Tuesday 25 September 2007

Buildings of Imelda

All the following buildings were created by Colin Rush of CR Models. If you wish to contact or commision Colin see links section.
Archies undertakers, probably the busiest business in Imelda! This building has a large yard area and outbuilding.

Joe's cafe, if your ever in town he does a corn beef hash!
Durells gun shop for all your posses necessities!

The first national bank and Lawyers office. Exceptional building, great to look at and extremely player friendly!

rear secure bank yard for dropping off bullion

Bank interior: safe room, cashiers office and customers area.


perkins livery stables

highly detailed interior of stables with stall, ladder and hay loft.


Lady Isabellas Dress makers and Chinese laundry.

This was a scene of much heavy fighting during the recent shoot out between Sheriff Shirley and Johnsons Rebs.


Some of the garments available.
oooh suits you sir.....



Shami is still head honcho!

Dave Marks -Shami-leaves-no-Marks Apaches: 121
Samuel Marks - Lt Norman House US infantry: 114
Steve Hall - Rob Johnsons Rebs outlaws: 114
Pat Smith - Wind of Valdez Bandidos:105
Joe Dever- Jake Fargo cowboys: 69
Mike Howe - Sheriff Shirley lawmen: 67

After 4 games apiece the redskins are still leading, although it is very close between the top four. Lt House and Johnson joint second with windy currently third with lots of spare dollars just waiting to be spent!
Jake and Shirley are lagging behind but that could easily change as a couple of strangers have been seen in town.
The renowned United States marshall Kaleb Bishop is here to invstigate the hanging of a deputy. If he discovers the truth the Johnson and his boys best beware.
A mysterious stranger has also been seen in town, No one knows his name and his motives remain unclear......

Sunday 23 September 2007

ROB JOHNSON IS TOP SIX-GUN!


Rob Johnson is top six-gun with 5 confirmed kills, 4 of which occured in the showdown in Imelda! He will now be shadowed by "the spirit of the times" reporter Nathan Vanderslice. Who knows if he becomes really infamous they may actually write a dime novel about him?

Saturday 22 September 2007

Imelda Gazette issue No.5

Incorporating the Imelda Gazette
Issue No. 5

SHOWDOWN IN IMELDA!



O’Reilly stood on the veranda out front of Joe’s café. His last gunfight had left a bitter taste in his mouth, even more so than the muddy coffee he was attempting to drink. He was having flashbacks about the old days when he was a peaceful farmer living with his young family in Missouri. One fateful night in ’62 that had all changed. Slim Jim Butler and his band of jayhawkers had got it into his head that O’Reilly’s politics weren’t neighbourly. So, as a fearful warning to the other slave-owning farmers in the vicinity, they set out to murder him.

The night they came for O’Reilly, he was away on business. But this did not stop their violent aims. They slaughtered his wife and his two innocent young boys, and then they burned his farm to the ground. An eyewitness said he saw Slim Jim laughing maniacally as he went about his bloody business.

O’Reilly was totally heartbroken. He threw in his lot with Rob Johnson in a hope that one day he would find Slim Jim and get a chance to avenge the murder of his family. For many long years his desire for vengeance had gnawed at his broken heart.

The day he had dreamed about finally came. It started like any other day in Imelda, calm and peaceful. He had just breakfasted and was strolling along Main Street when, in the distance, he saw the silhouette of the man who had been haunting his dreams ever since that terrible night long ago.

Slim Jim was walking along the Main Street towards him, seemingly without a care in his black heart. O’Reilly was frozen with shock and couldn’t help but stare as the murderer of his family steadily approached. He had come to within twenty yards of O’Reilly before his initial shock disappeared and the red mist of hatred cleared away from his disbelieving eyes. Almost without thinking, O’Reilly checked that his trusty shotgun was loaded and then he stepped out into the middle of the street.

“Hey! Jim Butler!” he shouted. Jim squinted at the lone figure who’d called out his name. Almost nonchalantly, he sneered and then turned slowly to walk away.

“Slim Jim Butler! If you don’t stop I’ll just have to shoot you in the back”. The bitter tone of this warning got Jim’s undivided attention. Slowly he turned back to face the angry man.

“Is that you, O’Reilly?” he answered, disdainfully. “You wouldn’t want t’go an’ shoot a lawman in the back, now would ya?”

“Lawman or no, you’re still a murderin’ son of a bitch!”

It was at this moment that Stephen the Heathen rode up behind O’Reilly on his dappled grey steed. O’Reilly heard him approaching and knew who it was, but this didn’t stop him carrying out the act he’d been dreaming of doing all these long, painful years. O’Reilly took aim at Slim Jim and fired off both barrels of his trusty sawed off shotgun… and missed his target.




O’Reilly and Slim Jim Butler exchange a few pleasantries

This classic Wild West showdown scenario was played out with the addition of the “duel” rule. O’Reilly and Slim Jim started out in the middle of the Main Street while the rest of the posses came into play on a 4/5/6 die roll. The Bushwhackers gained the initiative in the first 3 turns, but the majority of them failed to realize that there was anything amiss going down in town.

Sheriff Shirley’s boys came on immediately, and in force, but to no useful effect. Stephen the Heathen came to within 6” of O’Reilly before any of the Sheriff’s lawmen had got anywhere near to Jim, and this enabled O’Reilly to take action. He blasted Jim with both barrels, but when the smoke had cleared, his hated enemy was still breathing and in one piece. He’d ducked for cover behind the nearest wall and was hurriedly reloading. As the echoes of the initial gunfire faded, the posses proceeded to close on one another. Some walked boldly down Main Street in full view of their rivals, while others (the wiser ones) took to the back streets and alleyways of our beloved town.

Sheriff Shirley directs his posse up the back passage… ( titter ye not! )




As the gap between the rivals closed on Main Street, the Rebs got the drop… again! Stephen the Heathen leveled his rifle at Freddy Krueger and took him down with a crack shot. First blood of the morning to the Rebs. Rob Johnson led from the front and blew away Jack Splatt at close quarters; Splatt by name, splattered by nature.

Vigilante Legless Billy, incensed by Jack Splatt’s splattering and he returned fire at the Reb’s head honcho. He hit, he wounded, but luckily for Rob he managed to roll his fate and then pass his pluck test to survive what turned out to be a wincingly close shave.




It starts raining lead, so the boys rush to the laundry to get their washing in.

The posses closed in on each other around the town’s laundry and drying yard. For the first time in the game, Sheriff Shirley got the drop and, with his first shot of the game, he took out Frank T Winklebottom. Seeing Buckshot Bull about to let fly with his sawed off, Sergeant Baker cried out: “Fire!” Palmer fanned, Baker and Dutchie took careful aim, and all nine shots flew like an angry swarm of hornets towards Bull. Miraculously, he emerged unscathed. Bull then returned fire, but he did little more than drill half a dozen holes in the side of the clapboard latrine. It’ll be mighty drafty in that privvy this winter!

Meanwhile, back on Main Street, Rob espied Slim Jim skulking around inside the bank. He took aim through the window and squeezed off a round that shattered the glass and scraped a furrow of skin and hair off Jim’s skull, knocking him out cold.

Legless Billy took aim with his rifle and drew a sure bead on Palmer as he came hurrying along the middle of Main Street. The shot dropped him to the dirt. Finally ol’ Bowlegged Billy make his roll and came into play. Running just as fast as his bandy legs could carry him, he made his way towards the sound of the shootin’. Both posses continued to exchange fire in the laundry yard and around the bank. Dutchie fanned his six gun through the bank’s shattered window and hit lucky Bob three times, but still he failed to wound him. Lucky or what!? All the other shooting in this round proved to be just as close and equally as ineffective.




After taking 5 turns to reach the roof of the print works, English Tony realizes that he may be out of range… doh!

Sheriff Shirley and Legless went prone behind the laundry, and none of the Rebs managed to spot this dastardly trick. Johnson soon proved why he is the posse boss when he took out his third lawman of the morning. Buckshot Bull fell with a bellyful of Rob’s lead before he could squeeze both triggers of his sawed off. Sheriff Shirley lost his cool and blazed back, shooting Stephen the Heathen clean off his horse, but his bullet barely grazed this Civil War veteran and he was able to recover quickly, without any serious wound.

At the start of the next turn the lawmen were forced to take a Head for the Hills test. Unluckily, Sheriff Shirley got the drop. Then, miraculously, he proceeded to roll a double six!
During this critical round, all shooting turned out to be spectacularly ineffective. Rebel Rob charged into the bank and struck at Lucky Bob. He sensed an easy victory was to be had, but he ended up getting a smack on the nose. That’ll teach him to be so cocky!




Foul words and fisticuffs in the bank!

The lawmen won priority yet again and things started looking a bit dodgy for Rob Johnson and his bad boys, even though the odds were now 8:3 in his favour. Legless took out Dutchie on Main Street and Sheriff Shirley hit Stephen but failed to wound. Lucky Bob was still slugging it out with Rob Johnson in the bank and scored a lovely right hook, leaving Johnson nursing a humdinger of a black eye. He was now down to one wound.

Thornton saw his boss taking a pounding from what appeared, at least to him, to be a pugilist, and he rushed in to the bank to help him out. O’Reilly, Baker, and bowlegged Billy, all let loose a rebel yell and charged headlong at Legless who was standing in the middle of Main Street. While this was going down, Stephen the Heathen and Sheriff Shirley continued to hurl lead at each other, back and forth across the laundry yard.
Billy finds himself surrounded by damned Rebs!
With the odds doubled against him, Lucky Bob’s luck finally ran out. Rob Johnson got the critical on him and claimed his fourth victim of the morning. Outside on Main Street, Legless had little-to-no chance of surviving. Baker held him while O’Reilly took out his anger on his face. Realizing he had been left all on his lonesome, Sheriff Shirley decided the time had come to retreat.

Once the fighting was over, O’Reilly began to search for his hated foe: Slim Jim. He found him in the bank, just as he was regaining consciousness. Slim Jim squinted through blurry eyes and saw the grim reaper approaching, in the shape of O’Reilly. For the aggrieved Reb, this seemingly ordinary day in Imelda had turned out to be the day he’d been preying for for many long years. It was vengeance and judgment day all rolled into one.

Slim Jim was unceremoniously dragged from the bank, hog-tied, and then slung over the back of Stephen the Heathen’s horse. The lawmen escorted him out of town to the gallows tree where Sheriff Shirley passed a summary sentence of death upon him for several counts of cold-bloodied murder, and for one count of arson. When asked if he had any last words, the condemned man preyed for the forgiveness of the Lord for his crimes. O’Reilly was permitted to place the noose around Slim Jim’s neck and kick the log from under his feet, thereby sending him off to meet his maker. After several minutes of him swinging on the end of the rope, Sheriff Shirley pronounced that Slim Jim was dead and that justice had finally been served. The Sheriff ordered that Slim Jim’s body be left to hang for a week before burial, as a warning to others of the fate which awaits them if they are minded to commit murder and arson anywhere in Imelda County. Time for a lynching!

