Gold mining

Common Scams in the Old West

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Recently, a friend of mine was complaining about the number of scams she’s hit with on daily basis. I doubt there’s anyone who can say they don’t regularly receive suspicious phone calls from someone claiming to be with the IRS or emails from foreign “multi-millionaires” wanting to share their fortune with us. All we need to do is provide these people with our personal banking information which will either erase our debt or make us rich.

While these particular scams are relatively recent, deceiving people out of their hard-earned money has been around for centuries, if not since the dawn of civilization. What’s the old saying? If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you.

Scams in the old West were no exception and abounded. Who hasn’t heard of The Lost Dutchman’s Mine—a popular legend here in Arizona where I live? One of the reasons the unproven story of the mine’s existence (to this day at least) gained such traction is because industrious scammers drew up and printed fake maps which they then sold to unsuspecting and gullible fortune hunters. Not only were wannabe prospectors sent on wild goose chases, many, sadly, met their deaths.

The Lost Dutchman’s Mine wasn’t the only scam of its kind during the days of gold fever. The practice of selling fake mining claims thrived. A common scheme called “salting” was used to dupe eager individuals looking strike it rich. Ore from a producing mine was scattered over a barren area. The soft ore would embed into the rock and give the appearance of a valuable claim. If done right, these salted areas often passed inspections by assayers but then, after the sale was complete, the poor buyer discovered no gold other than what the unscrupulous seller had scattered about.

Another old West scam was the origin of what eventually became a popular saying that still endures. I can remember my grandmother referring to a local real estate agent as no better than a snake oil salesman. And while she was using the term to refer to con men in general, a snake oil salesman is actually someone who proports to have a miracle cure. One of the first and most renowned snake oil salesmen was Clark Stanley, nicknamed the Rattlesnake King. While he claimed his tonic contained rattlesnake oil, it did not and was completely worthless. On a side note, Chinese laborers who came to the U.S. to work on the railroads did bring snake oil with them as an ancient medicinal treatment, which is likely where old Clark Stanley got the idea.

A different, popular scam along these same lines was the traveling medicine show which, if you think about it, was an early infomercial combining entertainment with hyped up sales techniques. These tonics, like Stanley’s snake oil, were worthless and made from common household items like castor oil, ginger, and alcohol. I did a bit of research, and there were several movies made featuring traveling medicine shows. Here’s just a few oldies but goodies:

Paradise Canyon with John Wayne

Sante Fe Marshal with William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy

Riders of the Dawn, a musical western (I think I need to see this one)

Prairie Badmen with Buster Crabb

And the scams don’t end there. Really, there are just too many for me to list in detail. Land fraud was abundant with fake deeds being sold to families coming out West and desperate for a fresh start. Even the poor, noble horse, a necessity back then, was often used to separate the naïve and trusting from their money. A young and healthy horse was sold but an old, broken down nag was swapped out. There were crooks who cheated at poker with hidden cards (an Ace up the sleeve) and loaded dice. Gullible people were fleeced by shell games and other slight-of-hand tricks. And lets not forget the psychics who claimed to see the future or speak with deceased loved ones.

Sadly, there will probably always be disreputable individuals who find new and innovative ways to take advantage the easily influenced. The most we can do is be on the lookout. Remember that the next time someone tries to sell you some oceanfront property in Arizona 🙂

Warmest wishes,

Cathy McDavid

P.S. – don’t forget to check out of Facebook Reader Page at:

Petticoats & Pistols FB Readers Group

America Newton – Successful Western Businesswoman and a Giveaway!

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This week, we’re so happy to welcome Tina Dee! She’s been here many times and her posts are always so interesting. Plus, we love her to death. 

In 1869, gold was discovered by an African American rancher and former slave, Fred Coleman in a creek on his property, which started Julian, California’s gold rush. The town became a tent city, practically overnight, with men and families moving in to stake their claims and strike it rich—or make money off those who hoped to. Quickly, this small gold mining town, located in the Cuyamaca mountains, rivaled the city of San Diego in number of residents. It also boasted up to eleven saloons, and only one small jail house featuring two small cells in the middle of town, no office, just the two cells, no frills.

During this rough and rowdy time, one woman, in particular, stood out. Her name was America Newton (1835 – 1917). An African American pioneer, she was one of the earliest Africa American settlers in the area and helped to found the former mining town of Julian. Formerly from Kansas, where she worked for James Cole, America came to California in 1872 with her daughter and ran a laundry service for miners and residents of Julian, though she could neither read nor write.

America, a former slave, operated her laundry business servicing Julian’s population during its gold rush days. She became of the first African American woman to operate a business in the area.

Water for the laundry was obtained by carrying buckets of water from a nearby creek. She heated her irons by the fireplace, which she kept burning by chopping and carrying her own wood. James Cole supplied her with a horse and buggy, which she drove around town to deliver the clean clothes to residents and gold miners. It’s said that she was right hospitable to those who picked up their laundry from her cabin, serving them a drink and a bit of local gossip, no extra charge. Folks enjoyed her friendly and talkative nature.

