Wild West Research

10 Facts About Stage Coach Travel or Why I’m OK With the Middle Seat

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Read on for a Give Away!

I’m traveling today and as usual I have the middle seat on the plane. Because I do not claim both armrests, I spend most of the flight feeling like my elbows have been glued to my ribs. It’s not particularly comfortable, but after researching stage coach travel, I’ve decided that I’m in no position to complain.

Here are 10 facts about travel in a Concord Stage Coach, the most common coach used in the west during the late 1800s:

1.  The interior of a stage coach was very small, measuring about 4 feet wide, with a ceiling height of about 4 ½ feet. Each passenger had about 15 inches of leg room.

2. A stage coach held up to nine passengers but their knees and legs had to be entwined between one another.

3. Additional passengers could ride on the roof with the luggage. Some luggage was stored in the boot at the back of the stage coach.

4. The interior had three benches. The center bench had no backrest and the people riding there had leather straps to hold for support.

5. The passengers were protected from the elements by leather curtains, that may or may not do their job.

6. The seats were padded but could still be very hard.

7. The average pace of a stage coach was 5 miles per hour. An average person can walk 3-4 miles an hour.

8. A stage coach could travel up to 70 miles a day, depending on road conditions and terrain.

9. If a stage had to go up a steep hill, the passengers might have to walk.

10. If the stage got stuck, the passengers would push and help dig it out.

Doesn’t that put the middle seat into perspective?

To qualify for the giveaway, a $10 Amazon gift card, tell me your favorite way to travel and one reason it can be inconvenient. 

Please Note: I may not be able to answer comments today due to travel…but at least I’m not pushing a stage coach up a hill. 🙂 Winner announced on Saturday.

 

Old Bull’s Heavenly Visitor & Give-away

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Howdy!

Welcome to another tantalizing Tuesday!  Hope y’all are doing well today.  And I have a special story for you today.  A true story — one I ran across in doing research for the story I’m currently working on.  This is from the book, BEAR CHIEF’S WAR SHIRT by James Willard Schultz, who is writing about his own true experience.

In June of 1877, Schultz’s mother had given him permission to go out west into what was then called Indian Territory on a buffalo hunt — he was to return that same year where he would attend a military academy, but he didn’t return until 1880 and even then, he was there for only 3 months before returning to Indian Country.  Indeed, James Schultz stayed with the Blackfeet and married into the tribe and became a white Blackfeet Indian.  There is a book he has written entitled MY LIFE AS AN INDIAN, and oh my, what a wonderful book it is — filled with thrilling stories.

This story is about one of Schultz’s adventures as a warrior going with a war party to retrieve Bear Chief’s War Shirt.  On the way to determining what tribe might have stolen the shirt and a way to retrieve it, he had many adventures.  The story I’m about to tell you he declares in his book is true. and is one he saw with his own eyes.

First let me tell you a little about a Blackfeet war party.  There was a man who led the party and it was his responsibility to sleep and live (to some degree) apart from the others so he could pray for a vision that would tell him what lay ahead of the war party.  Old Bull was part of this war party –he was a “Bringer of Plenty” — a man who called the buffalo to a cliff and over it so the tribe would have enough food to get through the cold winters of Montana.  He had what the Indians called much medicine.

Schultz describes Old Bull as a man about forty winters (years) in age.  Here is what Schultz writes about Old Bull:

“…I liked Old Bull best [of the war party}; in fact, I revered him.  He was a man of about forty winters — tall and well muscled, with long hair, keen eyes, and a pleasant face; calm, dignified, and honest; moreover, he was a sacred pipe man, a medicine man, as the whites say.  Old Bull was possessor of the powerful Eagle Head pipe, master of its long ritual of sacred prayers and songs.”

Old Bull was a man whom the war party needed to have a vision so as to alert the war party as to what they might face and it if would be successful.  But, so far, he had not been able to have a vision.

Old Bull stated that oftentimes he had to go someplace alone so that his spiritual helper would come.  He had told Schultz that often his spiritual helper would come to others as Old Bull prayed to their God, the Creator.  His spiritual helper would then tell the others gathered there the answers to what Old Bull was asking.  And so, not having a vision to help the war party, Old Bull went into a hollow tree and there began to pray.

And, I will quote from the book:

Bear chief was praying — “He had no more than spoken these words when his body stiffened, his face becoming tense and his eye balls rolling upwards in his head.  He leaned back against the inside of the tree.  Bear Chief and I were standing close to the tree when this happened….  Before us a white shadow was forming starting up from the ground and spinning up like a whirlwind, building higher and higher until it reached the height of Bear Chief.  Then the fluorescent white cloud began taking a man’s shape, the ears, nose, mouth, eyes, and the rest of the face forming first, then the body, arms, and legs. The figure took on such details as moccasins, a full head dress to the ground, necklaces, and some face coloring.  As I stood there, it seemed as though I could look through the Heavenly Visitor as one would look through a light colored window pane.