Post mortem

Lawmen
Although his posse was reduced to just a single man, Sheriff Shirley had some luck come his way at the end of the day. His entire posse survived the fighting, except for Slim “murdering son of a bitch” Jim Butler, who got what he richly deserved.

Jack Splatt became a pistoleer, and Legless gained +1 Pluck.

Rebs
Jake Thornton, the new boy, proved himself to his new boss. Alas, this was by dying like a hero. Ah shucks!

Posse boss Rob Johnson, with his hard won hand-to-hand experience took a few lessons with a journeyman and gained 2 advances on his fighting skill.

All the other Reb posse advances were centered around Pluck.

$41 dollars were found on the body of Slim Jim which was donated to the Rebs collective cause.

O’Reilly got the revenge he sorely craved. Perhaps he’ll now be able to sleep at night? Well, maybe, if only Baker didn’t snore so loud.




Shakedown
IN
Ambush Valley


Scenario briefing

Following the decimation of his posse in the back streets of Imelda at the (bloodstained) hands of the Apache, Jake Fargo hightailed it to Albuquerque to recruit brother Wells and sister Foxy into a new posse, entitled “Fargo Inc.” Pistoleer Dwight Wright skedaddled away to Texas after falling out with Jake during their hasty escape. Wells mustered an additional five cowpokes to the cause: Big Jim Douglas, Curley Spinks, Sam Sturgis, Chuck Kershaw, and the irascible Bushrod Wilkes. On their way back to Imelda, eagle-eyed Foxy spotted some half-smudged out pony tracks in the dirt of the Imelda Turnpike. They were Apache tracks. Jake was certain that these belonged to the nemesis of his previous posse, none other than Shami-(almost) leaves-no-Marks and he resolved to track down the itinerant injuns. As he crested the peak of Roughrider Ridge, located 5 miles west of Imelda, he spotted the redskins lying in ambush. On the main trail into town was a convoy of three covered wagons accompanied by a military escort. Barely able to believe his luck, Jake briefed his new posse to get ready to reap their vengeance on the Apaches. Then Foxy saw something that made Jake hesitate. On a ridge opposite the skulking injuns she had caught a glimpse of a swarthy-faced man waving a sombrero. Was he signaling to Shami? Or had Windy Valdez just let another one rip?

Set-up

This scenario was played out on a 6’ x 4’ table representing a rugged area of valley terrain five miles west of Imelda. Ideal ambush country. The main turnpike cut across its centre heading west to east.

Objectives

Lt. Norman House and his men had been detailed to escort the wagons safely through these badlands and into Imelda. For each wagon that reached the eastern edge of the table he would be rewarded with 3d6$s worth of bounty. Windy Valdez and Shami-leaves-no-Marks were set up ready to ambush the wagons as they approached the final, most dangerous leg of their journey into town. For each wagon they captured and held at the end of the game they would receive an extra 3d6$. Jake’s posse was hell-bent on avenging the deaths of the first posse members. For every Apache they took down, they would be rewarded with an extra d6$s.
If you go down to the woods today…

Deployment

Lt House and his feisty Feds deployed on the western edge, in column of march escort on either side of the convoy wagons. The last wagon in the line had its rear base edge touching the eastern baseline. The Apaches and the Bandidos cut the cards for choice of either the north or the south side of the table. Shami won and chose the north side; Valdez settled for the south. Their posses started within 6 inches of their respective baselines. Fargo Inc. began the game off-table. They needed to roll a 6 to come on during the first round, a 5 or 6 for the second, a 4 / 5 / 6 for the third and so on. It turned out that they were to arrive at the start of the third round. Jake’s boys (and girl) had to deploy along the western baseline.

Experience

Each fighter who survived the game gained 1 experience point, as per normal, but this applied even if the fighter was taken out of action during play (just so long as he survived the resolution rolls and lived to fight another day). Additional experience points were up for grabs by fulfilling these special conditions:
Jake Fargo: +1 experience point if the Apaches headed for the hills.
Lt Norman House: +1 experience point if he managed to get a minimum of 2 wagons off the eastern edge of the table.
Shami: +1 experience point if he secured at least 2 wagons
Valdez: +1 experience point if he secured at least 2 wagons
Fighters: +1 experience point for every enemy figure they personally put out of action.

Every breath you take… I’ll be watchin’ you!

How it went down

Lt. House and his boys had really picked the short straw this time. The rest of Fort Brannigan breathed a collective sigh of relief when they heard that they’d escaped the dangerous duty of escorting the sutler’s wagon convoy to Imelda. To reach the town, the convoy of three covered wagons would have to traverse the valley below Roughrider Ridge. The army called this notorious stretch of badlands ‘Ambush Alley’, and for good reason. This place put the bad in badlands.

As soon as the feds and the wagons came a-trundling into range, Windy Valdez took a pot shot at the lead wagon driver with his repeater. The bullet tore a neat hole in the canvas cover barely inches from the startled teamster’s head.
This alerted the Lieutenant to trouble and he ordered his best rifleman, David East, to return the compliment. East’s bullet punctured the Mexican leader’s sombrero and had him ducking for cover among the rocks. His accompanying bandidos cursed the federal sharpshooter; the near miss had caused a toxic hiss to issue from El Flatulencia, and they now found themselves engulfed in a mini methane maelstrom. Yuk-uloso!

Seconds after East perforated Windy’s sun bonnet, Shami signalled to his brave, Smaha, to let loose with his longbow at the federal flankers on the north side of the convoy. Predictably his arrow missed its target (have the injuns ever hit anything with their bowfire? I think not!), but it was enough to send a soldier ducking for cover on the valley’s rock-strewn floor. Fellow brave, Naiche, let twang his bow and another Apache feather-tailed pointy-stick was sent arcing away into oblivion. Jake’s posse heard the opening exchange of rifle fire, but they were still frustratingly out of sight of the action.

Shami’s redskins get stuck in to the convoy

The second round came around, but the Fargo posse were still nowhere to be seen. Shami had forgone his usual custom of having his tribal magician conjure up a downpour to dampen the powder and reduce visibility for the enemy lead-slingers. There was so much cover along the valley road that maybe he figured he didn’t need no deluge this time. The Apaches came screaming out of their wooded hide with ‘Shami-I’m-so-cool’ leading the attack on horseback. Pvt. Glen O’Reilly soon found himself the target of Shami’s disaffections. The injun leader’s tomahawk came whirling through the air at him, straight towards his trembling torso. Fortunately, the fed was wearing his oversized oval belt buckle which neatly deflected away the deadly
axe head. In his panic, O’Reilly fanned off a volley at the approaching Apache leader but to no discernable effect. Once again Shami had been saved by his kevlar fun furs. Whoopin’ and hollerin’, the Apaches covered the ground between their hide and the convoy and closed in quick for the melee. Lieutenant House signalled to his hired Gunslinger – the Man with No Name but who Everybody now calls Keith – to go after the two injuns who had remained behind in the hide of trees. He took aim and fired at the shadows lurking among the pine trunks, missing a critical but causing one of them to dive for cover. Meanwhile, Jacob Skinton got in a good shot with his rifle at Mahklo, one of the injuns near the rear of the attacking horde. The slug criticalled him fair and square, and Jacob gave thanks to the Lord for the point of fame resulting from his dropping of this reprobate redskin. Taklishin also got hit by a slug from the Lieutenant’s trusty heavy pistol, but a point of fortune saved the moccasined marauder from an unscheduled one-way trip to his Happy Hunting Grounds. The feds had pulled together a hasty firing line to counter the Apache attack, and their concerted fire caused a further two braves to duck for cover rather than press home their charge and join in with the bitter fray. Veteran Bill Bascom, and the spectacularly insignificant Charlie Plain, attempted to shoot the remaining two Apache tree skulkers but they were unable to spot them this time around.

Lieutenant House bravely stands his ground

Shami was in fighting mood par excellence. He declared it was ‘Time for a Whoopin’ on beleaguered Glen O’Reilly and a particularly tough hand-to-hand combat ensued. All credit to Pvt. Glen for fending off the furious Shami long enough for him to rejoin the federal firing line. The Apaches pressed home their attack and one helluva fight bust out around the wagon line. Daikaya hurled his tomahawk and missed. Have the injuns ever hit anything with a tomahawk throw? Where do they get their supply of tomahawks and arrows from… Naff Toys R Us? In the heat of the fight, plucky Lieutenant House found himself quickly surrounded by five howlin’ heathens. It was a close run thing for the federal leader, but he survived the fracas despite the odds being stacked heavily against him. Among his assailants, Hoo took 1 wound, Crow took 1 hit, Diyin escaped injury (barely), and the other two pulled off in poor order, muttering oaths about the Lieutenant’s claimed half-blood ancestry. The Lieutenant took 1 wound but he lives to brag about it; he did manage to fend off the enemy single-handed after all. Well done, son! Meanwhile, a dozen yards away from this unholy scrum, the Medicine Man and Taklishin were setting about Jacob Skinton. Taklishin took him down with his two attacks, but despite being brained unconscious by the blow, ol’ Jacob was destined to return at the end of the day. Dirty Daikaya charged Gunslinger Keith on horseback but the tough hired gun swiftly sent the arrogant Apache packing with his tail between his legs.
Windy Valdez with a pair of ‘human shield’ Peons

Meanwhile, Windy Valdez and his burrito bandidos were moving through the scrub and boulders to the south of the valley road. The injun attack had drawn away the federal flankers from his side of the convoy and he had his beady eye set on snatching the wagons from under Shami’s nose while the injun chief was caught up in the fight. And ol’ Shami was soon very much caught up indeed. O’Reilly’s retreat to the fed firing line had drawn the Apache chief forward, and he now found himself surrounded by four belligerent bluebellies. But in typical Shami style, ‘Le Grand Fromage’ of the injuns shrugged off their attempts to unseat him from his apollonian, and he made them all fall back.
Lieutenant House rightly considered his position to be untenable and he duly sounded the retreat. His decision to head for the hills necessitated abandoning the wagons, but it was either that or face inevitable slaughter at the hands of Shami’s Apaches and Windy’s opportunistic oppo’s.

Fargo Inc. Foxy, Jake and Wells.

The start of round three finally saw the arrival of the Fargo posse on the western baseline. Shami took one look at Jake’s grim visage and decided it was time to head for the hills. Eight angry palefaces with an axe to grind, and all of them armed with loaded sixguns ready to fan in his direction; this was more than enough to persuade the Apache chief to abandon the sutler wagons and haul his braves off into the hills. Shami’s pride may have taken a tarnishin’, but he and his ramblin’ redskins would live to fight another day.

Windy Valdez could barely conceal his glee as he and his compadres emerged from cover to claim the wagons without a fight. The Feds and the Reds had hightailed it to the hills, and Fargo’s newly-arrived posse were still too far distant to prevent the Mexican from getting his chilli-stained mitts on the convoy. Jake settled for the experience bonus gained from seeing Shami and his boys go hill-wards. He’s been denied his vengeance this time, but his newly formed posse had all gained experience at negligible risk.