The Cole family helped America file to own a homestead of 80 acres outside of Julian. They also built her a cabin next to their home. America lived in Julian for 50 years. It’s said that she had a hearing problem and used an ear trumpet to hear.

She had moved to a small, wild, western gold mining town in the mountains, so very far from where she had gained her freedom. As a former slave, widow, and single mother—and with a little help from her friends—she rose to become an entrepreneur in a time when being a woman, and one with black skin, made it hard to just exist. But not only had she existed, she thrived in the Wild West and was successful in her business venture. And, she made people feel good, not just in the fresh, clean clothes they wore, but because she could make them laugh while living a tough life under harsh conditions.

I think about America Newton often. She has the gumption a lot of my heroines are made of.

Just for fun: Please share about someone who has inspired you (family member, friend, or someone from your life, or from history). A winner will be chosen by one of the Petticoats & Pistols Fillies to receive a pretty coffee tumbler with lid (approximately $20 value).

Thank you all for joining me today! It’s always a treat to spend time with Petticoats & Pistols readers. I’ve made two stories free today and tomorrow. One from each of my pen names, each with a heroine I believe has that same gumption America Newton had:  

Kaitlene Dee: Falling for Tallulah

Tina Dee: Keeper of my Heart

Kaitlene Dee, aka Tina Dee, spends time daydreaming about western romances with spunky heroines who insist on having their own stories written, and the swoony cowboys who love them. She often rescues stray dogs and can’t wait to give a forever home to her next dog or two…or five. Kaitlene enjoys gardening, traveling, writing, watercolor painting, and hanging out with reader friends in her Facebook readers group or with her newsletter readers. She’s an avid coffee drinker—and don’t even think about getting between her and a bear claw pastry. Follow her for updates on upcoming releases on Amazon or for many upcoming freebies, giveaways, and fun on her newsletter, here: Join Kaitlene & Tina Dee’s Newsletter

Get Your Kicks on Route 66 – AZ Style

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I’m sure some of us here remember the song that line is from or the TV show from the 1960s of the same name. Well, the longest remaining stretch of that famous (or perhaps infamous) route John Stienbeck once called the “Mother Road” can be found in my home state of Arizona. There are fascinating and entertaining stops along the way for those who like viewing impressive scenery while driving a piece of living history. One of my favorite places to visit is a former mining town located northwest of Lake Havasu in the Black Mountains called Oatman.

Beginning as a small mining camp in the early 1860s when two prospectors struck it rich by finding $2 million in gold. Over the years, Oatman’s population waxed and waned as gold petered out only to be rediscovered. The town was named after Olive Oatman who was abducted by Indians as a young girl and later adopted by the Mohaves. During her years in captivity, and prior to her eventual release at Fort Yuma in 1856, her face was tattooed in the tradition of the Mohave people. Her story became well known, being chronicled in newspapers and books. In addition to having the town named after her and gaining national recognition, Olive was also the inspiration for the character Eva on the television show Hell on Wheels.

The last “gold rush” in Oatman was around 1915 and ended a few years later. These days, Oatman is a popular stop on Route 66 for tourists and adventure seekers and boasts an authentic western atmosphere with its saloons, mining tours, wooden boardwalks, tourist shops, old-timey photographers, and staged shootouts. The  Oatman hotel on the main drag includes a second floor museum which includes the Clark Gable/Carole Lombard honeymoon suite where the couple stayed after their Kingman wedding in 1939. People pinning one-dollar bills on the hotel’s saloon walls is a tradition that has continued for decades.

However, one of Oatman’s biggest claims to fame is the wild burros that have free roaming rights in the town and surrounding desert. These cute little critters are direct descendants of the donkeys used by the original miners in the late 1800s to prospect and pull ore carts. Over the years, the donkeys have become used to tourists and very friendly, thanks to “burro chow” which used to be sold at local shops until the practice was discouraged by the Bureau of Land Management. So far, this reduction in treats hasn’t stopped the burros from coming to Oatman on a daily basis. And, really, they are a big tourist draw, contributing to the town’s economy.

So, if you find yourself traveling Route 66 and looking for a great place to stop for a great western-themed day trip, check out Oatman, Arizona. And when you do, give the burros a scratch between the ears for m

New 25th Anniversary Book Just Released — Plus a Giveaway

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Howdy!  Howdy!  And Welcome to another terrfic Tuesday!

News!  News!

I’ve just re-released another 25th Anniversary book, LONE ARROW’S PRIDE.  The book has been re-edited and proofed and has a gorgeous new cover.  And, I’ll be giving away two copies of this book free.  However, the book is currently on sale for $.99 and is also on KU.

 

This book has an interesting history.  And I’d love to share it with you.  This is really the only hidden treasure book I’ve written, while also being a solid Historical Romance/Native American.