“The Visitor spoke in Blackfeet.  ‘Bear Chief, I am your helper.  I have been helping you all your life.  I have helped you in battles, I guide you and give you good thought.  My name is Gray Eagle.

“‘There is trouble for you ahead.  How much trouble will depend on how careful you are in your movements.  Do not travel this night.  You all will go to the Sand Hills someday, but those who are needed here now will stay for a while; those who are needed over there to help do the work of the Above Ones will go earlier.  Bear Chief, you will be rewarded.’  and with that the almost transparent visitor vanished into the sky in a streak of light.

“As Old Bull awakened from his trance, I asked him if he remembered anything that had gone on.  Said he, ‘I remember only that I slept.  What happened?’ I told him about the ghostly visitor and of his message.

“Old Bull continued, “Ever since I was a young man, there have been times over which I have had little control, when I have been seized by the Above Ones and when, as afterward related to me by my friends, Spirit people have built up and have been seen and heard by all present.  I would much rather have a vision, where I get the message direct, but when day after day has passed and I have received no message, often if I pray in an enclosure, as I did here, I am seized, and Spirit people come forth.”

The war party went on to be successful in regaining the war shirt.  Interestingly, Schultz writes, “After passing through several hands [the war shirt], the shirt came to the collection of Indian Americana at the Denver Art Museum.  No myth, this famed Indian relic is now on display for visitors to marvel at for its color, design, and decoration.”

Well, I hope you enjoyed this story.

Now onto other news:  My latest release, SHE BELONGS IN MY WORLD, is on sale starting today for $.99.  Don’t miss this chance.  Pick up your copy today.

Also, I will be giving away a mass market paperback of the book, Soaring Eagle’s Embrace, to one lucky blogger.  So come on in and leave your thoughts on this blog.  I love hearing from you.

SHE BELONGS IN MY WORLD:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBPKBXBZ?tag=pettpist-20

 

Beaver Dick Leigh, two giveaways, and our guest blogger Charlene Raddon!

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The pack train moved slowly through the remaining snowdrifts of late spring in the Tetons, heading for the mountain valley ahead. The buckskin horses were led by a tall-for-his-time trapper with thick red hair and beard, whom the Shoshone called Ingapumba (redhead), but more often he was known to his neighbors as “Beaver Dick” or “Uncle Dick.”

Trapper, hunting guide, ferryman, Mexican War veteran, and all-around mountain man, Richard ‘Beaver Dick’ Leigh, lived a long life in and around the Teton Mountains. Following behind were his Shoshone wife, Jenny, and his children riding burros. They were leading pack horses loaded with supplies for a long season of camping, hunting, and trapping in the high valley known even then as Jackson’s Hole.

In his 68 years, Beaver Dick Leigh fought in the Mexican War, guided government expeditions through the Yellowstone region, led hunting parties from the East—and enjoyed life among the Shoshone and Bannock tribes. With his red hair, blue eyes, and freckles, he stood out from most of those around him, but despite his rough life, he was an inveterate reader of books, magazines, and newspapers. He kept a diary during his time in the mountains.

Richard Leigh was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, in 1831, emigrating to America at age 7 with his sister, Martha. Eventually they moved on to Mount Hope, Pa. From there, he left his sister and joined the Hudson Bay Company, which sent him to the Northwest, where his education as a trapper began. He never looked back, nor saw his sister again, but stayed in touch, however, as he later referred to his brother-in-law, Henry Wall.

Beaver Dick joined the U.S. Army toward the end of the Mexican-American War (1846-48), in which he served under Lt. Col. Henry Wilson.

Following his discharge, he travelled to the Salt Lake Valley, where he resumed his trade as an independent trapper. Moving north into what would become Idaho Territory, he chose the Snake River Valley for his homesite. This initially meant long pack trips south for several years to sell his furs in Utah Territory.

On one of these trips to Corrine, in 1862, near the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake, he camped near a Bannock couple—a man known as Bannock John to the whites, and his wife, Tadpole, a sister of the local Shoshone chief, Taghee. Tadpole was amid a difficult labor and Dick assisted the father in delivering the baby.

The new arrival was named Susan Tadpole. Her parents promised her to Dick to be his wife when she reached maturity, no doubt a kind gesture of gratitude that had little expectation of coming to fruition, since he was 31 at the time.

