce the soldiers, horses, and mules were pushed to their limits.
Troopers learned to sleep in their saddles on the long marches, and the horses would plod along in a catatonic state.

At a walk the cavalry could cover four miles in an hour; at a slow trot, six; at a maneuvering trot, eight; at an alternate trot and walk, five; at a maneuvering gallop, twelve; and at a full extended gallop, sixteen.
Cavalry marches covered about six miles per hour, A march was a walk trot rhythm that would be halted for five minutes every hour.

Veteran troopers learned to travel as light as possible, living off of the countryside. This practice not only spared the mount but enabled the troops to cover ground more rapidly.

This is the middle of my blog tour and I'd be remiss if I didn't  share the blurb. excerpt and contest details.

Blurb for Spirit of the Sky

     To save her from oppression, he must save her whole tribe. To give her his heart, he must desert his career…

     When the US Army forces the Nimiipuu from their land, Sa-qan, the eagle spirit entrusted with watching over her tribe, steps in to save her mortal niece. Challenging the restrictions of the spirit world, Sa-qan assumes human form and finds an unexpected ally in a handsome cavalry officer.

     Certain she is a captive, Lt. Wade Watts, a Civil War veteran, tries to help the blonde woman he finds sheltering a Nez Perce child. While her intelligent eyes reveal she understands his language, she refuses his help. But when Wade is wounded, it is the beautiful Sa-qan who tends him. Wade wishes to stop the killing—Sa-qan will do anything to save her people.

     Can their differences save her tribe? Or will their love spell the end of the Nimiipuu?

Excerpt

     The plants parted, revealing the contorted face of a soldier squinting down the length of a rifle pointed at them. Girl of Many Hearts squeaked. Sa-qan drew the child behind her, using her body as a shield. As a spirit she could not be killed by a mortal’s bullet.

     A man dressed in buckskin pants and a soldier’s shirt with leader markings appeared behind the soldier pointing the rifle at them.

     “No, Private! Leave them be!” The command rang with authority. The man’s dark eyes, shaded by the brim of a hat, narrowed, staring at her. “We’re only after the warriors. Go.” He pushed the soldier from the water and stepped closer.

     “Are you a captive?” He held out his hand not holding a weapon. “I can help you. Take you from this.” His voiced dropped to a deeper, calming tone.

     Sa-qan met his gaze. Should she let him know she spoke his tongue? The compassion in his eyes was a harsh contradiction to the violence still raging through the village. She shook her head and pressed Girl of Many Hearts farther into the river.

     He took another step forward. “I can help you. We’re going to keep after these people until they give in. I know the army. They don’t give up.” The sorrow and weariness in his tone puzzled her.

     She thought all soldiers thrived on attacking and harassing the Nimiipuu.

     “I can get you away from this now, before it gets worse.” He took another step.

     His nostrils flared as the stinging scent of burning hide filled the air along with terrified high-pitched screams.

     “Damn!” The soldier lunged out of the river and ran toward a group of teepees being lit on fire.

Buy Links:  Wild Rose Press      Kindle

Contest!  I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky commenter.

Blog Tour Contest! Each blog stop has a picture of an eagle in the post. Follow the tour and send me the number of different pictures you saw while following the tour. To learn where I’ll be go to my blog(http://www.patyjager.blogspot.com) or website(http://www.patyjager.net) If there is more than one correct entry I’ll draw a winner on May 21^st  to receive a $25 gift certificate to either Barnes and Nobles or Amazon, a handmade custom ereader cover, and chocolate. Send your entry number to: patyjag@gmail.com by May 21^st.

MAY 10, 1889: WHEN EAST MET WEST

By Guest Lynn Hubbard

I have always had a fascination with trains. So it was quite easy to choose what aspect of the West to write about.

Locomotive engine

My mother’s family is from a coal town in Kentucky.  On one family trip, we headed to Kentucky to visit. I remember their houses being backed up to the train tracks. They would use the tracks like a road, and walk the tracks to town to buy groceries. Back then, the trains hauled coal, and they would collect the coal that fell onto the tracks to use for heat.

I was so jealous, even then I loved trains. The long, mournful call as the whistle blew. The chug, chug, chug from the powerful engine. And they are huge! It is hard to comprehend how back in the 1800’s they were able to transform iron and steel into a 100+ ton machine.

Ship routes to California,
before and after the Panama Canal

Before the age of trains, if one wanted to head West, there were few options. Goods were mainly transported from the east coast by ships. Ships had to travel down and around Cape Horn, the tip of South America. Talk about a detour! The Panama Canal, which would cut that trip in half, was conceived in 1881 but not completed until 1914.