The story begins when I was writing for AVON/HarperCollins Books.  I had submitted a story idea, which my editor rejected for some various reasons.

So I had to come up with a new story idea and I remember sitting now in my livingroom brainstorming with my husband and my brother-in-law…who used to mine for gold out in the desert.  Well, they have some great stories of goldmining in the Superstition Mountains.  And so, all those years ago, I was told the following story.  Hope you’ll enjoy!

The cover off to the left is the cover made by Samhain Publishing.

What I am about to tell you, by the way, is a true tale, or perhaps we should call it a legend as told to me by my husband and brother-in-law.

In Arizona, there is a mountain range called the Superstitious Mountains, just outside of Phoenix. Some of you might be familiar with the legend of the Lost Dutchman’s gold mine. Some may not. Bear with me.

There are many, many miners who go into the Superstitious Mountains today, hunting for the Lost Dutchman gold mine. Many years ago stones were found, upon which was written some hieroglyphics, thought to be part of a map. Many of these stones were discovered all over the Superstitious Mountains and all of them were thought to be part of a map that would lead others to the Lost Dutchman’s gold mine. Today, those stones are on display in a bank where all can see them and try to discern where the gold mine is.

What is not generally known is that many hundreds of years previous, there were Jesuit priests in these mountains. They befriended the Indians and managed to get the Indians to bring them gold from these mountains, whereupon the Jesuit priests made artifacts out of the gold. Many, many artifacts.

To the left is the original cover of LONE ARROW’S PRIDE.

These priests were recalled to Spain. Most of them refused to go and so Spain sent an army into the Southwest to drive the priests home. The priests got word of the oncoming army and, deciding not to let the army get their gold, nor take the gold back to Spain where it would most likely be claimed by the king, they hid their treasure. It is the Jesuit priests who etched the map on the stones in hieroglyphics and left these stones in fairly inconspicuous places, thinking to come back and collect the gold at a later date.

Recently miners have found, after using the stones on display, and digging about twenty-two feet deep in these mountains, two crosses with more hieroglyphics on them.

To date, neither the Lost Dutchman’s mine, nor the stash of gold from the Jesuit priests has been found. Added to this is the fact that the Indians believed that the Thunder God lived in the Superstitious Mountains and in fact, up until the late nineteenth century, no one was able to go into the mountains and mine the gold without great risk to their lives. Any white person found in the mountains was at once killed.

Another interesting fact is that earlier on, two brothers got word of the mines in those mountains and were mining one that they had found. They made two successful trips into the mountains and obtained a great deal of gold. On the third trip they were discovered by the Indians. And so the brothers loaded up all of their gold and put it into bags, which they tied onto their mules.

Of course, these two brothers were found and killed by the Indians, but the mules were let go, still carrying the bags of gold. The last bag of gold to be found was in the 1920s or 30s (I forget which), and contained gold to the amount of approximately $12,000 at that time—today the find would have been close to half a million dollars.

So the question is: Has anyone ever found the Lost Dutchman’s Mine? Not to my knowledge.

Has anyone discovered the gold that was hidden by the Jesuit priests? Not that we know of. But I would have to ask you this question. If you were there and you found it, would you tell anyone?

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So, I took these stories and brought some of what I learned into the Bighorn Mountains in Montana where the legend lives on (but in a different location).  Now this is Crow country.

To the left here i a photo of Hail Stone, a young Crow Indian who, by the way, married a white woman.

I’ll close up the blog today with the synopsis of the story.

LONE ARROW’S PRIDE

Buried Treasure Shines Brightest in the Dark

Ten years after she survived a cholera epidemic that wiped out her entire wagon train, Carolyn White is on a quest to shake off the bad luck that follows her everywhere and which now threatens her adopted family. The unending string of mishaps can have only one source: the gold piece that she, in childish innocence and wonder, once took from a stolen cache.

She tells herself her journey to Crow Country is merely to put the piece back in the cave where she found it. Yet, in her heart she knows it’s the memory of Lone Arrow, the boy who sheltered her there. The boy whose face—now that of a man’s—inhabits her dreams.

Lone Arrow’s anger knows no bounds. Anger with the white woman he suspects isn’t being truthful to him. Anger with himself that he cannot ignore the beauty who captured his heart even as a boy. Though trust is in short supply, he can’t deny his burning need for her. Whatever else she may be, she is his destiny.

This is the 25th Year Anniversary Edition of this book.

Warning: Sensuous Romance which contains a passion that could lead to soul-stirring love.

If you’d like to enter the drawing for a free copy of the ebook, LONE ARROW’S PRIDE, just leave a comment and you’re autormatically entered into the drawing.  And, remember, the book is free on KindleUnlimited and is on sale now for $.99.

Here is the Amazon link for the book:

https://tinyurl.com/LONEARROWSPRIDE

 

Lady Gold Rushers and a Giveaway!