Before he returned to his base camp at the confluence of the Snake and Teton rivers on the west side of the Tetons, Dick Leigh married a 16-year-old Eastern Shoshone girl from Chief Washakie’s band in 1863. Dick called her Jenny. He often told his friends and wrote in his diary about her many good traits. Five children arrived in the following years. Dick, Jr., 1864, Anne Jane, 1866, John, 1868, William, 1870, and Elizabeth in 1873.

 

Dick’s homestead on the west side of the Tetons continued to expand with additions of milk cows and the buckskin horses he was fond of. When it was time to go on the annual hunting trips over the mountains, Dick took the entire family along. Leigh’s diaries give an in-depth picture of the challenges they faced on the frontier. Whether setting his trap lines, hunting with his son Dick, Jr., leading hunting parties or assisting any of the increasing number of new settlers arriving in the Snake River valley, Beaver Dick Leigh was a busy and well-respected member of the community.

He built a ferry at the Eagle Nest Ford on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake, free for anyone to use. He acted as liaison between the tribes and authorities at the new Fort Hall Reservation, advising them about Indian movements on and off the reservation.

In the winter of 1876, an Indian woman seeking food visited the Leighs. They did not know she had smallpox. All of the Leigh family and another hunter caught the disease. Between Christmas Eve and Dec. 28, all of Beaver Dick’s family died; he and the hunter barely survived.

In 1879, Dick Leigh, age 48, married 16-year-old Susan Tadpole, who had been promised to him at birth. The couple had three children: Emma, 1881; William, 1886; and Rose, 1891.

While camped near Two Ocean Creek on the Continental Divide in the fall of 1891, they were visited by Theodore Roosevelt and his hunting party. Beaver Dick and Teddy conversed for a spell, sharing stories and hunting tales.

Dick continued to guide hunting parties as long as his health permitted. Eventually, he had to turn over this business to his son William. He also kept in touch with the many friends he had made over the years, writing letters to a lengthy list of correspondents.

Beaver Dick Leigh died March 29, 1899, age 68, in the company of family and friends. He is buried beside his family on a high terrace overlooking his ranch near Rexburg, Idaho. His memory and legacy are well preserved in his letters and diaries, as well as the namesake features in the Jackson Hole valley he loved.

Two winners will be chosen for a prize: one for a $5 Amazon gift card and one an ebook from my collection. To enter, all you have to do is tell me something you found interesting about Beaver Dick Leigh’s story. 

The Old West Time-Life Books

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When I was a child of about 12-years-old, my mother subscribed to a then popular historical, science, and cultural book club put out by Time-Life Magazines. There were series such as Voyage Through the Universe and Lost Civilizations. But the one we owned was by far one of the most popular: The Old West.

The books were beautiful constructed and truly collectable. Bound in imitation leather and tooled to resemble saddles or belts, replica authentic artwork adorned the covers. The books – 26 in all – were filled with old photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, drawings, painting, anecdotes, and stories. These truly beautiful books brought history to life for me and helped fueled my love of all things Western.

When my own children were young, my mother gifted me with the books, and I proudly displayed them for years in my living room. When I began writing western historical romances, I used the books for research and “borrowed” many story ideas and plot elements from real life incidents. It’s true what they say about true life being better than fiction. Some of my favorite books were, of course, The Cowboys, The Forty-Niners and The Miners (several of my western historicals take place in mining communities), The Spanish West (because I live in Arizona), The Canadians (my father’s family originally came over from France and settled in northeastern Canada and New England), and The Women – I still marvel at their courage and determination.

My favorite book of all, perhaps, is The Pioneers. From the time I was a very little girl, my mother and grandmother would tell me stories of my maternal family, who came over on the Mayflower. They would often speak about John Bidwell, a relative from New York who, as a young man, was lured by the call of the West in the days when people were crossing the country in droves. According to the stories, John Bidwell did well for himself in California, becoming a prominent and wealthy landowner who eventually served in the California Senate and House of Representative. All this when he arrived with but a few dollars in his pocket. Well, the stories my mother and grandmother told were true. John Bidwell appears in The Pioneers, and quite a few pages are dedicated to him and his contribution.

 

I can’t say I read all the books or even one of them from cover to cover. There was just too much information. But I’ve read something from every one of the books and studied at the pictures. Sadly, some years ago, I lost the books through a series of unforeseen events. These things happen. But I often thought about the books and wished I still had them. Well, thanks to the powers of Ebay and $99, I now do. I was recently able to buy a complete set of the books in pristine condition, and they are once again being proudly displayed on my living room bookcase. And while not the books my late mother gave me, they nonetheless warm my heart when I look at them and run my fingers over the imitation tooled leather covers ?

Goldie Griffith, One of a Kind

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I love colorful women who push boundaries and Goldie Griffith was just such a woman. Born in Illinois in 1893, she perhaps had a head start in the boundary pushing game, her father being a medicine showman and her mother an entertainer.