Post Mortem

Feds
Glen O’Reilly gained +1 wound. Jacob Skinton survived his critical and gained +1 Grit. Charlie Plain picked up a pluck, and Bill Bascom gained a new skill. He’s now a Pistoleer. Oh joy! The Feds had to forgo gaining any experience on account of them heading for the hill voluntarily, and their payoff roll was a little less than impressive. $28 dollars to add to their stash.
Infamy Rating = 114

Apaches
Mahkro made a full recovery and gained +1 grit. He’s now Grit 5. Dakaya gained experience and added +1 to his shooting. Taklishin gained 2 experience points; he advanced and gained a new fighting skill. He’s now a strongman. All of the remaining injuns (Naiche, Smaha, Crow, Hoo, Shami, Diyin, and the Medicine Man) made no advances this time around. Shami took in a paltry $31 with 7 dice, and had to promptly pay back $15 of that for his Medicine Man’s upkeep.
Infamy Rating = 121

Windy Valdez
The clear winner of the game by a long chalk, Valdez grabbed all three of the wagons and made a great stash roll with the enhanced dice loading that the scenario gave him. 18 dice rolled for a total of $59. Mucho Pesos for ol’ fartydraws. Double helping of beans all round. Of his eleven man posse, only three made advances this time though. Rico added +1 to his shooting, Vasquez gained +1 fighting, and the lowly Peon Emillio picked up +1 wound. Looks like he’s now an armour plated human shield. Way to go, Emillio!
Infamy Rating = to be posted

Fargo Inc.
Jake picked up 2 experience points (the extra one coming as a result of Shami’s Head for the Hills) and he advanced this time around. He added +1 Pluck, making him 5 Pluck in total. His green posse all gained experience but didn’t get to advance this time. The stash roll brought in $27; not a bad day’s pay just for showing up at closing time!

Infamy Rating = 69


WILD WEST FACTS

Theodore Roosevelt was sent to live in North Dakota for health reasons. He fell in love with the West and wrote a book titled "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail" before becoming a US president. The book was illustrated by famous Western artist Frederick Remington.

Tombstone, Arizona in 1882

The famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral did NOT occur at the O.K. Corral. When the Earps and the Clantons shot it out in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881, their famous battle took place in a vacant lot between Fly’s Photograph Gallery and the Harwood house on Tombstone’s Fremont Street. The O.K. Corral was located nearby, however, and somehow its name became attached to the famous shootout.

The famous Lewis and Clark expedition covered 7,789 miles. Thomas Jefferson estimated that the trek would cost $2,500, but, in fact it cost $38,722.25.

Wyatt Earp once operated saloon in Nome, Alaska. In the late 1890’s U.S. Marshal Albert Lowe slapped an intoxicated Earp and took his gun away after Wyatt threatened to demonstrate how guns were handled “down Arizona way.”
About 1/3 of all gunmen died of "natural causes," living a normal life span of 70 years or so. Of those who did die violently (shot or executed), the average age of death was 35. The gunfighters-turned-lawmen lived longer lives than their persistently criminal counterparts.
1776 miles of track were laid during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska. On April 10, 1869, 10 miles of track was laid in one day. This outstanding achievement has not been surpassed to this day in this country.

The Battle of Little Big Horn also known as Custer's Last Stand took place on June 25, 1876. Lieutenant Colonel Custer's forces—including more than 200 of his men were wiped out in less than 20 minutes.

America’s first train robbery is believed to have occurred on October 6, 1855 in Jackson County, Indiana. The two bandits, John and Simeon Reno, took $13,000 from the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad.

Prostitution was tolerated in Deadwood, South Dakota until the last brothel closed down in October of 1980.

There were about 45,000 working cowboys during the heydays of the cattle drives. Of those, some 5,000 were African American.

Sixty-Five U.S. Deputy Marshals were killed in the line of duty between 1875 and 1891 while enforcing the law for “hanging Judge” Isaac C. Parker of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Bannack, Montana Sheriff Henry Plummer secretly led a band of outlaws who robbed or killed more than a hundred victims. His hidden life was eventually discovered and in 1864, he and his gang were hanged by Montana vigilantes.
In 1876, the lawless town of Deadwood, South Dakota averaged a murder a day.

During the Wild West days in Billings, Montana, the cowboys and ‘scarlet ladies’ of every saloon performed impossible dances atop bars, tables, and in some instances upon atop the pianos.


Newspapers of the
Old West
Part Two

California Territory
There is an interesting story to relate concerning a particular newspaper from California. It was a Pro-Confederate and, thus anti-Lincoln, and was published in San Francisco with the name The Democratic Press. Shortly after Lincoln was assassinated, a group marched to the newspaper offices and literally destroyed the press and equipment. Editor William Moss had to change the name of the paper and soften his anti-Lincoln stance before he could safely re-open. He changed the name to the Daily Examiner. It was this paper that George Hearst ultimately bought in 1880 to lay the Foundation for the building of a newspaper empire.

The Lincoln assassination also played an important role in launching to fame another California newspaper. The Democratic Chronicle was edited and printed by two brothers named Charles and Michael De Young. The paper saw its first issue on January 16,1865. The brothers were 17 and 19 at the time! (Incidentally; the only other person working for their paper at the time was Mark Twain.) At any rate, on April 15, 1865 all of the San Francisco papers were already on the streets by 8 AM and none made mention of the news of the assassination. On their way home from working all night in getting their paper out, they stopped at the telegraph office to see if anything interesting had come through. There was a telegram relating that Lincoln had been shot the night before. They took the telegram and hurriedly produced an "Extra" with news of the assassination and got it on the streets. These two teenagers "scooped" all of the other papers in town. From that moment, their paper was destined for a new journalistic career.

Colorado Territory
There is an interesting story relating to how the first newspaper in Colorado came to be. In 1859 there was a "Pikes Peak Gold Rush" which turned out to be a false alarm. John L. Merrick came to Denver City with the intention of starting a newspaper. Four days later William Buyers came to town with the same intention.

Soon the pending competition became evident. Both publishers worked frantically to put their newspaper off the press first. Both were faced with many problems. One such problem to face was that the roof leaked and the rain was pouring over their presses and work area. Canvas was stretched over the presses to help keep them dry and in working order. Excitement was mounting among the townspeople. Bets were placed on just which would be the first paper off the press! Buyers produced the first copy of The Rocky Mountain News on Saturday evening, April 23, 1859. Just a mere 20 minutes later Merrick had the first copy of The Rocky Mountain News on the street. Very soon thereafter, Merrick so1d his press and left to seek his fortune in the gold fields.

Samuel Colt

Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut on July 19, 1814. He died in Hartford on January 10, 1862. He was an American inventor and industrialist, and founder of the Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (which is now known as Colt's Manufacturing Company). He is widely credited with popularizing the revolver pistol. Colt's innovative contributions to industry have been described by arms historian James E. Serven as "events which shaped the destiny of American Firearms."

The Early Years

Samuel Colt's father, Christopher Colt, was a farmer in Connecticut, who moved his family to Hartford when he traded professions and got into business. Colt’s mother, Sarah Caldwell, died when Colt was almost two. He was one of seven siblings, 4 boys and three girls. Two of his sisters died in childhood and the other committed suicide later in life, but his brothers would be a significant part of his professional life. His father remarried when Colt was four and from then on Samuel was raised by his stepmother Olive Sargeant.

Samuel Colt acquired a horse pistol at an early age and his fascination with it led him to his eventual life’s profession.

He was indentured to a farm in Glastonbury at age 11, where he did chores and attended school. At Glastonbury he was influenced by the Compendium of Knowledge, an encyclopedia of scientific nature which he read instead of doing his bible studies. This encyclopedia contained articles on Robert Fulton and gunpowder, both of which provided motivation and ideas to the young boy. Reportedly on trips to the store as part of his chores Samuel overheard the military talk of the success of the double barreled rifle, along with the impossibility of a gun that could shoot five or six times. When reading Compendium of Knowledge “he discovered that Robert Fulton and several other inventors had accomplished things deemed impossible-until they were done” and “decided he would be an inventor and create the 'impossible' gun.”

In 1829 Colt began working in his father’s textile plant in Ware, Massachusetts, where he had access to tools, materials and the factory workers' expertise. Using the ideas and technical knowledge he had acquired earlier from the encyclopedia, Colt built a home-made galvanic gunpowder battery and exploded it in Ware Lake.
In 1832, his father sent him to sea to learn the seaman's trade. While sailing from Boston on the Corlo, Colt served on a missionary trip to Calcutta in an effort to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. Colt would later say that the concept of the revolver was inspired by his observations of the ship's wheel during this voyage. He discovered that “regardless of which way the wheel was spun, each spoke always came in direct line with a clutch that could be set to hold it...the revolver was conceived!”

When Colt returned to the United States in 1832, Colt's father financed the production of two pistols, but would only hire cheap mechanics because he believed the idea to be folly. The guns were of poor quality: one burst upon firing, and the other would not fire at all.

During this same period, Samuel again began working at his father's factory. He learned about nitrous oxide (laughing gas) from the factory chemist. He soon took a portable lab on the road and earned a living performing laughing gas
demonstrations across the United States and Canada.

During this time, he also made arrangements to begin building guns using proper gunsmiths from Baltimore. In 1832, at the age of 18, Colt applied for a patent on his revolver and declared that he would "be back soon with a model."

Making Guns

In 1835 Samuel Colt traveled to England, following in the footsteps of Mr. E.H. Collier (a Bostonian who had patented a revolving flintlock) and secured his first patent (number 6909), despite the reluctance from gun makers and British officials, because no fault could be found with the gun. He then traveled to France to promote his invention, where according to the "Spirit of The Times," he learned of the emerging conflict between the United States and France. Colt's patriotic ambitions were to serve his country, and he steamed for home, however, upon his return he learned of the mediation that England had brokered, and his ambitions to serve his country were foiled before he had a chance of disclosing them. It is thought that it was this incident that brought the manufacture of his firearms to Paterson, New Jersey. Shortly after his arrival home he rushed to Washington and on 25 February 1836 he was granted a patent for a "revolving gun" (later numbered X9430). "This instrument and patent No. 1304, dated August 29, 1839, protected the basic principles of his revolving-breach loading, folding trigger firearm named the Paterson Pistol."

Colt quickly formed a corporation of New York and New Jersey Capitalists in April 1836. Through the political connections of the subscribers the corporation was chartered by NJ legislature on March 5. It was named the “Patterson Arms Manufacturing Company”. Colt was given a commission for each gun sold in exchange for his share of patent rights, and stipulated the return of the rights if the company disbanded.

It was this first "practical revolver and the first practical repeating firearm," made possible by converging percussion technology, that would be the genesis of what would later germinate into an industrial and cultural legacy and a priceless contribution to the development of war technology; that was ironically personified in the naming of one of his later revolving innovations, the Peacemaker.