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Hello there! I’m Linda Shenton Machett, and I’m here to talk about Lady Goldrushers!

While visiting my dad, I was in the midst of deciding what to write for my next series. We were watching Gold Rush: Alaska, one of his favorite shows which got me to thinking about the early gold and silver rushes here in America. Research nerd that I am, I immediately pulled out my smart phone and started hunting for information. I stumbled on Joann Levy’s book They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush and was intrigued. Female gold rushers?

Hooked, my mind raced as I continued to research. The book’s title came from the forty-niners themselves who announced they were “going to see the elephant.” Those who turned back claimed they had seen “the elephant’s tracks” or the “elephant’s tail,” and that was enough for them. Filled with first person accounts, Ms. Levy’s book immersed me into a woman’s world of packing up their worldly goods and headed west on horseback or in wagons to seek their fortune. Some convinced their husbands, fathers, or brothers to go, but a large percentage of the women set out on their own. The reasons they went were as numerous as the women themselves.

The US has been home to lots of gold rushes (as well as silver and other precious metals and gems). Most people have heard of the California and Alaskan rushes, but the first rush of any size occurred in northern Georgia two decades before the California rush. In 1829, the tiny town of Dahlonega was overrun with men seeking their fortune after hearing about a find in the mountains. I decided that’s where my series would begin. The series continues with the Pikes Peak rush in 1859, followed by the 1899 Nome rush.

Guts, grit, and determination defined these women whose journals and diaries contained such entries as:

“One of the party shot him {a snake}; he measured nine feet, about as large as my arm a little above the wrist. In the course of the day, another came down the tree very near us, but a different species, not so large, which was very soon dispatched. The gentlemen took them to the village, to show what big things they had done.”

“We spent three days very pleasantly although all were nearly starved for want of wholesome food but you know my stomach is not lined with pink satin, the bristles on the pork, the weavels {sic} in the rice, and worms in the bread did not start me at all.”

But despite the hardships, the women continued to prospect:

“This morning the gold fever raged so high that I went again to dig with the rest but got very little gold…came home tired tonight. Still in good spirits.”

How many women participated in the gold rushes is not known. Most lived anonymously, and left little record behind. I hope in some small way, Gold Rush Hannah honors these stalwart women.

Question for readers: What would make you leave everything you know to travel a great distance to try your hand at prospecting for gold? Comment for your chance to win an ebook edition of Gold Rush Bride Hannah.


Here’s a little more about Gold Rush Bride Hannah:

A brand-new widow, she’s doesn’t need another man in her life. He’s not looking for a wife. But when danger thrusts them together, will they change their minds…and hearts?

Hannah Lauman’s husband has been murdered, but rather than grief, she feels…relief. She decides to remain in Georgia to work their gold claim, but a series of incidents makes it clear someone wants her gone…dead or alive. Is a chance at being a woman of means and independence worth risking her life?

Jess Vogel never breaks a promise, so when he receives a letter from a former platoon mate about being in danger, he drops everything to help his old friend. Unfortunately, he arrives just in time for the funeral. Can he convince the man’s widow he’s there for her protection not for her money?


Purchase Link 

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily ever after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Linda has been scribbling stories since her parents gifted her a notebook in the third grade. She now resides in central New Hampshire where she works as a Human Resources professional and volunteers as a docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of World War II.

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Cynthia Woolf Strikes Gold!

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Hi everyone,

I don’t know if you know me but I’m Cynthia Woolf. I write historical and contemporary western romance. I have 78 novels so far. 65 historical western romance, mostly mail-order brides and 6 contemporary romances, 2 contemporary western novellas, 2 historical time travel romances featuring angels and a few more stories.

Today I want to talk to you about the Klondike or Yukon Gold Rush. That is where my latest book is set. I also plan on giving away one ebook and one paperback book of The Gold Rush Bride, my latest.

The Klondike Gold Rush was from 1896 to 1899. My books are set in 1898 so basically at the height to the gold rush. It is estimated that about 20,000 men and a few women went north to Alaska and Canada looking for their fortunes. Very few of them actually made a fortune. Most only found enough to pay for their daily needs, if that.

The main town of the rush was Dawson City. It was located at the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike rivers. At the time of my books it was home to about 10,000 men. It was literally wall-to-wall people. The town was made of wood and burned down three times and was built back again.

The route to the gold fields took often six months because it was mostly a foot route. Very few animals made it often dying on the journey over the passes. There were two that were used most prevalently. White Pass and Chilkoot Pass. Chilkoot pass was the one used the most often and is the most famous. Thousands of men started up the pass, some with horses. Hundreds of men and many animals died along the way.

The Klondike Gold fields were in the Canadian Territory. Canada required the rushers to have one year of supplies before they could cross into the Canadian Territory. This was thousands of pounds of equipment and food. The men had to traverse the Chilkoot pass at least twice sometimes three times to get that amount of supplies to the Canadian border. Again, many died on route.