After leaving home, Goldie joined Blanche Whitney’s Athletic Show, comprised of women wrestlers, boxers and gymnast. Goldie performed as a boxer and a wrestler. Her next stint in the entertainment involved Buffalo Bill Cody, whose Wild West Show she joined as a lady bronc rider. Goldie didn’t know how to ride a horse when she was hired, but she quickly learned.

In 1913, Goldie married Joseph Harry Sterling in a surprise ceremony during a Wild West Show performance in Madison Square Gardens. Buffalo Bill gave the bride away in front of an audience of 8,000 people. She wore a bright red western outfit that is now on display at the History Colorado Center in Denver.

Unfortunately the marriage did not work out. Goldie and Harry had one child before she discovered that her husband was accused of murder in Texas and also had another wife. Goldie did not take the new well. She opened fire on him, in public, with her shotgun. She didn’t hit him but was arrested. Goldie tried marriage again, but this union ended more quietly with a simple divorce.

Goldie’s other accomplishments included being the first female applicant to the San Francisco Police Department; stunt riding in early western films, training dogs for World War II, ranching and owning successful restaurants. Goldie Griffith died in 1976 after a very full life  doing pretty much whatever struck her fancy.  What a gal!

Writing the Historical Western with Nancy Fraser-and a giveaway!

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One of the most difficult tasks an author of historical western romance has is shutting down their modern brain and encompassing the hardships and developments of the past. When the idea for this post first came to me, I was in the middle of finishing my current work-in-progress. So, I tapped a few friends for their thoughts on the content.

Here are the top five historical issues most writers struggle with:

  1. Language. Dang gum it. It’s not easy setting aside everyday words that might not have been used in 1888. I can’t count on both hands the number of times I/we have been called on a word or phrase we used. My favorite comment is… “that word wasn’t recognized in the dictionary until 1902.” As politely as possible, we explain that while it wasn’t “recognized” it had to have been used at least for a decade or two before it’s even considered worthy of the dictionary. Inclusion is quicker now but, back in the late 1800s/early 1900s, it often took 10-15 years, or notoriety, to achieve recognition. Realizing how foreign some of the old words are, one of my favorite things to do is put together word games matching the old-fashioned saying to the meaning. I’ve used the games many times during author/reader parties. One of my favorite resources is this site: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-slang/

  1. Transportation. Readers wouldn’t believe the number of times we check train routes, connecting transportation, and schedules. While fleeing her cheating fiancé, my heroine can get from Philadelphia to Saint Louis to Denver on the same route. Yet, Bozeman, MT is out of the question without one stagecoach ride, followed by a northern-routed train. It’s often a well-woven jigsaw puzzle to get your characters from Point A to Point B. My saved historical research sites are filled with links to transportation schedules. One of the most interesting facts about train travel in the late 1800s is that on November 18, 1883, at exactly, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. The bold move was emblematic of the power shared by the railroad companies.

 

  1. Plumbing. I was surprised how of the other authors hated writing about plumbing. It was definitely in my top five. In my Land Run book, Lily’s Luck (2022), I made a big deal of my heroine’s particulars for her outdoor privy. Indoor plumbing, even crudely done, was out of the question for a young couple building their home on newly claimed land. However, my feisty heroine wasn’t going to be satisfied with a hole in ground. For the most part, I stick to time periods where I can give my characters indoor plumbing, with boilers fired by wood to heat their bathwater. Only as they travel across the land in wagon trains, or on land runs, must they avail themselves of outdoor facilities.

  1. Communication. Written communication is tricky. How long can it take for the mail-order bride letters to get from Gold Rush California back to proper Boston as our miner hero searches for a bride? As part of a multi-author series based on heroines who quilt, I’ve written books for three straight years, and set all three in the same town in Oregon. My heroine’s father is the town’s postmaster, so I did my due diligence on when and how their postal services came to be. Trickier even than the intricacy of the mail is the cost of sending a telegram… assuming the remote western town even has the necessary capability. At one point the cost was as high as two-bits a word. Needless to say, telegrams were only used in the most important of situations. The job of a telegraph operator was so vital there were schools and even so-named colleges to teach the skill of operating the equipment.

 

  1. Faith. Not as complex as some of the other issues, incorporating one’s faith, and the faith of their characters, into a story can be challenging depending on when and where your story is set. While the majority of inspirational historical romances are Christian based, there is a fine line to acknowledge and celebrate the inclusion of all religions. Most authors, while acknowledging other beliefs, will center their book and characters solely on what they know and practice rather than run the risk of insulting readers of other religions/faith systems.