Mid 1800s Wagon Train Heading West

There was, of course, the wagon trains. Wagon trains were popular from 1840-1860. The cross-county trip could take up to 6 months. If you made it! About 1 in 20 would perish along the way. Most died from sickness or injury, rather than from Indian attacks. (In the TV show, “Wagon Train” it took them 8 years. My mother watches it, and I always ask her if they've made it yet.)

Promonotory, Utah, May 10, 1889!

Progress. That’s what they called it. Until May 10, 1869 Promontory Utah, was a speck on the map. That was the day when the last spike was hammered into place, and it just so happened to be made out of gold. That spike would transform a nation and open up the west to everyone.

Trains made intercontinental travel much safer, more comfortable, and quicker. Daily passenger service was soon offered. First class passengers could ride express and make the trip in a week for about a hundred dollars. Third class tickets cost about forty bucks and bought you a spot on a wooden bench. Your trip would take a bit longer since you would probably be tethered to a freight car, which had to stop for express trains. Nonetheless, you would make it in ten days or so, which is still better than six months.

Comfort. George Pullman built the first sleeping car in 1862. These posh coaches had bunks which could be folded up during the day to save space. They had wonderful finery such as wallpaper, drapes, and private washrooms. Some even had libraries! Life was good, if you could afford it. Sadly, George Pullman is better known for the Pullman Strike in 1894. Railway workers across the country took part and refused to pull Pullman Cars. This affected US mail delivery, and President Grover Cleveland sent in troops to settle the ruckus.

Pullman cars improved comfort for travelers

I was able to take a train ride with my sons on Amtrak. Since the sleeper cars were costly, we rode in coach.  What better way to see America? We traveled from Atlanta to Washington, DC, and back again. It takes great skill and balance to walk along rows of seats. You get well acquainted with your neighbors as you clutch onto each other for balance. The experience was one we all will remember, and it gave me great insight for my books.

Since train travel was such a vital part of the west, how could I write a book without it? My books are set in the 1880’s well after the merger.

In RUN INTO THE WIND, Sabrina takes a train west as she runs from her past. And into Brock’s arms. (Eventually)

One of my favorite train scenes is from CHASE THE MOON.  When Amelia and Chase first meet.  I would like to share an excerpt:

From CHASE THE MOON by Lynn Hubbard
It was nearly dusk. Amelia figured she had better use the loo before it got any darker. She climbed to her feet and held onto the backs of the chairs to steady herself on the ever moving floor. She clumsily made her way up the long aisle only to find she had to go into the next forward car.
She took a second to fumble with the lock on the door and slide it open. The blast of wind and dust in her face pulled loose most of her hair from its pins. So much for getting gussied up for travel she grumbled.
Squinting her eyes, she precariously crossed the moving ground below to enter the next train. Making her way to the front she was dismayed to find a long line and a horrible stench coming from somewhere up ahead.
The conductor spotting the well-dressed young woman hurried back to her. Amelia covered her nose as he approached.
“May I help you madam?”
“Um I need to use the loo.”
“Are you ill?”
“No why?”
“I’m a bit embarrassed, but some of the chicken that was served was spoiled and there is much sickness. I would not suggest using this privy for a woman of your stature.”
“Is there another?” She asked hopefully.
He leaned close and spoke into her ear so she could hear him above the noise of the train. “The last car is a private one. I‘m sure they would be willing to share theirs with a lady of your quality.”
Amelia smirked at that, she was half insulted and flattered. Another gust of foul odor filled the car as the door opened and released a rather white faced man and a green faced one took his place.
Amelia nodded her thanks and made her way back to her own car. She passed her seat and again went outside to cross over to the last car. She wondered what kind of people could afford their own private compartment. Well she would soon find out she rationed.
By the time she arrived her hair was completely lose and billowing around her in the wind and she really, really had to use the bathroom. The outer door was locked so she had to hold onto the railing as the wind threatened to rip her hair from the roots and knocked with her other hand.
When knocking didn’t work she resorted to pounding.