Those that made it were treated to a harsh environment with snow nine months out of the year. Days with only four hours of daylight, so they would have to work by lantern light in the dark. They also had days of twenty hours of daylight and they would work as long as their bodies would let them.

The gold rushers also had to protect their claims from claim jumpers. Men who were too lazy to work their own claims to find gold or had not found any. They would try to take over a producing claim and usually this resulted in death for either the claim jumper or the man whose claim was being jumped upon.

Being a Klondike gold rusher was not for the faint of heart. Most women who managed to make it there ended up working in the brothels though a few worked their claims and some actually found gold.

Here is the blurb for The Gold Rush Bride, so you can see a little bit about and that it intrigues you.

Barnaby Drake made a solemn vow to safeguard Sadie at all costs, honoring a promise to his estranged business partner. However, when Sadie rejects his proposal to acquire her father’s share of the mine, Barnaby realizes there’s only one avenue left to ensure her safety: marriage.

Initially conceived as a practical arrangement devoid of emotional entanglements, the union takes an unforeseen turn. Barnaby finds himself captivated by his newfound wife, her presence dominating his every waking thought. The question lingers: why can’t he suppress the intense desire to possess her completely, both body and soul?

As an impending threat from an old adversary looms, will Barnaby’s overwhelming infatuation cloud his judgment, preventing him from discerning the truth? In this tale of commitment and peril, the boundaries between duty and desire blur, leading to unexpected revelations that could alter their lives forever.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading The Gold Rush Bride.

Would you have been brave enough to journey to the Klondike gold fields? If so, what you you have taken to help you survive? Be sure and leave a comment, winners of the books will be chosen from the comments left. And come by and chat with me. I’d love to talk to you.

Love on Target – Pink Pistol Sisterhood Book 2

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Years ago, when I first inquired about being a guest author on the Petticoats & Pistols blog, I had a fan-girl moment when Karen Witemeyer replied to me. I’ve been a fan of her books since I first discovered them!

She was so gracious and welcomed me with kindness. I admired the women who were part of this group and wished I could be one of their “Fillies” too.

Sometimes wishes do come true! In 2017, I was invited to join them as a regular author, and I’ve loved being one of the Fillies in their corral of western authors. So, when Pam and Karen started kicking around the idea of a legacy project for Petticoats & Pistols, something we could all participate in, I was excited at the prospect. Then the decision was made to tie the stories in our series to Annie Oakley, which made it even better.

In case you’ve missed all the announcements, our joint endeavor is called the Pink Pistol Sisterhood. Eleven of us have written sweet western romances, all tied to the journey of a pink-handled pistol that Annie passes on to the heroine in the first book, which just happens to be written by Karen. Make sure you read In Her Sights! It releases March 30!

Captain Cavedweller happened to be in an antique shop last fall and found a book about Annie Oakley that he knew I needed to have. Written in 1981 by Isabelle S. Sayers, Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West from Dover Publications features more than a hundred photos, illustrations, posters and advertisements. Being able to see so many visuals of Annie really helped not only clarify in my mind the hero she would be to Rena (my heroine), but also how her influence would help shape Rena’s character in my book (#2 in the series), Love on Target.

When I was thinking about my story and the characters, I knew I wanted it to be set in the town of Holiday, a place that exists only in my imagination, but it’s at the heart of several of my books, both historical and contemporary. (You can read the beginning of the town in Holiday Hope. )

My hero in Love on Target, Josh Gatlin, was a character who had a brief mention in my book Henley. I thought he’d be wonderful for the hero in this story. Since nine years had passed from then, though, I wanted him to have experienced love and loss, and it provided a perfect way to include the character of his five-year-old daughter, Gabi.

Rena is strong and courageous, but she’s also soft-hearted, and whether she admitted it or not, she really, really just wanted someone to accept her for who she was, scars and all, and love her.

Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the book!

~*~

“Laura has lost her mind if she believes all this romantic nonsense,” Rena groused as she returned the letter to the pocket in the case and set Laura’s letter aside to tuck into the packet of letters she’d kept from both of her cousins over the years.

“Of all the silly, pretentious …” A snort rolled out of her. “True love my foot. I’m more likely to lasso the moon than I am to fall in love because I held this gun. Although, it is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.”

She started to close the case, but changed her mind and lifted out the pistol. The thought that the gun had been in the possession of her hero, Annie Oakley, made her long to shoot it. Just once.

With a plan in mind, Rena set aside the case, tugged on her boots, and rushed down the ladder. She gathered a pocket full of cartridges and her pistol in the gun belt, which was the same caliber as the pink-handled weapon, and headed outside. She stopped by the woodpile and selected a large slab of bark that had fallen off a chunk of wood, then went to the barn where she painted a red heart on the bark, then added a white circle in the center of it.