 

While these aren’t the only challenges, they made the most Top 5 lists of the ten or so authors I’d queried.

 

Writing, for me at least, is a joy. Creating strong, yet vulnerable, characters challenges both my emotions and my skill. It keeps my senior brain active. I admit, I laugh (a little) when I see all these advertisements for games (like mahjong) and spelling/word association touted to help ward of loss of memory and strengthen brainpower. You want to strengthen brainpower? Try researching and writing a book. It doesn’t have to be a romance, but putting thoughts to paper can be cathartic in a way that beats Wordle hands down.

In my April 3rd release, The Bride Who Keeps Running Away, I utilized a number of my train schedules, a couple of stage routes, and both mail and telegraph communications to get my heroine from Philadelphia to the small town of Union Flat, Washington Territory. You can bet, my three-time runaway bride led the Pinkerton detective hero on a merry chase.

Here’s a bit about the book:

Lenora (Leni) Pennington really hopes her third attempt at getting married will be different.

First betrothed at the age of sixteen to a man twice her age, she ran away the night before her arranged marriage and sought refuge with her maternal grandmother. Her second engagement wasn’t any better. Believing her intended chose her as his future wife on his own, she was shocked when she overheard her father and her fiancé talking about the value of their business merger, so she went on the run again.

Now, just hours short of walking down the aisle to marry her mail-order husband, a young man she admires, Leni discovers her groom in a compromising position with her best friend. Humiliated, she’s out the door and miles away before anyone realizes she’s gone. This time, however, Leni’s father is not willing to put up with what he considers spoiled and childish behavior. At the urging of his solicitor, he hires a Pinkerton’s detective to track his daughter down and bring her home.

Jackson (Jake) Taylor has been working for the Pinkerton Agency for the past six years. His area of expertise is private protection, be it a person or a train car filled with gold and cash. When he’s tasked with finding a runaway heiress, he’s tempted to refuse the assignment.  His boss convinces him it’ll be a nice break from being shot at from time to time. After all, how difficult can it be to track down a spoiled young woman and deliver her back to her doting father?

Given he’s matching wits with an expert at running away, Miss Lenora Pennington might be more than he bargained for. In more ways than one.

You can find Leni and Jake’s adventure here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQP2ZJHW?tag=pettpist-20

As always, it’s been fun visiting today. I hope to come back again soon. In the meantime, here’s some information about me, along with my social media links.

What are some things you’ve read in historical romance that presented real challenges to the characters? Nancy will give away two ebook copies of The Bride Who Keeps Running Away to be drawn from those who comment.

NANCY FRASER is a bestselling and award-winning author who can’t seem to decide which romance genre suits her best. So, she writes them all. Her preferred genres are sweet western historical and sweet small-town contemporary. However, she has been known to dabble in the most unusual settings. When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B09FTH655Z?tag=pettpist-20

Bookbub: http://bookbub.com/profile/nancy-fraser

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/nancywritessweet.bsky.social

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7206382.Nancy_Fraser

Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/bxkKvD

 

Legends of Gold–and a giveaway

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In my current series

Golden State Treasure

next up is

Legends of Gold

Here’s the thing about writing books…sometimes the research for them is JUST SO INTERESTING!

I started the series thinking of lost treasure, or a lost mine, in the Rocky Mountains, similar to The Lost Dutchmen’s Mine.

The Lost Dutchman’s mine…the story goes a man comes stumbling out of the mountains in Arizona with gold in his saddlebags. He was dying (I can’t remember exactly the story and rather than look it up I’ll just do my best to repeat it…which is how all wild tales of lost gold go, so why not continue that tradition?)

He ranted and raved about his gold mine, then died.

Thus began a wild search for this gold mine, using the man’s location, the nearby mountains and the man’s ravings as clues. No gold mine was ever found. But there was the gold in his saddlebags so it HAD to be true, right?

It’s said the west was full of such stories so I thought why not write my own?

A garbled journal with dubious clues. An obsessed man who ruined his family by abandoning them to search. Two of his three children are caught by thrill of this treasure hunt.

And my first book, Whispers of Fortune, begins with that third child, an older brother, bitter about his father’s abandonment, and determined to save his brothers from the same obsession, catches up with his treasure mad little brothers. In the course of book #1, we find out that there is SOMETHING out there. The journal, vague and hard to decipher, is definitely a guide to something. Now, finally, mainly because he can’t control his brothers, the older brother agrees to join in the hunt.

The thing about the research is, it starts to turn up very cool true historical facts that can weave their way into my book and there was some really interesting things going on historically at this time and in this place. Or before…which explains the gold.