***

Chase was somewhere between consciousness and sleep. His eyes drifted shut as he finally relaxed to the swaying sensation of the train. After all the travel and bustling about it was nice to finally unwind.
His peace was interrupted by a droning sound. The resonance could be heard over and over again above the clank of the wheels. Ever alert, he slowly lifted an eyelid.
He gazed around the car to see if anyone else had heard the odd noises coming from the doorway. They had not.
Aggravated not a soul seemed to notice the eerie sounds he climbed sleepily to his feet and opened up the inner door.
Grabbing the swaying wall for support he stepped up to the outer door.
He was startled to find a white, ghastly face peering in through the small square window. An eerie howl arose from its mouth and a chill stole through him. The whipping hair reminded him of a childhood legend his mother used to tell him about: It was a banshee. Had he angered the Gods somehow?
An amazingly human like hand smacked the glass in front of him and he quickly wiped the sleep from his eyes. Taking a brave step forward he unlatched the door and the beast was upon him.
He instinctively grabbed it and wrestled it to the ground as his family scrabbled over to see the disturbance.
“Are you insane?” It screeched in an unearthly voice. Chase felt a sudden pain in his ear as his mother quickly summed up the situation and twisted. With a yowl, he was forced off the creature so that his ear would remain intact. He watched in slow motion as Thomas and Jaelyn hurried over to help it up to its feet.
“I am so sorry, Miss. My brother is a dimwit. Are you okay?” Jaelyn asked the sputtering girl who was still trying to claw her way to Chase’s face.
Taking a deep breath to try and force down her anger. Amelia closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. She tried to smooth out her petty coats and windblown hair.
Chase watched the scene from behind his mother. Before his eyes she seemed to transform from a windswept creature into a beautiful young woman. Chase sat and stared in bewilderment.
“Just fine thank you. I am very sorry to intrude upon your family. The conductor suggested I might be able to use your privy? The one nearest to my car is unserviceable.” She blushed trying to explain her situation.
“Oh, of course!” Jaelyn said elbowing the still dazed Chase out of the aisle so she could show their guest to the back.
“What is wrong with you?” Anna badgered her son as he slumped into a corner like a beat down dog.
“I don’t know, I was trying to sleep. I thought she was a banshee.” He mumbled, the words sounding ridiculous even to his own ears.
“A banshee?” Anna asked with a scowl.
“You know like the legends.”
“Of course I know the legends; apparently you’ve been running around in the woods for way too long. That poor woman.”
“Poor woman? She almost ripped my eyes out!”
“Was that before or after you manhandled her to the ground?” his father, Jonathan, asked with an amused chuckle.

To find out more about my books please visit
My website: www.lynnhubbard.com

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/lynnhubbardbooks
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/LynnHubbardBook

Lynn Hubbard, Author

Thank you for inviting me!

Julesburg-The Town That Moved Four Times

When I began the research for my new work in progress, I spent several hours with a map, trying to plan all the towns my characters would pass through on their journey. To start the story, I chose Julesburg, Co. and wrote the rough draft. However, when I dug deeper into my research I realized the town had actually moved four times and had been on both sides of the South Platte River. I needed to discover where the town was during the time that my characters were there.

Julesburg-1 Across the river from the present-day town of Ovid, Julesburg was originally settled in 1859 by the French trader, Jules Beni.   His trading post was built on the south side of the South Platte River, at the junction of the Upper California Crossing. The trail forked at this point, one followed the North Platte Valley through South Pass to California and Oregon.  The other trail followed the South Platte River to the settlement of Denver.

Pony Express Monument

For a short time Julesburg was a stage station for the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company and Pony Express mail service.  In March of 1862 Ben Holladay bought the company and his Overland Express took over the mail route. The settlement grew into a blacksmith shop, store, telegraph office, warehouse, homesteaders’ cabins, billiard saloon, and the Overland Stage Station building.

Then between January and February of 1865, one thousand Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux, attacked both Julesburg and stage stations along the Overland Trail. They killed both civilians and soldiers in retaliation for the Sand Creek Massacre in November of 1864. They burned twelve ranches, destroyed over seventy-five miles of telegraph wire in the Platte Valley, then returned to Julesburg and burned the buildings to the ground.

Julesburg, CO Burning of 1865

Julesburg-2 A year later, Julesburg was rebuilt farther east, about three miles downstream from the ruins of the previous town.  Then in June of 1867 the Union Pacific Railroad came through on the north side of the river. The second Julesburg died when most of the town moved across the river to the north bank although the stage station may have remained for a short time.

Julesburg-3 For a short time Julesburg was an end-of-the-track town situated at the base of a ridge of sandy bluffs about two miles north of Fort Sedgwick. It quickly developed a reputation for a wicked and bawdy lifestyle. As the railroad continued moving west, the town quickly faded and eventually became known as Weir.

Julesburg, CO UPRR Depot 

Julesburg-4 At the junction of the Transcontinental Railroad and Denver Branch of the Union Pacific was a town originally known as Denver Junction, but in the 1880’s it was renamed Julesburg, making it the fourth and last time the town was moved.

For my story, my characters will meet in Julesburg number three.

http://www.pbs.org.wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/tcrr-timeline/

http://www.over-land.com/julesburg.html

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM217P_The_Town_That_Wouldnt_Die_Julesburg_Colorado

Bobby Slaughter's Half A Million Dollar Horseback Ride

By Paisley Kirkpatrick, taken from the November, 1961 issue of the Real West

Cattle king of Texas, Colonel C. C. Slaughter awakened his ten year old son Bobby in the cold darkness of a Dallas hotel room on a night in 1881. He told his son to hurry and dress in his lightest outfit and leave off the jacket. Bobby jumped out of bed and did as his father asked. The Colonel took his son to a nearby livery stable and roused the proprietor. He made a quick deal for a thoroughbred mare and a light English riding saddle. After lifting the small boy upon the horse, he placed a canvas sack in the saddle bag and handed the lad a slim envelope.