She experienced an almost giddy sensation as she carried the bark and the pistols to what had once served as a corral. The whole thing needed to be rebuilt, which was on Theo’s long list of tasks he wanted to finish before summer arrived.

Rena knew he wouldn’t care if she practiced her shooting there since there was nothing behind the fence she could damage.

She used a nail to hang the bark on the fence, then retreated to the burn pile by the outhouse where she retrieved half a dozen tin cans that had once held peaches. It had been a while since she’d practiced shooting targets.

To make sure she hadn’t lost the skill, she lined up the cans on fence posts on either side of the heart she’d painted on the bark, took out her pistol, moved back several yards, and loaded rounds into the cylinder.

After widening her stance, she lined up her first shot, released a breath, and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the bullet pinging the target rang out as the can flew backward off the post. Rena shot the remaining cans, then smiled with satisfaction as she climbed over the fence to retrieve them. She set them back up on the posts, rested for a minute on the top pole of the fence, face turned to the sunshine as she soaked up the warmth. Then she hopped down and riddled the cans full of more holes before she stowed her gun in the gun belt and draped it over a fence post, then took the pistol with the delicate pink handle from where she’d set it on a stump.

“Promise of true love,” she whispered, rubbing her thumb over the handle before she loaded five shots in the revolver and took aim at the target she’d painted. “True love. What an absurd notion. Laura really should mind her own business and cease meddling in mine. If she thinks this gun will lead me to romance, she needs to have her thinker checked for defects. Instead of dreaming of true love, setting love on target seems like a much better idea.”

She blasted five holes in the middle of the white circle she’d painted inside the heart on the slab of bark, taking a great deal of satisfaction in blasting holes into something that represented romance and love, at least in her mind.

“Now that’s some fine shooting, Miss Burke.”

Rena yelped in surprise and spun around, pistol still in her hand as she pointed it at the intruder who dared to interrupt her target practice.

 

 

Will romance hit its mark when true love is the target?

Desperate for a fresh start, Rena Burke journeys from Texas to Oregon with only her father’s pistol and a plodding old mule for company. She takes a job working with explosives at a mine, spends her free time emulating her hero Annie Oakley, and secretly longs to be loved.

Saddle maker Josh Gatlin has one purpose in life and that is his daughter. Gabi is his joy and the sunshine in his days. Then he meets a trouser-wearing woman living life on her own terms. Rena is nothing like his perception of what he wants in a wife and mother for his child, but she might just prove to be everything he needs.

When tragedy strikes, will the two of them be able to release past wounds and embrace the possibilities tomorrow may bring? Find out in this sweet historical romance full of hope, humor, and love.

If you were in Rena’s shoes (or boots), what would you do? 

Post your answer for a chance to win a digital copy of Holiday Hope and Henley –

to get you ready to read Love on Target when it releases April 10!

Heather Frey Blanton Finds Adventure in Cripple Creek!

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Serendipity Never Ceases to Amaze Me

One thing about history: looking back, it’s easy and almost scary to see how the tiniest change could have derailed entire destinies.

One of my favorite stories of serendipity is that of Mary Catherine “Mollie” Gortner. In 1890, she and her family moved to Colorado Springs from the gentle, rolling hills of Iowa. Her husband was on the scout for new opportunities and challenges. Mollie was always up for an adventure. She and her children, who were older, were eager to see some new sights.

After the Gortners were settled, the announcement of a massive gold discovery in Cripple Creek beckoned to her oldest son, Perry. He took a job there in the spring of 1891 as a surveyor. The burgeoning boom town turned wild and wooly almost overnight and Mollie worried about her young, innocent son. She arranged a visit for the fall, packed up some care packages for him and headed up the mountain. A 4-day wagon trip.

Mollie Gortner

During one of Perry’s surveying jaunts over the summer, he had spotted a huge herd of elk and knew his mother would want to see the magnificent animals. They often hung about only three hundred or so yards beyond the first gold strike in Cripple Creek—the Gold King Mine. Perry and his mother packed a lunch and struck out for a warm, September hike up to what had become known, ironically, as Poverty Gulch.

A worse name no one could have imagined.

A bit winded after the high-elevation walking, Mollie sat down on a rock to wait for the herd to pass by. Nothing in particular drew her to that spot. In fact, she gave it very little thought.

Then, glancing around, she noticed a rock that “winked” at her. Curious, she took another rock and struck off a piece.

A chunk of pure gold cut through with bits of quartz fell into her hand.

Has any discovery of gold ever been easier or more serendipitous?

Hearts pounding, hands sweating, she and Perry hammered free a few more chunks, hid them in her skirt, and raced to the assayer’s office to file the claim. The clerk balked at handing the paperwork to a woman. Perry was a little befuddled on how to respond to this objection. Mollie solved the problem for both men. Without a second’s hesitation, she snatched up the forms, signed her name on the dotted line and raised her chin defiantly.