This is Josh and Tilda’s story. Tilda, who came west searching for the same boys the older brother was, because they lied their way onto an orphan train SHE was in charge of, (they weren’t orphans for heaven’s sake) then ran away from the train, leaving her in a bad position with the people who sent her with the orphans…we can’t just LOSE children, Tilda.

So here she is and she rediscovers knowledge she has about old California and the history of Conquistadors that explored the California coast, and why is it so fascinating to her? And did Captain Cabrilla really come inland? And why is her old boss at the orphanage in New York City so insistent she comes back, when she’d been on the verge of firing her? And did–

Well you get it. So much stuff to read about and research and LOVE that it’s a wonder I can get a book written. And unexpected discoveries about times and places are their own kind of treasure!

Leave a comment to get your name in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card.

Legends of Gold

Book #2 of Gold State Treasure

After years of solitude, Tilda Muirhead’s life takes an unexpected twist when she takes a position teaching at the orphanage on Two Harts Ranch following her cross-country pursuit of two brothers obsessed with a treasure map left by their adventurous grandfather. Tilda is now tasked with educating the mischievous brothers, who are bent on remaining out west until they find the hoped-for treasure. Then a man named Ben arrives, claiming to be her own long-lost brother. Raised as an orphan with no memory of her family, Tilda is both fascinated and wary of Ben’s sudden interest in finding her.

When Ben’s motives grow increasingly suspect, rancher Josh Hart suggests Tilda and the brothers set off on a quest with him that aims to protect Tilda while unearthing the map’s secrets. As they navigate the rugged wilderness, Tilda becomes captivated by the history behind the map, though she doubts it leads to anything more than old artifacts. Yet danger looms ever closer, and Tilda and Josh must rely on faith and their blossoming love to navigate the treacherous path ahead.

An action-packed Western of family, faith, and the quest to belong.

http://www.maryconnealy.com

 

The HANGMAN – Charlene Raddon – And a giveaway

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The Hangman

You’ve already heard of the series Gun for Hire. My book is the next due out on April 15.

In the Old West, for some reason, people hated hangmen. They threw garbage and rocks at them, ran them out of town, sometimes on a rail, and in rare cases, even tarred and feathered them.

The hangman didn’t choose the job. He took it because he had no choice.

It started back in Old England, where they would select a convict from a prison and make him the hangman.

His goal was to cause instant death by breaking the top two vertebrae of the victim’s neck. This did not always cause the quick death hoped for, but usually caused severe damage to the brain or left the victim paralyzed. In rare instances, this particular break caused no damage. I am an example of this. Several years ago, I fell on my sidewalk and broke those top two vertebrae. I also split my nose open. Bleeding badly, I got up and walked into the house. My doctor told me I was a miracle.

A few hangmen stand out in history:

William Marwood invented the “long drop” technique intended to break the prisoner’s neck instantly and cause death by asphyxia. Marwood also created a table of height and weight to determine the length of the rope used for hanging.

William Calcraft performed the last public executions in England in 1868. Calcraft’s methods sometimes caused the condemned to take several minutes to die. To speed matters up, he would pull on their legs or climb on their shoulders to break their neck.

By the 20th century, the role had become almost celebrity status with thousands of applicants after the death of William Calcraft.

Albert Pierrepoint, b. 1905, followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle and was England’s most prolific hangman. His autobiography was made into a movie, Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman, starring Timothy Spall. In 1941, Pierrepoint undertook his first execution as lead executioner when he hanged the gangland killer Antonio “Babe” Mancini. He arrived the day before the execution, learned the height and weight of the prisoner, and viewed the condemned man through a “Judas hole” in the door to judge his build, then went to the execution room—typically next door—where he tested the equipment using a sack that weighed about the same as the prisoner; he calculated the length of the drop using the Home Office Table of Drops, making allowances for the man’s physique, if necessary. He left the weighted sack hanging on the rope to ensure it was stretched. He would re-adjust it in the morning if required.

On the day of the execution, Pierrepoint studied an X-ray of a cervical spine with a hangman’s fracture. He secured the man’s arms behind his back with a leather strap and walked him to the execution chamber to a marked spot on the trapdoor. There, Pierrepoint placed a hood over the prisoner’s head and a noose around his neck. He placed the metal eye through which the rope was looped under the left jawbone, which, when the prisoner dropped, forced the head back and broke the spine. A large lever released the trapdoor. All of this took a maximum of 12 seconds.

Kirk
  Kirk-Gun for Hire-Click to Buy

In my book, Kirk, Gun for Hire, Book 3, Kirk’s younger brother is framed and convicted of bank robbery. Unconvinced of the boy’s guilt, the judge gave him a choice of prison or becoming the county hangman. Kirk saw his brother as too young and weak-willed to face prison life, so he asked the judge to let him take the hangman job for his brother. His request was granted.