Colt never claimed to have invented the revolver, as his design was merely a more practical adaption of Elisha H. Collier's revolving Flintlock, which was patented in England and achieved great popularity there. Fortunately for Colt, he managed to secure his patent nearly two months before the Darling brothers (rival inventors with similar claims).

He did however greatly contribute to interchangeable parts. "Unhappy with high cost of hand made guns, and with the knowledge that some parts of guns were currently being made by machine, Colt wanted all the parts on every colt gun to be interchangeable and made by machine. His goal was the assembly line." In a letter to his father Samuel Colt wrote, “The first workman would receive two or three of the most important parts…and would affix these and pass them on to the next who add a part and pass the growing article on to another who would do the same, and so on until the complete arm is put together.”

Early Problems & Failures

Having trouble convincing the company’s owners to fund this new machinery to make the interchangeable parts, Colt went back on the road. Demonstrating his gun to people in general stores did not work, so with a loan from a cousin he went to Washington and President Andrew
Jackson himself. Jackson approved of the gun and wrote Samuel a note saying just that. With that approval he got a bill through Congress for a demonstration for the military, but no appropriation for them to purchase the weapon. A promising order for fifty to seventy-five pistols by South Carolina fell apart when the company did not move fast enough to start the production.

One recurring problem Colt had in selling his revolvers was that “it was not possible to change the provisions of the Militia Act of 1808. Any arms purchased under the Militia Act had to be those in the current service to the United States.” In other words, state militias could not officially allocate funds towards the purchase of weapons not also used by the United States military.

When Martin Van Buren took office, the ensuing economic crash almost ruined the company. The company was saved by the war against the Seminoles in Florida which provided the first sale of the revolvers, both pistols and new revolving muskets. The soldiers in Florida loved the new weapon, but one problem with them did emerge. It so happened that “there was the unusual hammerless design, sixty years ahead of its time…But at the time it lead to difficulty training men to use exposed hammer guns and many curious soldiers took the locks apart. This resulted in breakage of parts, stripped screw heads, and jammed actions.” Colt soon reworked his design to leave the firing hammer exposed.

In late 1843, after problems with the Militia Act and numerous other setbacks, including the loss of payment for the Florida pistols, the Patterson New Jersey plant closed.

The Two Sams

Colt did not stay out of manufacturing long however. Soon after, in trying to once again market his underwater electrical detonators, Samuel Colt met Samuel Morse. They became friends and both tried to lobby for funds from the government. The details on Colt's waterproof cable become valuable when Morse ran telegraph lines under lakes and rivers, or through bays, and especially when he joined men trying to lay his new telegraph across the Atlantic Ocean.

Getting appropriations from Congress toward the end of 1841 because of tensions with Great Britain, Samuel Colt began to show his underwater mines for the US government. In 1842 he was able to destroy a vessel while in motion to the satisfaction of the navy and the president. Opposition from John Quincy Adams, who personally disliked Colt, scuttled the project.
Colt then concentrated on manufacturing his waterproof telegraph cable, believing the business would boom along side Morse’s invention. Colt was to be paid $50 per mile for the cable. He began promoting the telegraph companies so he could create a wider market for his cable.

The Return of the Revolver

An order for 1,000 revolvers from the U.S. government and Capt. Sam Walker and the Texas Rangers, who had previously acquired some of the first productions of the Colt revolvers, in 1847 in the Mexican-American War made possible the reestablishment of his business. Not having the factory anymore, or a model, Colt hired out the help of Eli Whitney Jr., who was established in the arms business to make his guns. Colt and Capt. Sam Walker drew up a new improved model. Whitney produced the first thousand then another order for a thousand more and Colt took a share of the profits $10 a pistol. He later built the Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company factory at Hartford. His revolving-breech pistol
became so popular that the word "Colt" was sometimes used as a generic term for the revolver. The gold rush and western expansion made his business boom. He was continually forced to expand the Hartford factory.

Colt received an extension on his patent because he did not collect on it in the early years. He then waited for someone to infringe on it and sued. Samuel won the suit and received royalties on guns the rival company made, forcing the company to discontinue production. With a virtual monopoly, Colt began to sell his pistols abroad to Europe, where demand was high due to tense international relations. By telling each nation that the other was outfitting with Colt's pistols, Colt was able to get large orders from many countries fearing falling behind.

The Later Years

Colt later purchased a large tract of land beside the Connecticut River, where he built a larger factory (Colt Armory), manor (Armsmear), and workman housing. He established a ten-hour day for employees, installed washing stations in the factory, mandated a 1 hour lunch break, and built the Charter Oak Hall, a club for employees to enjoy with games, newspapers, and discussion rooms. In this way he was a progressive employer concerned with his employee’s well-being.

Now being completely successful in his professional life Colt wanted to also enjoy his personal one. On June 5, 1856 he married Elizabeth Jarvis, the daughter of the Reverend William Jarvis, who lived just downriver of Hartford.

When Samuel Colt died in 1862 his estate was estimated to be valued at around $15,000,000. This he left to his wife and son, while he turned the factory responsibilities over to his brother-in-law, Richard Jarvis.



Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms,
Words & Expressions
Part Four


J
JERKY
Dried meat made by cutting meat into strips about one inch wide, 1/4 inch thick, and as long as possible. This was then sun-dried on racks often with a small hardwood fire under the meat to smoke it and to keep insects off it. In good, hot weather the meat would be dry and ready to use in 3 to 4 days.
JORNADA
A day's journey. A journey between pre-determined points.

K
KEEL BOAT
A 60- to 80-foot long flat-bottomed boat about 16 feet wide. In wide use before steamboats.
KEENER
A man who is an exceptional shot.
KINNIKINNICK
A firm of smoking tobbaco made from the leaves of the tobacco plant plus the leaves and bark of other plants, the actual formula depending on the tribe making it.
KYACK
A rawhide box designed to be strapped to a pack saddle.

L
LARRUPT TO
To eat in a hasty and sloppy manner
LARRUPING GOOD
Anything which has an extra fine flavor.
LASH ROPE
The rope used to tie a load to a pack saddle.
LAVE HOI
Time to roll out of bed. This expression, usually given in a good, loud voice, was used to awaken a partner or a whole party.
LEGGINGS
The buckskin, later blanket, trousers of the Indian.
LIGHTS WENT OUT, THE
He died.
LOBO
Timber wolf.
LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL
In total; the whole thing. For examples "He sold his shop, lock, stock, and barrel". This expression comes from the 3 major parts needed to construct a muzzle loading rifle or pistol.
LOCO
Crazy.
LODGE
The living quarters be it house, cabin, tipi, hogan, tent, or lean-to, of the Indian or mountain man.
LODGEPOLE
The main cross-supporting pole of a lodge.
LODGEPOLE PINE
(Pinus contorta) Once one of the most valued trees in the Rocky Mountains, due to its many uses. Also known as "Screw pine" and "Tamarack pine".
LONG FORM
A crude bench long enough to seat three or more people.
LUMPY DICK
An early pudding made by stirring dry flour into boiling milk until thick, then serving with sweet milk and molasses or sugar.

M

MACKINAW
A boat approximately 40 feet long, 10 feet across the beam, and 4 feet deep, pointed at both ends. This boat, widely used on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River systems, was capable of holding a cargo of approximately 10 tons. Often these were used for downstream travel only.


MADE WOLF MEAT, HE WAS
A dead man left where he fell, for the wolves to dine on. An act of contempt.
MAKE BEAVER, TO
To get a move on, to travel in a hurry.
MAKE MEAT, TO
To hunt for and lay in a good store of meat.
MAKE MEDICINE, TO
To hold a pow-wow or meeting. To pray for spiritual guidance. To hold a religious service. To actually look for and find herbs, etc. to be used as medicine.

MAL DE VANCHE
An illness common to the mountain man and voyageur, It was caused by eating too much fat or fatty meat and not enough vegetable matter.

MANGEUR DE LARD
Voyageur term for a fur company recruit. These men, considered useful for common labor only, were usually fed salted pork, hence the name. The term was later adopted by the mountain men to mean any man new to the fur trade.

MANTILLA
A shawl used as a trade item with the Indians,

MEAT BAG, THE
The human stomach.

MEDICINE
The magic, secret charms of the Indian. Also the bait used in trapping.

MEDICINE BAG
The small bag, used to carry the medicine of the Indian. Adopted by the mountain man and used to carry anything small, especially the "secret" bait he used near his traps.

MEDICINE PIPE
The sacred pipe of the Indian. This pipe was used only during special ceremonies, was kept in a special, sacred bundle, and was NEVER allowed to touch the ground.

MEDICINE LODGE
A sacred lodge used only for religious ceremonies. In some tribes it could also be used as a meeting place for the secret societies of braves. The sweat lodge (an early American form of sauna bath) used by many tribes was also considered a "medicine lodge".
MESA
A table-top (flat) mountain or hill.

METATE
The stone mortar used for grinding corn and other grains. The word is Spanish, not Indian.

MOCCASIN
The buckskin or moose hide shoe of the Indian and mountain man. Light, quiet, and comfortable.

MOCCASIN MAIL
A postal system devised by the mountain man. It consisted of leaving messages concerning the condition of the trail ahead, time and place of a rendezvous, etc, in trees, hollow logs, etc. Such messages were quite often put in an old moccasin so they would be easy to see.

MUD HOOKS
Human feet. This expression is still often heard among country people.
MULA
Mule.


Saturday 15 September 2007

GAZETTE issue 4

Incorporating the Ugley Imelda Gazette
Issue No. 4

FIRST NATIONAL BANK ROBBED!Early this morning, while all the horse rustlin’ action was goin’ down downtown, the renowned rebel outlaw Rob Johnson and his boys were busy robbing the First National Bank.

Minutes before the daring robbery took place, the outlaws had the audacity to pose outside the bank for our staff photographer - Nathan Prentiss. Little did Nate know that all hell was about to break loose soon after this photo was taken!

Rebel Rob Johnson –
Outlaw or freedom fighter?

Sheriff Shirley Knott had been tipped off that Johnson and his boys were in town and up to no good, as usual, so he decided to split his posse in two and catch these southern bushwhackers in a classic pincer movement, or ‘the horns of the buffalo’ as ol’ Sitting Bull likes to say. Shirley’s lawmen headed down Main Street with Preacher in tow, while at the same time trusty Deputy Doug led fellow lawmen Herb and Tom through the back alleys to lie in wait in the grounds of Lady Isabella’s dressmakers shop, located just across the street and directly in front of the bank.

But wily ol’ Rob Johnson was expecting such a ruse from Shirley and he had taken time to position his best shot with a rifle - “Bowlegged Billy” – up on the roof of the bank as a lookout and sniper. Stephen the Heathen had his horse tethered out front and was watching from the front door, with new boy “English Tony” standing close by. This brave little Brit was eager to prove his mettle to his posse leader and personal hero - R.J.