In Colorado in 1901 a woman had the legal right to own land and file a claim. The clerk didn’t have a leg to stand on, other than his chauvinism. He had a choice at that moment. He saw the fire in Mollie’s eyes and filed the claim in her name. Henry, her husband, didn’t give a wit about whose name the mine was in. He was supportive of her ownership and, to say the least, delirious about the lucky discovery.

The Mollie Kathleen mine is still in operation to this day. Perry ran it for Mollie from 1901 until his death in 1949.

Mollie died in 1917 but she will forever be known as the first woman to discover gold in Colorado, and the first woman to own a mine in the state.

Just think, what if she had sat on a different rock?

Have you ever had a moment like Mollie’s? The kind in which the slightest hitch could have redirected your life from where it is now? What do you think about her serendipitous discovery?

Comment for your chance to win one of two copies of my book, A Lady in Defiance, which was recently optioned for a television series. One of the characters in the book is named Mollie. It’s a bit foreshadowing.

Thanks for reading!

 

A LADY IN DEFIANCE

Charles McIntyre owns everything and everyone in the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance.

When three good, Christian sisters show up, stranded and alone, he decides to let them stay. The decision may cost him everything, from his brothel…to his heart.

Naomi Miller, angry with God for widowing her, wants no part of Defiance or the saloon-owning, prostitute-keeping Mr. McIntyre. It would seem, however, that God has gone to elaborate lengths to bring them together. The question is, “Why?” Does God really have a plan for each and every life?

A romance based on true events, A Lady in Defiance deftly weaves together the relationships of the three sisters and the rowdy residents of Defiance.

Amazon Link

Kaitlene Dee: Apples and Gold in California

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The Fillies welcome Kaitlene Dee to our little neck of the woods. She has some fascinating history of an old mining town that she built a story around. Scroll down for her giveaway.

Thank you for having me. I have always been fascinated with small towns, especially ones with a place in history and one such town is Julian, California, which is an official California Historical Landmark. This small mountain town was the only place in San Diego County to have its own gold rush in the late 1860s, early 1870s.

Julian started as a small mining camp that was set up virtually overnight, shortly after Fred Coleman discovered placer gold at a creek in the area in 1869. Many miners rushed to stake their claim at the creek. The summer of 1872 would’ve seen the miner population grow to about 300, the tented mining camp had grown into a bustling town of 50 houses, 4 stores, a couple of restaurants, a schoolhouse, and nearly a dozen saloons.

Later, when the placer gold dried up, the town still survived because of hard rock mines that continued on and yielded nearly $5 million dollars in gold ore.

Julian’s climate also made it ideal for growing orchards, specifically apples. Mr. James T. Madison first brought apple trees to Julian in the early 1870s. Eventually, ranchers moved cattle onto the rolling hills and ranched in the mountain area.

Today, Julian is known for its apple pie festival in the fall (and the aroma of baked apple pie fills the air throughout the town), as well as the numerous cozy, romantic bed & breakfast inns dotting the outskirts of the town.

Currently, a couple of the hard rock mines can still be toured, and the town boasts the fascinating Julian Pioneer Museum with many incredible pieces from history.

Is it obvious that I absolutely love this town? What I haven’t touched on is how amazing the people who made Julian were—and they made it rich in history. These founders and citizens are the true treasure of Julian. For instance, Julian’s first mayor, was in trouble with the residents after a dance at the town hall. During the dimly lit evening dance, the babies were all sleeping in a very dark room, where the mayor went in and switched all the babies around, so the families of the town didn’t discover, until the next morning, that they’d each brought home the wrong baby. Silly mayor!

There is too little space here to share more about them, but they have inspired my heart to write an entire series called the Brides of Willow Creek series (currently, 8 of 10 novels are either written in rough draft or heavily plotted). Originally, the series was to be called the Brides of Julian Creek, but I had to change the name with my new penname for historicals (vs the contemporary westerns I write). The first book, Josina, will release in December 2022 (though the pre-order will have a temporary release date of 3/2023).

As the first book in Brides of Willow Creek series, Josina is about a young lady who is helping friends run their store while the owner’s wife is bedridden. A miner places an order for a rocker cradle for his placer mining work and she mistakenly orders a baby cradle. The encounter between them, when she goes to right the wrong, is hilarious and full of growing romantic tension.

Josina has only a sister, who is currently serving time at a women’s prison for cattle rustling, which has left Josina to fend for herself. When help arrives from the store owner’s family, Josina sets off for adventure and to make things right with the customer, Henry. He turns out to be a handsome grump with an old prospector sidekick who befriends Josina and seems bent on helping her find the adventure her heart’s looking for by way of matchmaking her to the handsome but cranky Henry.

A lighthearted, Christian mail-order bride romance set in gold mining town of Willow Creek, Josina is part of the Brides of Willow Creek series. All books in this historical Christian romance series are stand-alone novels and can be read in any order.