And so Kirk became the hangman for Owyhee County, Idaho.

In the opening of my story, Kirk hangs a condemned man and is shot by the convict’s partner. The bullet grazes his skull; he falls off the gallows and lands unconscious, nearly at the feet of my heroine, Adina, a typist at the local newspaper. She rushes to help him and, assisted by the town marshal, gets him to the tinker-type wagon he used to get around, change clothes, and sleep in on the road. When Adina witnesses a murder the following day, the marshal takes her to Kirk. Together, they travel around the county conducting hangings and trying to avoid the men who wish them harm. They don’t always succeed; the tale includes plenty of action and romance.

Have you ever seen the movie about Pierrepoint, or have you known someone who broke their neck?

Charlene Raddon fell in love with the wild west as a child, listening to western music with her dad and sitting in his lap while he read Zane Gray books. She never intended to become a writer. Charlene was an artist. She majored in fine art in college.

In 1971, she moved to Utah, excited for the opportunity to paint landscapes. Then her sister introduced her to romance novels. She never picked up a paintbrush again. One morning she awoke to a vivid dream she knew must go into a book, so she took out a typewriter and began writing. She’s been writing ever since.

Instead of painting pictures with a brush, Charlene uses words.

In 2011, Charlene’s artistic nature prompted her to try a different path and she began designing book covers. Today, she has a long list of clients and her own cover site, silversagebookcovers.com where she specializes in historical romance covers, primarily western.

And I think it’s fair to say she’s a cat lover!

 

Do you prefer history told in a frank manner or would you rather the author gloss it over and leave out details? Leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for a chance at one of two free copies of KIRK when it comes out. 

 

Kirk – Gun for Hire Series

A man sacrifices his future for his brother and finds danger lurking in the shadows.

Kirk Reddick, a former preacher, is faced with either letting his brother be forced into the job of a hangman or accepting it himself. He chooses to take on the hated work until he finds the man who framed his brother.

Observing a hanging at Red River Crossing, Adina Kinnaird is touched as she overhears the hangman comfort the condemned man. When Kirk is shot, she helps him escape the gunman and the angry mob.

Traveling from town to town, Kirk and Adina search for the man who framed his brother and find themselves falling for each other, but Kirk doesn’t want her living in the danger he faces every day.

In a showdown with the outlaw, Adina is shot. Kirk’s heart stops. He doesn’t want to go on without her. If she lives, will capturing the gunman be enough to clear his brother’s name and give Kirk and Adina the freedom to live outside the shadow of the hangman’s noose?

Charlene’s Links

https://twitter.com/craddon

http://www.facebook.com/charlene.b.raddon

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1232154.Charlene_Raddon

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/charlene-raddon

https://www.pinterest.com/charraddon5080/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlene-raddon-00854629/

https://www.instagram.com/charrad75/

https://www.facebook.com/CharleneRaddonwesternbooks

https://linktr.ee/craddon

 

Horses of the West and a Giveaway!

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Aren’t horses beautiful, majestic creatures? Horses and the West go hand in hand. Sure, there were horses all over North America, and in other countries too, but when most people think of “the West” they picture a cowboy on his trusty steed, Stetson on his head, coiled rope nearby, and perhaps a herd of cattle he’s watching over to driving back to his ranch. 

While the cowboy played an important role out West, in my opinion, the horse was maybe even more important! Someone who stole a horse was subject to a harsh public punishment such as a public whipping, jail time, or branding. That is, if they weren’t taken care of by vigilante justice. 

Horses were incredibly important on the frontier, as they were used for everything from transportation to work. They really were the essential workers of the day. With their great strength, horses were used in mills, pulled plows, wagons, and hauled freight, and can you imagine a cowboy trying to drive cattle without a horse? And…all those stagecoach robberies…it’s a lot easier to catch someone on foot with the loot if they didn’t have a horse! 

In fact, from 1850, to 1890, the number of horses grew from 4,336,719 to 15,266,244! They were as crucial to the West becoming settled as were the people who traveled there to call those wide lands home. 

 

Three of the most popular horse breeds in the West during the 1800s were the American Quarter horse, Morgans, and Mustangs. Each served a slightly different need, but all of them were important. 

The American Quarter horse was the most versatile for a western man’s needs. They were generally calm, muscular, and could pull wagons, work the cattle, and were fast horses. They were also a common horse, so easy to obtain. 

Morgans were used in gold mines, and also pulled stagecoaches and buggies. They were the favorite horses of the Pony Express riders because they were strong, fast, easily trained, and had good endurance. 

A Mustang was strong and sturdy. Mustangs were also feral, and hard to catch, with a temperament that was difficult. In the early 1900s, over two million Mustangs roamed the United States. They were almost wiped out, but with government regulation managed to survive.  

