Chicken Dinner: Cowboy Kisses, Annie Oakley, and an Earthquake

Cowboy Kisses is a new group blog out for Western Historical Romance readers and writers. We already have some terrific articles up. This week, Lyn Horner writes about The Roots of Western Romance, Devon Mathews tantalizes us with The Gunfighter - Bad Boy With A Big Gun, and my article is Ride For The Brand.

And, just for kicks, take a look at my new banner:

I'll have a new short story out this week so be watching for it--it's a fast, fun read.  (Still working on a title and cover art.)  Also, I have a blog post on Authors By Moonlight about the Re-emergence of Western Historical Romance, considering today's publishing market.

From On This Day In The Old West:

• April 15: In 1871, W.B. Hickok is appointed marshal of Abilene, Texas. Ten years later, in 1881 William Bonney is sentenced to death in Mesilla, New Mexico. And in 1885 Annie Oakley joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Extravaganza.
• April 16: Cockeyed Frank Loving is killed in a shootout with John Allen in 1882.
• April 18: In 1906, an earthquake in San Francisco kills 700 residents and destroys 28,000 buildings.
• April 19: The 49ers set out from St. Joseph, Missouri (in 1849, obviously), and in 1863 most of Denver burns.
• April 21: Denver gets electricity in 1883.

Troy D. Smith treated us with a portion of his dissertation this week here at Romancing The West. If you haven't read The Flight of Opothleyahola, better go do it now. He packed a lot of interesting history in one article, and I was especially intrigued about the Native American involvement in the Civil War. If you want to read an excerpt from his latest fiction work, go to Troy D. Smith: Cherokee Winter.

And the winner of Troy's book is:

Caroline Clemmons!

Congratulations, Caroline

The Flight of Opothleyahola



Troy D. Smith, author


The Flight of Opothleyahola
by Troy D. Smith
Copyright © 2012 Troy D. Smith
See RTW's interview with Troy

Opothleyahola (pronounced Oh-POTH-lay-a-HO-la) was an Upper Creek Muscogee, born in Alabama near the end of the eighteenth century to a Creek mother and a Welch father. As a young man, probably still in his teens, he fought the Americans encroaching on his people’s lands. The Creeks were inspired by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother, the prophet Tenskwatawa, to ally with the British in the War of 1812. In the course of that conflict the Creeks endured a civil war, with the traditionalist “Red Sticks” of the Upper Towns opposing the pro-American Lower Creek “White Sticks.”



Opothleyahola



The civil war became a war against the United States and its Indian allies, which ended when the Red Sticks were decisively defeated by forces under Andrew Jackson in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814; as a result of their loss, the Creeks were forced to cede 20 million acres of their Alabama territory to the U.S. Having fought on the losing side, the Red Sticks –including Opothleyahola –pledged an oath of loyalty to the United States as part of their surrender. It was an oath Opothleyahola took very seriously, later aiding U.S. forces against his Seminole kinsmen when called upon to do so.

Gaining renown as an orator, Opothleyahola eventually became the designated speaker for the Creek National Council. In that capacity he traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1826 to protest a treaty signed the previous year by several Lower Creek chiefs, led by William McIntosh, which gave up most of the tribe’s remaining land in Georgia and Alabama. Opothleyahola negotiated a more favorable treaty, and McIntosh was later executed by command of the Creek council for violating their directive not to sell land to the whites. Nevertheless, the handwriting was on the wall –the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830, and the Creeks were among the many tribes relocated to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, in an exodus that would be known as the Trail of Tears. In 1837, Opothleyahola led 8,000 of his people to their new home across the Mississippi.

Civil War engulfed the Creeks once again in 1861 –this time in conjunction with a larger conflagration which swept through, not just Indian Territory, but the whole United States. Representatives of the Confederacy met with the leaders of the “Five Civilized Tribes” –Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles –urging an alliance. Those tribes were also “Southern,” after all, and some of their citizens, including Opothleyahola, were heavily invested in cotton agriculture, African slaves, and “Dixie” values.