Stephen & English Tony keep a wary eye on the street from inside the bank.
The first shot was fired by Billy who had sighted a member of the sheriff’s posse creeping about in the shadows of the livery yard. Too much breakfast coffee
had given him a touch of the caffeine jitters, and Billy’s aim was uncharacteristically off. The muzzle flash of his Winchester gave away his position, and he was lucky to only get a fleck o’ brick dust in his eye when his intended target immediately returned fire with a scoped rifle. Better you stick to decaf from now on, Billy!

Hearing this exchange of rifle fire, Rob yelled to his boys to grab what they could carry from the safe and get ready to skedaddle. Stephen the Heathen and English Tony left by the bank’s front door, intent on diverting the lawmen just long enough to enable the rest of their gang to make a clean getaway by way of the bank’s back yard.

Billy has a Nescaffé moment
up on the roof of the First National
.
With the game now definitely afoot, Sheriff Shirley’s posse started to close in on the robbin’ Rebs. The lawmen were positioned on both sides of Main Street and were mighty confident that they had Johnson’s boys surrounded. Stephen the Heathen jumped on his horse and, out of the corner of one bloodshot eye, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Deputy Tom gettin’ set to draw his pistol. He shouted “Fire” to English Tony, who immediately obliged by quickly drawing, fanning, and dropping Tom before his Buntline Special had cleared its holster. Way to go, Tone! Stephen fired next and hit Deputy Doug, but Lady Luck was smiling upon him this fateful morning. The bullet skimmed the top of his Stetson and he was able to duck back for cover under the tables in Joe’s Café.
Herb, a model citizen (a 28mm model citizen in fact) was determined to do his bit to help out Imelda’s force of law and order. He espied the Injun and let rip with his six-gun. Sadly his aim wasn’t as good as his intention, and an errant slug hit Stephen’s horse in the butt which sent it bolting off into the adjacent alleyway. Stephen the Heathen was barely able to stay in the saddle as his ass-grazed mare bucked and bounced off the walls of the alley in its frenzy to get the hell outta there.
Lead starts to fly on Main Street

Steadfastly the lawmen continued to close in on the Bank as O’Reilly, Baker and Winklebottom crashed through the back gate, ahead of Rob and the boys who were laden with the loot.
Rob & Co. getting ready to runPreacher saw the back gates to the bank swing open and he grabbed the opportunity to take a pot shot at O’Reilly. His .45 cal slug parted the grey hair on the Civil War veteran’s head, and coaxed from him a colourful expletive that would have made his old drill color sergeant blush. O’Reilly and Baker returned fire in a trice, sending Preacher diving to the dirt with a hasty prayer to the Lord on his lips.

As the rival combatants closed on each other with grim intent, Deputy Doug got the draw on the renegade Cherokee and knocked him out of his saddle. His left foot got stuck in the stirrup, and the luckless injun was dragged all along the Main Street and outta town. Ouch! Oh! Road rash a go-go!

Thereafter, O’Reilly and Preacher continued to hurl lead at each other but to little effect. Winklebottom fared better when he discharged both barrels of his sawed-off shottie into Deputy Doug. Palmer added to the risk of his imminent lead poisoning by shooting Doug at the same time with his six gun. Poor ol’ Doug was wounded by the volley but still he managed to limp unaided into the Undertaker’s Yard. A rare smile cracked the craggy face of the parlour’s owner, Archie Grimsdale. It’s not often he gets customers turning up to his establishment on foot.
Backdoor action at the Bank…
ooer Matron!
Seeing the Deputy disappear in a cloud of gun smoke, Johnson and his loot-laden lackeys mistakenly thought their escape route was now clear. Whistlin’ Dixie, the plucky band of bank robbin’ bandits hightailed it out of the bank’s rear yard gate and took off along a back alley that leads out of town.

Then to everyone’s astonishment, Deputy Doug came charging out of the graveyard in what seemed like an act of sheer suicide. Rob Johnson and Palmer whipped out their pistols and began blazing away at this banzai lawman. With ice-cold nerve and questionable common sense, Daredevil Doug seemed to glide in slow motion through their hail of lead. Completely unscathed, he proceeded to calmly level his six gun at Palmer and blow him unceremoniously off his feet with a single shot.
Sheriff Shirley texts for reinforcements

This unnerved both Rob and Dutchy who immediately dropped their heavy bags of loot and sought cover behind the nearest wall. Preacher, inspired by Doug’s heroism, aimed and fired at Baker and found his mark. O’Reilly started into gibbering as his old buddy bit the dust beside him. Fumbling to load his sawed-off shotgun, he proceeded to cuss the bible-bashing bar steward in a most un-Christian way. Tut tut Mr O’Reilly!

Sheriff Shirley was now finally closing in on his prey, but in doing so he left himself open to a shot from his rival posse boss. Mr Johnson got the drop and loosed off an accurate shot that wounded Shirley fair and proper. But God certainly seemed to be on the side of the law that morning, and the Sheriff duly passed his fate roll. O’Reilly continued to curse at Preacher as he leveled his now-loaded shotgun at the bible-basher’s chest. Preacher reacted quickly and scurried behind a wall, and in so doing he left a clear line of sight for Sheriff Shirley to take down the cussin’ Irishman once and for all.

“Go get the loot, I’ll cover you…”

Sensing that the law were now getting the upper hand, Johnson screamed at his men to charge. Memories of Gettysburg and Pickett’s last amble through the cornfields suddenly came flooding back into the minds of Rob’s beleaguered Rebs. With a fearsome yell, these sons of the south leapt forward and charged. Doug soon found himself surrounded by a bellowing bunch of cash-crazed confederates, and before he could say ‘Stonewall Jackson’, they had overrun him and coshed him unconscious.

Dime dancin’ in the Dust
Meanwhile, Bowlegged Billy was having a tough time of it up on the roof of the bank. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to place a perambulatorily- challenged rifleman in a position from where he couldn’t easily escape without jumping. And jumping, especially downwards from a great height, is definitely not Billy’s strong point. Although he was now isolated on the roof, ol’ bandy legs did manage to snipe at Preacher and get a hit that knocked him clean off his feet. It was a wound that was later to prove fatal for this fiery man of god.
With bodies heaped around him and bullets ricocheting off the wall at his back, Sheriff Shirley reluctantly decided to withdraw with what was left of his brave lawman posse. The Rebs had secured the loot, but it had been no easy pickin’s for them. No sir-eee.

Rob Johnson rallied his rowdy rebs, gathered up the gold, and hightailed it outta town. All in all, he was very pleased with his morning’s work, even if the cost in terms of sweat lost and blood spilled had been a little higher than he’d hoped for.

Post Mortem
Rob Johnson’s Rebs

Stephen the Heathen rolled multiple injuries on the recovery roll… and got lucky. He became hardened by his
experience and he also gained an extra wound.

Sergeant Baker also became hardened and gained +1 Grit

Corporal O’Reilly, who has been TKO’d in every encounter so far, gained +1 Grit and now has a ‘Bitter Enmity’ towards Sheriff Shirley and his boys for taking down his pal Baker.

John Palmer made a full recovery.

Seeing the Rebs in action inspired a new boy to join them. His name is Walter Closet. Oh dear.

Infamy Rating = a fulsome 91


Sheriff Shirley’s Lawmen

Preacher - finally went to meet his maker. The worms will be feasting on Boot Hill tonight.

Deputy Tom - he got one hell of a
beatin’, but at least he’s still breathin’. He’ll have to miss out 3 games while he recovers from his wounds tho’.

Sheriff Shirley has now become so skilled they are calling him the ‘rifleman’.

However, some Imeldans claim the Sheriff is suffering from partial deafness due to all the gunplay he’s been involved in of late. Shirley may think people are calling him ‘The Rifleman’, whereas in actual fact they are calling him ‘The Trifle Man’, on account of him being so partial to desserts made from solidified custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.

Infamy Rating = a sweet 40


WILD WEST FACTS
The cowboy hat we have come to know today was first designed in the 1860s by a New Jersey man named John Batterson Stetson. Stetson, in Central City, Colorado for health reasons, saw a market for a broad brimmed hat for ranch wear. He opened a shop in Philadelphia and began designing hats under the Stetson name in 1865. By 1906 Stetson employed approximately 3,500 workers, turning out two million hats a year.

The first biography of Billy the Kid appeared only three weeks after his death.

Oklahoma is a Muskoegean word that Choctaw Allen Wright coined to mean "Red People." It was first applied to the eastern portion of Indian Territory in 1890.

dodgecity-longbranchsaloon.jpg (300x198 -- 6653 bytes)
Inside the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas.

The Long Branch Saloon really did exist in Dodge City, Kansas. One of the owners, William Harris, was a former resident of Long Branch, New Jersey and named the saloon after his hometown in the 1880’s. The Long Branch Saloon still exists in Dodge City and can be seen at Dodge City’s Boothill Museum.

Jesse James was called "Dingus" by his friends.

The last Old West outlaw of renown to die “on the job” was Henry Starr, who began his career as a bandit in 1893 and led a gang of mounted outlaws for more than twenty-five years. Starr’s
career finally ended on February 18, 1921, when he was shot to death trying to rob a bank in Harrison, Arkansas.

During these old west times a gunfighter was also known as a “leather slapper,” a “gun fanner,” “gun trapper," “bad medicine,” “curly wolf,” and a “shootist.”

The telephone was invented in 1876. The first community to have a telephone, after the White House telephone was installed, was Deadwood, South Dakota.

According to eye witnesses, Wild Bill Hickok could hit a dime tossed into the air nine out of ten times; he could knock an apple from a tree with one shot and then hit the apple again with another bullet before it hit the ground, all at 25 paces.
Cowboys driving cattle to the market could expect to make between $25 and $40 per month. A Trail Boss might make as much as $125 per month.

In addition to Christianity and horses, the Spanish conquistadors brought something else to the American Indians. The number of Native Americans living in New Spain decreased from around 11 million in 1520 to about 6.5 million by the 1550's, thanks to measles, cholera, and other diseases imported from Europe.

Doc Holliday claimed he almost lost his life a total of nine times. Four attempts were made to hang him and he was shot at five times.

For acts of bravery during service with the U.S. Army in the Indian Wars, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1872. But in 1917, the year of his death, it was withdrawn because of his status as a civilian scout.

Sometimes cowboys referred to beans as "Deceitful Beans" because they talked behind your back. Watch out, Windy!

Newspapers of the
Old West
Part One
Arizona Territory
In 1879 a newspaper by the title of The Nugget began publication in Tombstone. Shortly after that there appeared a second newspaper in Tombstone. Its title was The Tombstone Epitaph. Few newspapers in the Old West gained as much acclaim as The Tombstone Epitaph. It was edited by John P. Clum. It is said that when someone asked Clum as to how he came upon the name for his paper he replied "Every tombstone needs an epitaph." His newspaper was to be a statement of the era.