When my boys started doing horse lessons a few years ago, I had no idea that each lesson (which I sit in on) would start with an oral lesson. Over the last two years, we’ve learned about horse breeds and personalities, how much water they drink and what happens if they don’t have it, how long their intestines are, how much they eat, how many pounds of manure each day, and so much more. Because of this interest, I’ve worked horses in here and there in my books. I even wrote one about a wrangler, who was someone who worked with horses. 

In this book, Rose is as spirited as any unbroke filly, with no desire to settle down. And Levi, the wrangler, might be only one who understands. 

 

 

You can learn more by going here: 

https://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Wrangler-Second-Chance-Groom-ebook/dp/B0CFWJB2W4?tag=pettpist-20

But today, one of you will win your own copy. For your chance to win either an ebook or an audiobook code of Romancing the Wrangler, I’d just like to know: Have you ever ridden a horse? 

Henry Starr – Outlaw and Actor

by

As you may have guessed from his name, Henry Starr is a relative of Belle Starr, the Outlaw Queen. A nephew, to be exact. Henry was born in 1873 in Oklahoma Territory to George Starr, who was half Cherokee, and Mary Scott Starr, who was one quarter Cherokee. Mary came from an educated, law abiding family. George, not so much. Interestingly, Henry was no fan of Belle, whom he found crude and offensive. He told people they were related only by marriage. He didn’t seem to have a problem with his outlaw uncle Sam Starr, or grandfather Tom Starr.

After his father died, his mother married an abusive man, and Henry left home at the age of thirteen. He worked as a cowboy in rough and rowdy northeast Oklahoma, and despite having only a sixth grade education, was something of an intellectual. His first brush with the law was when he borrowed a wagon that was found to have whiskey in it. He pled guilty to having illegal spirits, but insisted he hadn’t known about the whiskey. His next encounter was law enforcement was when he was falsely accused of stealing a horse. After being bailed out of jail by his cousin, he took to the road, jumping bail. It seems that he decided that if he was going to be accused of crimes, he may as well commit them. He and two other men began robbing stores and train stations shortly thereafter.

Two lawmen managed to hunt down Henry in 1892 on a ranch where Henry was rumored to work. A gunfight ensued and Henry killed a Deputy Marshal and then escaped. Now wanted for murder, Henry and his partners began robbing banks instead of stores. While traveling to California by train, they stopped in Colorado Springs, where law enforcement were finally able to arrest Henry for murder and highway robbery. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang in 1893. His lawyers managed to appeal and the US Supreme Court overturned the decision, giving Henry a second trial. He was once again found guilty and sentenced to hang. His lawyers again appealed and Henry got a third trial, in which he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years.

During his stay in jail, a fellow inmate, Cherokee Bill, attempted a jailbreak with a smuggled gun. A guard was killed in the gunfight that followed. The guards could not disarm Cherokee Bill, so Henry, a friend of Bill, told the guards that he would talk the man into giving up the gun if the guards promised not to kill Bill. The guards agreed and Henry talked Cherokee Bill into giving up his gun. Because of this act, the Cherokee Tribal Government applied for a pardon, and Teddy Roosevelt, who was impressed with Henry’s bravery, reduced the sentence. Henry was released in 1903. After returning to civilian life and working in his mother’s restaurant, he married and had a son, Teddy Roosevelt Starr.

Unfortunately, law enforcement agents from Arkansas still had a bone to pick with Henry regarding a robbery there and demanded extradition in 1904. At that point, Henry went back on the run, formed a new gang and once again began robbing banks. He was captured, convicted and sent back to prison. While in prison,  he studied law and wrote his autobiography Thrilling Events; Life of Henry Starr. He was paroled by the governor in 1913. Once free, he began robbing banks again, chalking up a total of 15 robberies in 1914-1915. He was captured in 1915 and once again went to prison, where he finally came to the conclusion that crime didn’t pay  (even though it have been quite lucrative to him). He began speaking and writing to young people and encouraging them not to follow a life of crime, but to instead earn their money the old fashioned way. He was paroled in 1919 because of his good acts. He then turned to acting, producing and starring in a silent movie called A Debtor to the Law, which drove home the senselessness of crime. The movie was a success and he received an offer to make a Hollywood movie, but turned it down, once again fearing extradition to Arkansas. So what did he do then?

He returned to a life of crime. In 1921 he attempted a bank robbery in Harrison, Arkansas, but was shot in the commission of the crime and later died of his wound. He bragged to doctors on his deathbed that he had robbed more banks than any man in America. Indeed, he had made off with more than $60,000 during his career as a bank robber.

Petticoats & Pistols