John Ross



The official governments of all five tribes agreed to ally with the Confederacy –even though many of those tribes’ people favored neutrality, or even supported Union and abolition of slavery. Even Opothleyahola’s longtime ally John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokees, reluctantly committed his people to the Confederate cause –due to a combination of factors, including the withdrawal of Union troops from I.T. and the proximity of the Confederacy, and the fact that Confederate leaders were ready to support Ross’s political enemies if he did not side with them. The Confederacy also offered some benefits which the United States did not: Indian representation in the Confederate Congress and full recognition of Indian sovereignty.

Opothleyahola was deeply saddened at Ross’s decision, and refused to follow suit. He had pledged his loyalty to the United States and wanted no part of a rebellion against it. Soon other people from Indian Territory who did not support their leaders’ alliance with the Confederates poured into Opothleyahola’s camp –including Indians from all Five Tribes, a few from the western tribes, free blacks, and escaped slaves. Opothleyahola’s band, now numbering in the thousands, felt unsafe, surrounded as they were by pro-Confederate Indians. There was some fear that their males would be forcibly conscripted, or that they would be attacked.



Confederate Indian



One of the Confederate Creek officers –son of William McIntosh, whose long-ago execution Opothleyahola had approved –wrote that “It is now certain that he has combined with his party all the surrounding wild tribes and has openly declared himself the enemy of the South. Negroes are fleeing to him from all quarters—not less than 150 have left within the last three days.” Opothleyahola received word that the U.S. government promised his people sanctuary in Fort Row, Kansas, so they began their northward trek through the Cherokee Nation.

They were not allowed to leave peacefully. A large Confederate force followed them on Nov. 15, 1861, comprised of Creek and Cherokee regiments, with some Choctaws, as well as the 9th Texas Cavalry. The force, 1400 men strong, was commanded by a former Indian agent turned Confederate colonel, Douglas H. Cooper, who was determined to force the band to either support the Confederacy or be scattered. The refugees set fire to the prairie behind them to deny forage to their pursuers, and the flight became a running battle.

Some of the Confederate Cherokee soldiers, dismayed at being forced to fight their old comrades, deserted and joined Opothleyahola. The fugitives beat their attackers back at the Battle of Round Mountain, were defeated at Chusto-Talasah, and, in December, were roundly routed by the Confederates at Chustenahlah.

One child would later recall the fighting:

The Creek Indians and the slaves with them tried to fight off them soldiers like they did before, but they get scattered around and seperated [sic] so they lose the battle. Lost their horses and wagons, and the soldiers killed lots of Creeks and Negroes, and some of the slaves were captured and carried back to their masters.... Dead all over the hills when we get away; some of the Negroes shot and wounded so bad the blood run down the saddle skirts, and some fell off their horses miles from the battle ground, and lay still on the ground.

When the band finally reached Kansas, in the dead of winter, they discovered that the U.S. government was unprepared to provide for so many refugees. They were moved to nearby Fort Belmont, most with only the clothes on their backs and no further shelter available. All told, about two thousand members of Opothleyahola’s band of nine thousand perished, either from the fighting along the way or starvation, sickness, and exposure when they arrived. Opothleyahola and his daughter were among those who died after reaching Kansas.

This was only the beginning of the bloody Civil War in Indian Territory. Many of the surviving males who had taken flight with Opothleyahola, most of them Creek or Seminole, joined all-Indian Union units and carried the fight back into their own lands. Indian Territory became a battleground of blue, gray, and red.

Cherokee Winter:
Tales of the West, Vol. 1
by Troy D. Smith
Amazon ~ Smashwords

Win Troy's Book!

Everyone commenting this week is eligible to win a free digital copy of Cherokee Winter. The winner will be chosen at random at the end of the week (Saturday, April 14 at 9pm Pacific Time) and announced at this site. Be sure to include your email address or he can't contact you if your name is drawn.