The Winchester Rifle
"The gun that won the West"
The Winchester rifle has become synonymous with the word "repeating rifle" (i.e. multishot rifle) which was manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and was commonly used in the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. The gun is colloquially known as "the gun that won the West" for its immense popularity at that time, as well as its use in fictional Westerns.

Characteristics
The original Winchester rifle was famous for its rugged construction and lever-action mechanism that allowed the rifleman to fire a number of shots before having to reload: hence the term, "repeating rifle."

Predecessors
The idea of a repeating rifle had been the subject of many inventions since the use of firearms began, but few of these had proven to be practical, mainly because the modern cartridge, which made repeating arms practical, had not yet been developed.

Repeating revolvers were popular in the mid 19th century. One of these revolving pistols, the Colt, was very successful, and a rifle version was produced, but it was not widely popular. The more successful Spencer rifles and carbines of the American Civil War were a notable step forward, but were not completely satisfactory in various respects.

The ancestor of the Winchester rifles was the Volcanic rifle of Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson. It was originally manufactured by the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, which was later reorganized into the New Haven Arms Company, its largest stockholder being Oliver Winchester.

The Volcanic rifle used a form of "caseless" ammunition and had only limited success. Wesson had also designed an early form of rimfire cartridge which was subsequently perfected by Benjamin Tyler Henry. Henry also supervised the redesign of the rifle to use the new ammunition, retaining only the general form of the breech mechanism and the tubular magazine. This became the Henry rifle of 1860, which was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company and was used in considerable numbers by certain Union Army units in the Civil War.

Development
After the war, Oliver Winchester continued to exercise control of the company, renaming it the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and had the basic design of the Henry rifle completely modified and improved. It become the first Winchester rifle, the Model 1866, which fired centerfire cartridges and had an improved magazine and, for the first time, a wooden forearm. In 1873 Winchester introduced the Model 1873, with a steel frame and the more potent .44 Winchester Center Fire (WCF) cartridge. In 1876, in a bid to complete with the powerful single shot rifles of the time, Winchester brought out the Model 1876 (Centennial Model). While it chambered cartridges with more power than the 1866 and 1873 models, the toggle link action was just not strong enough for the popular rounds used in Sharps or Remington rifles.

From 1883, John Browning worked in partnership with the Winchester, designing a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1897 shotguns and the lever-action Model 1886, Model 1892, Model 1894 and Model 1895 rifles. Reproductions of the 1887 and 1897 shotguns, and the 1886 and 1892 rifles, are available today, though not from Winchester. The Model 94, and limited editions of the 1895 rifles, are still produced under the Winchester name, but no longer in the United States.

The 1866 was only available in the rimfire .44 Henry. The 73 was available in .44 WCF (.44-40), .38 WCF (.38-40), and .32 WCF (.32-20), most of which were also available in Colt, Remington, Smith & Wesson, Merwin & Hulbert, and other revolvers. Having a common centerfire cartridge in both revolvers and rifles allowed the owner to carry two firearms, but only one type of ammunition. The original 73 was never offered in the military standard .45 Colt cartridge; only modern reproductions are offered in that caliber. There was a limited number of 1873 Winchesters manufactured in .22 rimfire caliber, which lacked the loading gate on the right side of the receiver.

Winchester continued to dominate the American rifle market for decades with the introduction of Models 1876, 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895 (which featured a box magazine, rather than the tubular magazine found on the previous models). The '76 was a heavier-framed rifle than the '66 or '73, and was the first to be chambered for full-powered centerfire rifle cartridges, as opposed to rimfire cartridges or handgun-sized centerfire rounds. It was introduced to celebrate the American Centennial, and earned a reputation as a durable and powerful hunting rifle. The Canadian Mounties also used the '76 as a standard long arm for many years. Theodore Roosevelt used an engraved, pistol-gripped half-magazine '76 during his early hunting expeditions in the West and praised it.

The Browning-designed Model 1886 continued the trend towards chambering heavier rounds, and was even stronger than the toggle-link '76. In many respects the '86 was a true American express rifle. The '86 could be chambered in the more powerful black powder cartridges of the day, including the .45-70 Government. Chambering a rifle for the .45-70 had been a goal of Winchester for some time.

Winchester returned to its roots with the Model 1892, which, like the first leverguns, was primarily chambered for lower-pressure, smaller, handgun rounds. The Model '92, however, incorporates a much stronger action than the leverguns of the 1860s and 1870s. 1,004,675 '92s were made, and although Winchester phased them out in the 1930's, they are still being made under the Puma label by the Brazilian arms maker, Rossi. In its modern form using superior materials, the 92's action is strong enough to chamber ultra-high pressure handgun rounds, such as the .357 and .44 Magnums, up to the mighty .454 Casull.

The 1892 was designed as a replacement for the 1873 by John Moses Browning. Browning went on to dominate the Winchester design team during the revolutionary period of the 1880s to the early 1900s, when smokeless powder forced all arms makers to go rethink every aspect of their firearms. Thanks to Browning's genius, Winchester was able to stay on top of the market during this explosive period. The company was the first to develop a rifle and cartridge for the new powder, the Winchester Model 1894. Though delays prevented the .30-30 or .30 WCF round from appearing on the shelves until 1895, it remained the first commercially available smokeless powder round for the North American consumer market. Though initially it was too expensive for most shooters, the '94 ultimately became Winchester's most popular rifle of all time, selling millions across North America.

In 1885 Winchester entered the Single Shot market with their model 1885 rifle, a rifle that had been designed by John Moses Browning in 1878. The Winchester Single Shot, known to most shooters as the low-wall, and the hi-wall, but officially marketed by Winchester as the Single Shot rifle, was produced to satisfy the demands of the growing sport of MATCH
SHOOTING, which opened at Creedmoor, New York, on June 21, 1872. Target shooting, MATCH SHOOTING as it was referred to, was as popular from about 1871 until about 1917, as golf in the US is popular today.

The Winchester company, which had built its reputation on repeating firearms, had in 1885, challenged the single shot giants of Sharps, Remington, Stevens, Maynard, Ballard, among others. Winchester not only entered the competition, they excelled at it, as MAJ. Ned H. Roberts (1866-1948 - inventor of the .257 Roberts) would state later, "...the most reliable, strongest, and altogether best single shot rifle ever produced." [7] There was a lot of truth to that, as Winchester produced their Single Shot from 1885 to 1920, with nearly 140,000 units. More importantly, the model 1885 had been built with the strongest falling block action known at that time, strong enough for the Winchester company to use the 1885 action to test all of their new ammunition with. To satisfy the needs of the shooting and hunting public, the model 1885 single shot had been produced in more calibers than any other winchester rifle. In 2005, after a break of 85 years, the Winchester Company reproduced a "Limited Series" of their Winchester Single shot rifles, in both 19th and 20th century calibers. The 21st century Winchester Single Shot rifles are built with the latest technology and modern steels, enabling them to fire modern cartridges. Original 1885 single shots, should be inspected by a competent gunsmith before firing modern high pressure loads or in some cases smokeless powder.

While earlier rifles and shotguns actually "won the West," the majority of lever action rifles seen in classic Hollywood Westerns are Winchester '92 carbines chambered in .44-40 and .38-40 (to utilize the "5-in-1" blank cartridge), which John Wayne famously carried around through dozens of films set in periods from the 1830s to the 1880s. Winchester rifles remained the most popular in the US through WWI and the interwar period. However, European advances in the development of bolt action rifles threw a long shadow.

These new rifles could chamber pointed "Spitzer" bullets, which no lever action with a tube magazine could. They could also cope with more pressure, and consequently chamber more potent rounds and shoot flatter than a lever rifle. On top of this, bolt actions as developed by Mauser and other European concerns had front locking lugs which stabilized the cartridge head very well, and allowed for phenomenal accuracy.
In response to the increasing competition from these bolt-action rifles, Winchester introduced the Model 70 in 1936. This was not Winchester's first bolt rifle, but it was by far their most successful. It was based on a modified Mauser Gewehr 98 design, but with modifications and popular North American chamberings which made it more appealing to American hunters than European imports or sporterized military rifles.

Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms,
Words & Expressions
Part Three

H

HAIR OF THE BEAR, HE HAS
The greatest praise a mountain man can say of another.
HALF BREED
A person of mixed blood, Indian and White.
HALF-FACED CAMP
A floor less shed, closed with poles on the back and sides, closed with skins and blankets on the front. The roof sloped from the rear of the shed to the front. This form of house or shed was greatly used by settlers until they had time to construct a log structure.
HAWK
Short for "Tomahawk".
HEFT, TO
A very old term meaning "to lift and feel the weight of".
HELLO THE CAMP
A traditional greeting given before entering any strange camp. Better given at a slight distance or the visitor may not leave in the same manner that he entered,
HIDE HUNTER
A rather low breed of man who killed buffalo for the hides only. Usually despised by all who came into contact with him. "Buffalo skins for the belts of industry."
HIVERANNO
An experienced mountain man. One who had lived many years in Indian country. (First Voyageur, later Mountain Man)

HOGSHEAD
A large wooden barrel or cask capable of holding from 100 gallons up.
HOGAN
A stick and earth lodge used by the Navaho Indians,
HOLLER CALF ROPE
Give up, surrender. An expression used by river boatmen.
HORRORS
Delirium Tremans. After the first night or two at the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous many a mountain man faced the horrors.
HUMP RIBS
The small ribs which support the buffalo's hump. Roasted they were another favorite of the mountain men.

I
INDIAN ANNUITY
Payment given to Indians as part of a treaty agreement. More often than not, a sizeable portion went into the pocket of some bureaucrat.
INDIAN BREAD
Corn meal bread.
INDIAN DOCTOR
Medicine man. Also, a White man well versed in natural medicine,
INDIAN FILE
Single file.
INDIAN GOODS
Trade goods. Often just trinkets of little value to the White man, but of great value to the Indian.
INDIAN HATCHET
Tomahawk.
INDIAN SCOUT
An Indian on scouting duty with the U.S. Amy.
INDIAN SIGN
Evidence of Indians in the area.
INDIAN UP
To sneak up on someone or something.

Shami still head honcho!