For a chance to win a signed paperback of Josina, please leave a comment

on the trope you love best in historical fiction.

Order your copy of Josina and read how a gold miner discovers a treasure worth more than her weight in gold—the zany lady with her blonde curls and uncontainable adventurous spirit! Pre-order your copy of Josina, available at the special pre-order price of 99 cents for a very limited time only! Order HERE

* * *

Kaitlene Dee lives on the west coast, not far from Julian CA, and writes contemporary Christian romances as Tina Dee. Kaitlene and Tina’s books can be found on Amazon.

Please join my newsletter at: Kaitlene & Tina Dee’s Newsletter

As a thank you, you’ll receive a sampler containing the first couple of chapters for the first 4 books in the series—yes, it’s just a teaser but I hope it will whet your whistle to give my new series a chance for a place in your reading stack.

Welcome Guest: Patty Smith Hall

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Georgia is Golden

I’m thrilled to be with you today to talk about something that’s near and dear to my heart. It’s the place I’ve lived for most of my life and where my family roots run deep into the famous red clay. It’s my home state of Georgia, and while you may be wondering what the Peach State could possibly have in common with the rootin’, tootin’ wild west, let me tell you—more than you’d think!

At one time, in the early years of our country, Georgia was considered just as wild and free as the western states to come, and it became more untamed when gold was discovered in 1828.

That’s right, Georgia had its very own gold rush!

In the summer of 1828, Auroria, Georgia was a quiet little town nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains where the waters of the Etowah and Chestatee Rivers met. Across the river lay the Cherokee nation, led by Chef John Ross. Under his direction, the Indians had acclimated themselves in the ways of the new country, living in houses and educated their children with the help of Quaker missionaries. A border dispute between the Cherokee and the state of Georgia had sent John Ross to Washington D.C. in January of that year. Both communities had been on edge, but things had settled down with the spring planting and summer harvest.

It is said that the Georgia gold rush started one August evening when a young man by the name of Benjamin Park stumbled on a rock as he was walking along a deer path. He had just left a friend’s house after celebrating his birthday and didn’t think much of it until something sparkled at his feet. When he bent down to inspect it, he realized he hadn’t tripped over a rock but a large nugget of gold.

Word spread, first to adjoining counties then throughout the state and the southern region. People began pouring into the area—miners from the first American gold rush in North Carolina, gamblers and thieves. Plantation owners sent their slaves after the crops were harvested, some promising freedom for gold. Over the next year, people from the northern states as well as the Irish, Scots and English invaded the small community, setting up their stakes along the riverbanks. Food was scarce, but liquor was plentiful and with it, crime and fighting.  Some towns had sheriffs but most left law and order up to the Georgia Guard. Most miners panned at night because the state had declared ownership of the rivers’ mineral rights though in truth, it belonged to the Cherokee.

For ten solid years, miners dredged the river of significant amounts of some of the purest gold ever recorded on earth. In 1838, Congress decided to establish a mint in the area. Auroria and Dahlonega were both considered but Dahlonega was awarded the mint. The mint signaled the beginning of the eviction of the Cherokee from their native land and sent west on what is commonly known as the Trail of Tears, one of the saddest chapters in Georgia history.

In 1840, the gold along the banks of the Etowah was almost gone and with it came the demise of Auroria. The mint in Dahlonega produced gold coins well into the 1860s when the confederates took it over, printing gold confederate coins instead.  After the war, the mint was closed down permanently.

The gold rush continues today in the area. Every weekend die hard miners are in the water, some with pans, a few with sluice boxes. It’s mostly for fun but hard work! I tried it once and my muscles hurt for a solid week! But I did manage to find a few flakes of gold!

Gold Dust Bride –Abigail Matthews’ lifelong ambition is to run her family’s iron mines alongside her father. With the company in trouble, she heads to the north Georgia mountains where iron and gold are rumored to be found. Abby is certain the mountains hold the iron ore their mining company needs to survive but the task is made more difficult by the influx of miners and the interference of Micah Anderson, the town’s blacksmith and acting sheriff who hinders her progress. . .and steals her heart.

Micah Anderson doesn’t understand the mad rush of people searching for gold. He sees them as gamblers no better than the father who lost him in a card game. That someone as lovely as Abigail would take such a risk grates at him but doesn’t diminish his attraction to her. Working alongside her to provide food for his adoptive mother’s boarding house, Micah discovers the hidden depths of Abigail’s character. But when Abigail is put into danger after witnessing a crime against a Cherokee Indian, will Micah be willing to gamble his heart on the woman he’s come to love?

Giveaway!

Patty is giving away a copy of Crinoline Cowboys to two readers who leave a comment today. What is something you love about your home state?

Multi-published author Patty Smith Hall lives near the North Georgia Mountains with her husband, Danny, her two daughters, her son-in-law and her grandboy. When she’s not writing on her back porch, she’s spending time with her family or working in her garden.

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