Troy D. Smith: Cherokee Winter

Cherokee Winter:
Tales of the West, Vol. 1
by Troy D. Smith

Romancing The West welcomes award-winning author Troy D. Smith, a native of Tennessee and professor of history at Tennessee Tech University. He's published in both periodicals and novels, well-regarded in the industry, talented author, and just generally a good guy to know, so we're delighted he's visiting here all this week.

Troy, thanks for joining us! Please tell us about your latest release, Cherokee Winter.

TDS: Cherokee Winter is a collection of previously published short stories set on the frontier, to be followed soon by a second volume called Red Trail. The story I’ve chosen to highlight with an excerpt here, “The Stealing Moon,” is about a family that has been torn apart by tragedy: one of their sons was killed by Comanches, and the father blames the surviving son for abandoning his brother. Long-suppressed emotions boil to the surface when the Comanches raid the area again…

Contest!

One lucky reader today will win a digital copy of

Cherokee Winter

See details at the end of this article!

RTW: Why do you enjoy writing about the Old West?

TDS: I like writing about people’s emotions, and stripping everything down to the most elemental part. A frontier setting is ideal for that. Your characters are most likely not able to be in a comfortable setting where they can suppress things –they are probably fighting for their lives, whether it be in a dramatic outward fashion like facing Indians (or cavalry), outlaws or lawmen, or just the fact that daily life on the frontier can be a struggle for survival –against the elements, or sometimes against loneliness.

“The Stealing Moon” is an ideal example of what I’m talking about. Here you have a father, mother, and son (and, in a way, the ghost of a dead son), all of whom really want to keep their feelings at bay. But the frontier will not let them. They are forced to face their fears, regrets, shame –and their love –whether they want to or not. My motto has always been that I don’t want to write about things that happen to people, I want to write about the people that things happen to.

RTW: You have written several novels –why do you also continue to write short stories?



Troy D. Smith, author

 TDS: Actually, I think the short story may be my first and greatest love. My first published work was a western short story, “Mourning Glory,” that appeared in Louis L’Amour Western Magazine in 1995 (it is reprinted in this book’s upcoming companion volume, Red Trail.)

Again, this gets at the heart of what I like to do. A short story gets right to the point –it delivers a powerful, concentrated punch. Less really can be more –and it is a unique skill. All those layers I like to strip away –in a short story you just rip them right off, and your characters’ innermost selves can be exposed in a deeply affecting way.

RTW: How important is historical accuracy to you?

TDS: Oh, it’s very important. Especially in my day job, as a professional historian (naturally). But it’s important in fiction, too –anachronisms can jerk me right out of a story in a heartbeat. That being said, I am not slavishly devoted to accuracy when I write fiction –sometimes the needs of the story, and of the larger truth you are trying to share, outweigh the facts. But it is a delicate balance to strike, and should be approached respectfully, or you will lose the readers.

RTW: How do you go about your research?

TDS: Many of the topics I write about in my novelist’s hat are also topics I deal with as a history professor, and my research is ongoing. For example, a couple of years ago I spent an entire summer traveling to archives in Oklahoma and Arkansas; the year before that I did the same thing in Tennessee. Here in our cozy 21st century, an increasingly large amount of historical documents are digitized and available online, and I spend several hours a week scouring them.

The article which will be featured here later this week, The Flight of Opothleyahola, is about an event that is featured prominently in my dissertation, which will hopefully see print soon.

RTW: You have included an excerpt from the story “The Stealing Moon,” in which we meet the Rafer family and the mood is set.

Excerpt from Cherokee Winter, "The Stealing Moon"
by Troy D. Smith

Jim Rafer looked over the rim of his tin cup when he heard the door open--he saw his son’s form through the coffee-steam which curled around his own face. About time the boy showed up. Molly set the milk pitcher in the center of the table and smiled gently at Will, but he did not look at her. He seated himself at the opposite end from his father. A long empty space was left between the two Rafer men--both men in Molly’s eyes--and a vacant chair which had not been pulled out from the table in months, not even to be dusted.