After four shoot outs Shami-leave-no-marks and his Apache braves are still top of the leader board. Jake Fargo has limped out of town, threatening to come back with his bro Wells...


heres a pic of one of shamis ancestors Ambrosius Aurelianus, "Marksy" to his Teulu
There is no Top six-gun as there are a few contenders on three kills.
Dave Marks -Shami-leaves-no-Marks Apaches: 109

Samuel Marks - Lt Norman House US infantry: 94

Pat Smith - Wind of Valdez bandidos: 92

Steve Hall - Rob Johnsons Rebs outlaws: 91

Joe Dever- Jake Fargo cowboys: Headed for the hills, or should that be his Bro's ranch. Now back on his way to Imelda with a new posse: 55

Mike Howe - Marshal Mike lawmen: 40

Thursday 13 September 2007

GAZETTE issue 3

Incorporating the Ugley Imelda GazetteIssue No. 3
Horse Rustlers Hit Town!After hastily defending Christchurch from marauding Apaches, renegade Rebs, and burrito-crazed bandidos, stalwart Lieutenant Norman House (US Army) returns to the fort to discover all of the horses have been stolen in his absence. A sombrero with an arrow through the brim was found in the empty stable, damning evidence pointing to an unholy alliance of nag rustlin’ varmints. Posse boss Jake Fargo lost two mounts from his corral, another victim of these sneaky midnight rustlers. Fargo reported the crime to Sheriff Shirley Knott. To his surprise, the Sheriff knew where to find the stolen horses: they were tethered to the rail outside the Clintons Hotel. The Sheriff remarked that there were half a dozen horses tied to the rails in that part of town. And they were all horses without saddles. Jake ruminated. Feeling much better for it, he decided at once to go and get his nags back.
Meanwhile, coming into town by the north road was Lieutenant House and a company of blue-bellied army boys. He’d heard about the horses too. Holed-up in the Grand Hotel were Windy Valdez and half his posse. Guests and staff were seen hurriedly leaving the hotel (holding their noses) soon after El Flatulencia and his calabazos arrived. Tied to the rail outside the main door were three horses; part of the bandits’ overnight haul from Fort Brannigan.
Directly across the street, outside the smaller Clintons Hotel, another three nags were hitched up to the rail. Two had Fargo’s brand; the third was U.S. Army. Jake eyeballed the brands and checked out the Apaches. Most of them were sleeping off a bellyful of rot-gut whiskey, upstairs in the first floor bedrooms. Fargo wet-panted it outta town to go fetch his posse. He was looking to make a quick raid on the snoozing squaw-lovers and get his horses back before they knew what had hit ‘em.

"How do I find Valdez?" "Easy… just follow your nose!"

Lieutenant House played it by the book. He had his men form into line and advance into town astride the north road. The plucky young officer had received word that some of the fort’s missing horses were tied up outside the Grand Hotel. A Mexican had been seen feeding them red chilies and tequila chasers shortly after sunrise. If there’s
one thing the Lieutenant can’t abide it’s 1
cruelty to animals. He was gonna make those lousy bastardiaros pay for their wanton dietary abuse of US Army livestock.
Snoozing on the porch of the Clintons was Crow Sleeplightly, the infamous insomniac injun. It was raining now, but despite the noise of the rain, it was the faint rustle of army equipment at 500 paces that had him wide awake in the blink of an eye. On the other side of the street, Concho clocked the injun leap up off the porch floor like his breeches were on fire. Only he wasn’t wearing breeches (it was more like a tasseled posing pouch with rhinestone accessories. Shami had spoken to him about this before the raid on the fort, but when it came to matters concerning the trouser department, the young brave was as obstinate as his father – Silver Thong). Crow yelled a warning to his brother braves, and Concho suddenly twigged that uniformed trouble was heading their way.

Fargo's posse gallops into trouble

With a noise like thunder, Jake and his posse rode into town at the gallop. They took the back route to the Clintons Hotel, not the most scenic part of Imelda but Jake was not interested in sightseeing; he was hoping to catch the Apaches fast asleep. But Crow had dashed that hope when he raised the alarm, and the bleary-eyed buffalo-worriers were now getting ready to give Jake and his pale-faced posse a very nasty surprise when they came a-callin’ at Clinton’s.

"come out, Valdez! we can smell your in there!"

Concho warned Valdez of the commotion and he and his honchos headed out onto the verandah to draw a bead on the Lieutenant’s advancing soldier boys. Using his sombrero, he signaled to the rest of his scattered posse to rally at the hotel. They had been posted to guard the west side of town, behind the hotel, just in case the U.S. Army came sneaking round the back in the dead of night, hoping to catch ‘em off guard. The army came alright, but unexpectedly they just marched straight down the main road into town. Sneaky is just not their style. Jake and his boys thundered towards the corner of the alley that runs between Clintons Hotel and Slim Pickin’s General Store. This alley will henceforward forever be known as ‘Injun Alley’, on account of the bloodshed that later took place in this passageway of pain. Shami’s braves got the drop on the cowboys and Dakaya took a shot at Jake with his bow. A soggy drawstring dropped the arrow short of its target. Fargo, Dwight Wright, and Frank Grant each let loose a fanned volley with their six guns that sent the redskins diving for cover, but not one round found its mark (or should that be Marks!). Concho opened up first on the army boys, but missed by a country mile. Then Valdez took aim at Pvt.David West and squeezed off a round. He’s a 3+ shooter, but Lady Luck was having none of it. He threw a 1, and then opted to add 2 points of fame to get the hit. So it was first man down against the U.S. Army. Another notch on Valdez’s gun grip as poor ol’ West went west. Peeved at having West’s brains spattered all over his freshly-pressed tunic, Soldier Charlie Plain returned fire at Valdez with his heavy pistol. The slug chewed wood a few feet from Valdez’s obstaculos (google it!) and ol’ Guacamole breath was forced to duck back for cover. Meanwhile back at Injun alley, Jake and Jed Crennan had dismounted and taken up firing positions on the first floor windows. Drawn by the fearful injun howlin’, Shami and a few of his braves approached the fight from the eastern fringes of town. They’d been up and out early to catch themselves some breakfast. Rattlesnakes. Mmmmm… scrummy! Frank Grant and Eli Cutter tried trampling the alleyway Apaches, but the meek mares they were ridin’ couldn’t have kicked their way out of a paper bag. Things got down and dirty in the ensuing knife fight, especially for Frank… seeing as how he didn’t have a knife. Hired gunslinger -the man with no name- who for the sake of convenience shall here forward be referred to as Keith, made his move for the Grand Hotel and drew a bead on Concho. The slug hit him in the head. This was one lucky muchacho. If the bullet had hit him anywhere else it could have been fatal. Concho dropped to the mud – unconcho - and Jacob Skinton took down Estavez with a round from his heavy pistol. Things were really hottin’ up at the Grand Hotel now. Lieutenant House got Valdez in his sights and let him have it. Despite the rain, and a line of sight blocked by horses, the young officer’s bullet found its mark. Valdez was wounded. The grinning salsa-chomper tumbled ass-backwards to the ground and let one rip that peeled the paint off the hotel’s window frames. A line of crows keeled over and fell off the roof, gassed stone dead before they hit the ground. Even the horses started retching. This didn’t go down at all well with the Lieutenant.

Pistolier Dwight Wright blazes away
Back in Injun alley, the Apaches now in their element in the ensuing close quarter bundle against Frank and Eli. Dwight Wright, pistoleer extraordinaire, caught sight of the Diyin’s ugly mug at an upstairs bedroom window, and he set both his guns to blazin’. He took down the Diyin, and another fellow-redskin called Naiche (not to be confused with the Seminole brave called Nietzsche, the philosopher, who wrote critiques of religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, and displayed a curious fondness for aphorism.)
More blood was about to be spilled, but it was Eli Cutter who did the bleedin’ this time. He was felled by Dakaya with the same knife he’d used to winkle out Sheriff Shirley’s left eye at Westboro Church not so long ago. Across the muddy main street, ‘Meh-hi-co’ Rico took down infantryman John Thorn, but he was soon to pay a heavy price when brazen Bill Buscon lobbed his lead load into the Bandido’s empanadas. Ouch!

"Hey horse- you staring at me?"

Round at the back door of the Grand Emillio and valdez were making a move using their posse’s $5 peon as a human shield. What a pair of low down dirty bandanas! Glen O’Reilly was incenced by the unscrupulous bandits but, with the innocent peon standing directly between him and his target, there was only one reasonable and responsible thing he could do. He raised his pistol and began blazing away. "How’d ya like those enchiladas, eh?" he was heard screaming. repeatedly.
Miraculously, the peon escaped beinf punctures. even more miraculously one of Glen’s slugs hit and dropped Emillio to the ground. Valdez seruptitously slipped one out as he ducked back for cover. He glared at the horses, but everyone knew it was him who’d done it. The townsfolk refrained from taking naked flames into the area for the next day or two.
Around back of the Clintons, things were taking a decidely ellipsoid form for Fargo. Shami was on a war-path all of his own, and he got quickly embroiled in a melee with Jake and Frank Grant. Frank managed to wound the injun chief, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. Saved by his extra thick fur bikini, Shami shrugged off the damage and laughed in the face of death; he still had one wound left after all.
In front of the General Store Dakaya was at it again with his nasty knife.This time it was Matt Polk who felt the bite of his blade, taken down like a lamb at slaughter time. On the opposite side of the street, Rico got shot by his posse leader - Valdez. The fetid fandango farter fired off a hasty round into a melee and took out his own man by mistake. No points for that one, El Windy.

tough fight in Injun alley

Soon after Matt Polk bit the dust, the Fargo boys' fortunes took a catastrophic turn for the worse. Hoo finally wounded Dwight Wright in a vicious knife fight that had already lasted more than a couple of rounds. His trail buddy – Frank Grant – got cornered by half a dozen blood-crazy savages and died in a crimson flurry of knife and tomahawk blows. The killing blow and his scalp were claimed by Taklishin.
Gunslinger Keith, who had been having a lean time kill wise since his noteworthy arrival in Imelda, finally got back into his stride and took down Lobo with an impressive shot from the hip. He would have given him two shots, but his other hip was empty and needed reloading.
Behind the Clintons hotel Jakes luck had finally run out. The injuns now outnumbered his posse better than 5 to 1, and the rain and close confines of the buildings were stopping Jake from using his superior firepower to best effect. Shami, still mounted, took down Jed Crennan with a crushing head blow that was to leave the cowboy permanently brain-damaged and dribbling. Jake took his chances and got away while he could, but his proud posse had been obliterated in the bloodsoaked back alleys of Imelda.


"Give it up Valdez. Ain’t no good you hidin’ in there - it ain’t got no roof."

In the Grand hotel Valdez was getting his trastero kicked in good fashion by the valient Lieutenant House. The Army had reclaimed their horses and Valdez had been given a damn good thrashing to boot. Final reckoning: Cowboys and Mexicans smegged, Feds and Reds triumphant with 3 horses each. Valdez contested the consensus that he'd been trounced by the
belly Yanks. He pointed out that he had attained a new personal skill and is now a Dead Eye shot. Also, all of his posse survived, though a couple had got a bit chewed up along the way. Concho went mad, Rico lost -1 grit due to the chest wound that Valdez gave him, Estavez stayed alive and survived, Lobo likewise, and the pitiful Peon lived and gained experience from his close call with calibre .45.
Thw Feds faired better. Casualty John Thorne suffered 3 multiple injuries. First was a chest wound costing -1 grit, the second was a head injury resulting in -1 Fight, and the third was a close encounter with a snake oil salesman with a difference. The difference being that this time the snake oil actually worked! His chest and head wounds healed up nicely and John is now back in the ranks, as bright as a shiny brass US Army regulation issue button.
Jake Fargo may of had a bad time of it going hand-to-hand against Shami’s braves, but the true extent of the disaster was revealed in all its painful glory in the final reckoning. Jed Crennan went mad from the head wound he received from Shami himself. Frank Grant trotted off to Boot Hill with life and equipment lost. Eli Cutter went the same way. So too did Matt Polk. Only Jake and Dwight Wright survived the alleyway action, with Dwight advancing +1 grit. Cold compensation indeed for what had been lost. Insult turned further to injury when the dice for cash were rolled. The three dice delivered 2 : 2 : 1. Yup, that’s right - a measley $5. Not even enough to buy a six gun.