Patting the boy's knee, he said, "Bobby, I've got a job, a mighty important one that only you can do because of your size. You've got to ride to the Long S ranch without stopping except to change horses. You must beat the Englishmen who left here three days ago. When you arrive, give this envelope to my foreman. He will know what to do. There's $500 in gold in your saddle bag to buy fresh mounts. You can do it son, you've got to -- or we lose the Long S and half a million dollars. Your mother and I will start tomorrow and we'll meet you at home in a few days."

"Sure I can do it," Bobby answered. "I can ride like a real hand now and I can even help break horses." Flicking his spurs against the sides of the mare, Bobby was off in a flurry of hoof beats that rang out shrilly in the silent darkness of the winter night. The chill air hit his thinly clad body like a spray of ice water but the small boy galloped on.

Five days before the fateful night, the colonel had sold his ranch, the Long S near Big Spring, to a group of men, one who claimed to be of the nobility representing an English syndicate and had taken a British bank draft for a half a million dollars in full payment for the land and all holdings thereon. After giving the Englishmen a written order to his foreman to transfer the Long S, Slaughter had rented a carriage and dispatched the new owners toward the ranch at his own expense.

When Colonel Slaughter presented the draft to the Texas Land & Mortgage company, a Dallas branch office of an English loan corporation, the firm refused to hand over the cash without an investigation. A cablegram was sent to England and the loan company manager, suspicious of the English "lord" and his party, remained open that night awaiting the answer. His doubts proved correct. The answering cablegram revealed the men were imposters and the draft quite worthless. Slaughter, who had started on a shoe string and built the Long S into a mighty cattle empire, felt a stab of naked hopelessness. He had been taken to the tune of half a million dollars.

He came up with a hair-brained idea, but if it worked he wouldn't lose everything. He'd send his son...the only chance he had.

Bobby galloped through the cold dark night. It wasn't yet dawn when he reached Fort Worth where he watered the mare at a public drinking trough. The thoroughbred kept up a steady running gait into Weatherford, her slick coat was lustrous with foam and sweat. Bobby hastily bought a fresh mount. On and on Bobby rode over the austere Palo Pinto Mountains, heading ever westward to Clear Fork near Phantom Hill. He stopped only for water over the weary miles through the unmarked, rough country.

His horse started to limp. He headed toward the next ranch and when the horse almost collapsed he ran by foot to the ranch. The only horse they had available was a mustang that had been ridden only once. Bobby told them he had to go on and asked them to head the horse in the right direction and put him on the horse's back. The hands roped the rearing horse, blinded him, headed him west and threw the saddle upon his back. Bobby leaped in the saddle. The mustang reared and bucked, but Bobby stayed on. Then the animal bolted, running westward with the speed of the wind. Gradually the animal became accustomed to his light burden. He began to move with such exactness and precision that he lapped up the miles and sent the endless prairie whirling behind him. By dark Bobby found himself in the foothills of Taylor County.

Darkness dropped and with it came the cold. He hunched low over the mustang's neck to absorb what warmth he could. At dawn he headed toward Rock Springs which he knew was near the river bed. He and the mustang desperately needed water. Bobby's heart sank when he found the Englishmen camped at the river. He hastily skirted the camp and pushed his weary animal on toward the Long S. Now it was with the greatest effort that he held his eyes open. At noon he realized he was within the boundaries of his father's ranch. He was so tired that the countryside began to blur. He wrapped his arms about the neck of the mustang and urged him on.

At two o'clock that afternoon a Long S line rider saw a thin veil of dust on the far horizon. As it moved slowly nearer, he saw that it was preceded by a moving dot which gradually emerged into the shape of a slowly moving horse with a prone figure on its back. He summoned the ranch foreman and together they rode out to meet the mount and its burden. They found Bobby unconscious with his hands clasped tightly around the mustang's neck, so sound asleep they couldn't rouse him. But, the foreman found the envelope with Colonel Slaughter's orders in the lad's shirt pocket.

Leaving the lone rider to bring in the tired horse, the foreman gathered Bobby in his arms and galloped post haste to the ranch where he sent out a call for the entire Long S crew to assemble at the ranch house.

In the late afternoon the Englishmen drove up with a flourish. Haughtily the bogus "lord" demanded the Long S. Suddenly the coach was surrounded by the grim faces of the ranch crew. The foreman spoke only a few words, but the Englishmen realized their lives were in danger and immediately left the ranch.

A few days later colonel Slaughter and his wife arrived by carriage. They found their ten year old son fully recovered from the long ride and the Long S still Slaughter domain.

Written for the Real West publication by Louise Cheney