Jim set about quietly devouring the biscuits and bacon his wife placed before him. He did not bother to pray, not anymore, a fact which still left Molly feeling uneasy. Will began to eat as well--still no words had been passed--and he said no graces to God either. Molly released a gentle sigh before nodding her own head in quiet supplication. Her sighs went unnoticed by her family. She took some comfort in the thought that the Lord heard them. She alone still believed.

Molly could not bring herself to criticize her son for his lapse in faith, and in the common courtesies one rendered to the Maker for His small gifts, for he was following the example set by his father. Molly knew, though, that their reasons were different--knowing those reasons made her feelings even more gentle toward each of them, as much as they would allow her or anyone else to be gentle.

Jim Rafer had turned his back on God--at least for awhile, and not forever, Molly hoped--because he felt betrayed. Betrayed by the Lord, and by the life and world around him. Will believed himself a betrayer, and undeserving of grace.

Molly continued to believe, and to pray, and to hope with an anguished intensity. Only her eldest boy Bob knew true peace. She still hated to risk disturbing his peace, at least in her own mind and memory, by dusting his chair.

♥ ♥ ♥

RTW: Thanks so much, Troy! Where can we buy Cherokee Winter?

TDS: You can find it on Amazon [RTW note: be sure to "like" and click on the tags for Troy's book when you visit!], and Smashwords.

RTW: What is next for you?

TDS: I am editing a series of Western novels –the first one will be out in September –that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen, and everyone involved is quite excited about it. All I can tell you right now is that the books are being produced by Western Fictioneers, the only professional organization dedicated exclusively to traditional western fiction (and whose members, in a moment of mass judgmental lapse, recently elected me the group’s president for 2012.) The series is called Wolf Creek, and will involve dozens of your favorite western authors. More info will be forthcoming in the months ahead.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

TDS: Just that I am extraordinarily grateful to all those wonderful readers who support my nasty writing habit. And to show that gratitude, everyone commenting today is eligible to win a free digital copy of Cherokee Winter. The winner will be chosen at random at the end of the week (Saturday, April 14 at 9pm Pacific Time) and announced at this site. Be sure to include your email address or I can't contact you if your name is drawn.

It's been wonderful having you with us, Troy.  Thanks again!

Thursday's article by Troy:

The Flight of Opothleyahola

RTW Chicken Dinner: Banking and Dead Letters

by Jacquie Rogers

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Whatever-else!  We're having a busy Sunday at the Rogers household--Easter and birthdays.  Good family, good food, and good fun.

 

We dyed Easter eggs Saturday evening, then stood in line at Wal-mart for 30 minutes to get a few more things to assist the Easter Bunny.  Apparently a lot of other people had the same idea.  I can hardly wait for the newly-turned nine-year-old to unwrap his presents, because I really want to play with the remote control car.  :)

 

Here's what happened April 8 to April 14 in the Old West , taken from Old West Replicas:

• April 9, 1878: Marshal Ed Masterson (Bat's brother) is shot dead by drunken cowboy Jack Wagner at the Lady Gay Dance Hall in Dodge City, Kansas.
• April 10, 1878: Sam Bass' gang is surprised during the hold-up of of Texas and Pacific train near Mesquite, Texas, when passengers pull back a curtain and open fire. In 1881, William 'Billy the Kid' Bonney is convicted of murdering Sheriff Brady after a short jury deliberation.
• April 11, 1873: The Modoc War begins.
• April 12, 1883: Black Bart again robs the Lakeport-Cloverdale stage, five miles from Cloverdale, California. and in 1886: General George Crook is replaced as head of the Apache campaign by General Nelson Miles following Geronimo's escape.
• April 13, 1878: The Santa Fe Weekly New Mexican newspaper mentions 'The Kid' for the first time, describing William Antrim's killing of Sheriff Brady.
• April 14, 1860: The first Pony Express rider arrives in San Francisco, 11 days after departing St Joseph, MO. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

 From The Owyhee Avalanche, April 6, 1872, reprinted April 4, 2012:

NEW BANK, &C. J.L. Gardener, Jr., has been appointed agent for Wells, Fargo & Co. here, and is also engaged in the banking business. Mr. Gardener is well and favorably known in this place [Silver City, Idaho Territory], having for several years past been chief book-keeper for the Owyhee Mining Company. We take great pleasure in introducing him to the businesss community, and wish him the utmost success in his new undertaking.