"I’m gonna get my big bruvver on you!"
With four of his six posse members gone to meet their maker, Jake headed off to New Mexico. He had suffered a serious defeat and although he was down he was definitely not out. Jake paid a visit to his brother, Wells, in Alberquque. He and his bro have started a new homeboy posse and are already on their way back to Imelda. Woe betide any redskins who tangle with Jake and Wells now!
Shami and his boys were up all night celebrating their magnificent victory over the palefaces, with lashings o’ firewater and rattlesnake canapés. Wicasa became a sidewinder. The Diyin survived getting shot up badly by pistol tottin’ Dwight Wright, the Medicine Man added a +1 to his Fighting skill, Dirty Dakaya added +1 to his strength, Taklishin acquired the new skill of Fury, Crow Sleeplightly survived, and Hoo added +1 to his shooting skill. Shami picked up a lot of Fargo posse loot and made $23 on the horse sales. The only dampener, apart from the relentlessly rainy campaign weather, was a mediocre $27 payoff despite 9 dice thrown.


wild west facts

was shot in the back by Bob Ford on April 3, 1882, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Professed to be a friend of James, Ford was reviled for shooting James from behind and was forever known as a "coward." Ten years later, he himself was himself shot to death in Creede, Colorado.

The main characters of the Dalton gang-brothers, Grat, Bob and Emmett all wore badges before moving to the other side of the law.

"Boys i've found a goldmine." - James W Marshall whose discovery of gold started the California Gold Rush. The location was a saw mill where Marshall withdrew a gold nugget from the American River.

The famous Goodnight-loving trail was established in 1866 between Fort Belknap, Texas and Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Oliver Loving was later killed by Indians on the trail bearing his name. Goodnight, on the other hand, died a wealthy man in his nineties in 1929.

Clay Allison- after sititng in a dentist chair in Cheyenne, Wyoming , forcibly pulled one of the dentist’s teeth when the doctor drilled on the wrong molar by mistake. He would have continued pulling out the dentist’s teeth, but the man’s screams brought in people from the street.

On November 24, 1835, the Republic of Texas established a force of frontiersmen called the "Texas Rangers". The rangers were paid $1.25 per day for their services. The members of The Texas Rangers were said to be able to "ride like a Mexican, shoot like a Kentuckian, and fight like the devil himself."

Most professional gunfighters died in states or territories where the most shootings occurred: Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, California, Missouri, and Colorado.

Black Jack Ketchum was the only person ever hung in Union County, New Mexico. According the annals of American Jurisprudence, he was the only criminal decapitated during a judicial hanging. The only previously recorded example of this gruesome hanging mishap was in England in 1601.

The Pony Express was only in operation for nineteen months, from April 1860 through to October 1861. The Pony Express carried almost 35,000 pieces of mail over more than 650,000 miles during those nineteen months and lost only one mail sack. The typical Pony Express rider was nineteen years old and made the princely sum of $100-$150 per month plus room and board.

In 1884, the citizens of Montana Territory were fed up with lawlessness. After forming a large-scale vigilante force, they executed thirty-five horse and cattle thieves that year.

The famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral only lasted about thirty seconds. Mattie Earp, Wyatt Earp’s second wife, who was with him in Tombstone during the O.K. Corral gunfight committed suicide with an overdose of laudanum on July 3, 1888 in Pinal, Arizona. She was despondent because Earp had left her for another woman.

Lewis and Clark never knew it, but the Spanish sent out four expeditions between August, 1804 and August, 1806 to try and stop them. However, they failed in their mission as they were consistently turned back by the Indians. However, on one occasion they came close - near Red Cloud, Nebraska they were within 140 miles.

During the course of his 21 year tenure at Fort Smith, Judge Isaac Parker sentenced 160 men and women to death for convictions of rape or murder; of this total, only 79 men actually were executed on the gallows. The Judge only handed down the death sentences; he did not attend the executions or participate in them in any official capacity.

Belle Starr, the "Outlaw Queen," a horse thief, outlaw and part-time prostitute was the first woman to be tried for a serious crime by Judge Isaac Parker. She was sentenced to five months in prison for horse theft. In 1889 she was shot in the back and killed by an unknown assailant.

Wild Bill Hickok was killed by an alcoholic drifter named Jack McCall while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, on August 2, 1876. When he was killed he was holding a poker hand of aces and eights, thereafter known as the Dead Man’s Hand.

Despite Hollywood’s depiction to the contrary, Jesse and Frank James were never cowboys. Both were raised on a farm in Missouri, where many of their crimes occurred.

Henry Wells, of the famous Wells, Fargo and Company freight line never lived any further West than Buffalo, New York.

Windy Tales
Part 2:
'My Wind is still in tact after that bit of horse rustling. I did not lose any men, in fact I now have some extra Wind. I have recruited another peon and a Half Breed by the name of Mexanche. So as you see, my Wind is now getting very big but I also have slow Wind, due to not being very successful with the horse rustling. One of the biggest problems with the fight was my men were drawn to the Saloon and I had a big problem getting them out. Too much liquor inside and too much lead outside. I have some good news and bad news for you all. The good news, I killed another Americano today (3 x kills). The bad news, Valdez, the people's hero, the modern day Robin Hood, the Mexican in green tights, has to share his top six gun status with another. Dry your eyes my people, I promise you, I will be back as you have not heard the last of my Wind'
Proclamation !
The citizens and good people of IMELDA,
hereby declare that from this day forth, only legal horse stealing permitted. A pardon shall be granted and goods allowed to be kept, on condition, those known varmints who have partaken cease forthwith in their fixation with other peoples horse flesh. Failure to comply will result in the no good, yellow belly, horse stealing varrrrrmint,
to be hung by the neck until dead. And may the Lord have mercy upon their souls. Amen.

Wyatt Earp stated that trick shooting didn't decide a gunfight. It was an axiom among gunfighters that a man who won a shoot-out was the man who took his time. "Shooting at a man who is returning the compliment means going into action with the greatest speed of which a man's muscles are capable, but mentally unflustered by an urge to hurry or the need for complicated nervous and muscular actions which trick shooting involves." He died a healthy 81 in Los Angeles, California, January 13, 1929.

Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms,
Words & Expressions
Part Two
D
DEAD FALL
A tree blown down by the wind or other force of nature. Also, a trap which utilizes a falling log or stone as the actual trapping mechanism.
DEAD MEAT
Carrion.
DIAMOND HITCH
A hitch (knot) used to fasten cargo to a pack saddle.
DIG UP THE TOMAHAWK
Start a war. Often the word "hatchet" was substituted for "tomahawk".
DRY, I AM
I am thirst, likely for something stronger than water.
DUMPLING DUST
Flour. This term originated from the early practice of mixing dough by pouring water in a depression made in the flour while it was still in the sack, causing small puffs of dust. Both the term and practice are still used by north woodsmen.
DU PONT
Gunpowder.
DUTCHMAN
Any type of temporary prop or support.
DUTCH OVEN
A large kettle with three feet and a dished lid. It can be used for both cooking and baking.
E
EASY WATER
Calm, smooth water on a river or lake.
ENGAGEMENT
A 3-year agreement between a trapper and a fur company.
ENGAGES
Company trappers bound for 3 years to sell all they trap to only one company.
F
FACTOR
Chief of a trading post or trading party, authorized by the company to sell or trade company merchandise.
FATHER OF ALL WATERS
Mississippi River. An Indian term.
FAT PINE
Pitch pine, very good for starting fires.
FEAST CAKES
Pancakes.
FILLY
A young, female horse; although just as likely to be applied to a young, shapely, good-looking woman.
FIRE WATER
Whiskey. This term comes from the Indian practice of throwing a cup of whiskey into a fire to see if it would burn. If it would not flame up, it would not be accepted.
FIZZ-POP
A very early soda pop made by mixing a little vinegar and a spoon of sugar in a glass of fresh water. Just before drinking mix in about a quarter of a spoon of soda.
FLASH IN THE PAN
A misfire. Also a man who spends a great deal of time bragging, but never seems to be around when it comes to proving himself.
FLESHED
Any skin or hide which had the flesh and fat scraped off before it was dried.
FLESHING

The process of removing the excess flesh and fat from a skin or hide.
FLAT BOAT
A large scow used to float up to three tons of fur and skins to St. Louis.
FLOAT STICK
A stick attached to a steel trap used to show the location of the trap and the trapped animal. From this comes the expression, "That's the way my stick floats" , meaning , " That's the way I feel about it."
FOOFARRAW
Any fancy clothing or anything fancy on clothing. Just about anything used for decoration
FORK A HORSE (or MULE)
Mount the animal.
FORT UP
Get ready to fight a defensive battle.
FREE TRAPPER
A trapper who worked for himself, trapping and selling where he wanted and to whom he wanted. As free a man as the elements would allow.
FUR COUNTRY
As the mountain men used the expression, The Rocky Mountains.
FUSEES
A fusil or trade musket
G
GALENA
Lead.
GALENA PILLS
Lead balls (bullets).
GALETTE
A basic flour and water bread made into flat, round cakes and fried in fat or baked before the open fire. (Voyageur)
GALLUS'S
Suspenders.
GANT UP
Tighten up on a rope or belt.
GET YER BRISTLES UP, TO
To get angry.
GEWGAWS
Beads, bells, small mirrors, etc. used for decoration.
GONE, HE'S
He's dead.
GORDOS
Flapjacks (hotcake, pancakes whatever).
GO UNDER, TO
To die.
GONE BEAVER
Said of someone who has been dead some time. He's about to go under; but once dead, he's a gone beaver.
GRAINED
See "Fleshed".
GRAS
Animal fat.
GRAS LAMP
See "Bitch".
GREASE HUNGER, I HAVE
An expression meaning "I am hungry for meat."*
GREASE AND BEANS
An expression meaning "Food".
GREEN HAND
A term used by early traders meaning an inexperienced man,
GREEN MEAT
Meat which still had the animal heat in it.
GREEN RIVER
A western river (see any good map). The hilt of a knife (from the old GR trade mark up near the hilt). A knife made by Russell Green River Works. A copy of a Russell Green River Works knife,
GREEN RIVER, UP TO
Anything of quality was said to be "up to Green River".
GRUB
Food. This very old term is still widely used.
GULLY WASHER
A very hard downpour of rain.