The editors don't seem to think much of folks who can't get their letters properly mailed:

DEAD LETTER OFFICE. This office is the great depository of the ignorance and carelessness of the people.

 

Here may be found thousands of letters sent hither from all the Post offices in the country, some wholly unpaid, some insufficiently paid, some with revenue stamps affixed, some misdirected, and others not directed at all.

 

When we consider the loss of money, jewelry, drafts, important papers, and other valuable articles contained in these letters, we are astonished at the carelessness of even intelligent men in the transaction of their business.

Um, not sure times have changed that much...

 

Winner of Heather Long's book, Brave Are the Lonely, is Julianne. I'm sure she's delighted!

 

Tomorrow, we're in for a special treat: Troy D. Smith, a talented author and a nice guy, too.

Go West Young Woman...

 

Go West

Young Woman...

by Heather Long

Look left, look right or look straight ahead, everywhere in the west, the land has a story to tell. From swells and swales, to creek crossings and river routes to dips and ruts are parts of the first international highways. From 1820 to 1880, five major trails crossed from the Eastern states to the untamed west:

• The Oregon Trail
• The California Trail
• The Mormon Trail
• The Old Spanish Trail
• The Santa Fe Trail

Long before there was a Route 66, the Santa Fe Trail allowed traders of silver, fur and manufactured goods to travel from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe on the edge of the then Mexico and later in the Territory of New Mexico. The trail was about 1,000 miles in length. For travelers, average speed on horseback was twenty to thirty miles a day, although a hundred miles in a day was possible with relay horses (the fresher the horse, the faster the speed).

 For traders hauling huge wagons, speed slowed by the cargo and the passengers. From 1821 to 1846 the Santa Fe trail was primarily a commercial highway used by Mexican and American traders alike. When the Mexican-American War began in 1846, the Army of the West (the Union Army) used the trail to invade New Mexico. It took a couple of years, but the Union won the war and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo effectively ended the war in 1848.

National Road

After the treaty, the trail became a national road linking the eastern United States to the new southwestern territories. Commercial freight, military dispatches, stagecoach lines and settlers fired up by gold fever took advantage of the Santa Fe Trail and joined fur trappers and adventurers.

The thousand-mile journey offers a history of constant peril, prairie storms, Indian battles, buffalo herds and more. Travelers took eight weeks to get from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe. Dust, mud, hailstorms, blizzards, wildfires and swollen streams were expected hazards of the trail. The average day began at dawn, wagons would be hitched up and the travelers would gather in and then the wagons would set out, one at time until the line stretched out, sometimes riding abreast, sometimes riding one after the other.

A mid-day break would allow for hauling wood and water, gathering together buffalo chips and building fires to cook meals. Common dishes included coffee, beans, dried bison, sowbelly (bacon) and whatever game they may have caught to add to the meal as a treat. It was monotonous and boring food, but it sustained them.

Wagons had to be repaired on the go, tack constantly refurbished, wagon wheels greased and the animals treated for injuries. Hunting took place, often as not with men taking a parallel path as the wagons to scare up some game.

By sunset, the travelers would pause to set up camp for the night. Night travel was perilous with danger to wagon, animal and human alike. Animals were cared for, food was eaten and all had a well-earned sleep save for the chosen few set to watch over the camp. With the first fingers of dawn the trip began all over again.

Historic Trails

Today, the Santa Fe National Historic Trail is one of 19 in the National Trails System. While Santa Fe was the destination of the Santa Fe Trail, it opened onto the Old Spanish Trail that took trappers, traders and settlers across the west to Los Angeles, another 1,200 mile journey.

The Territory of New Mexico was incorporated in 1850 and for the next thirty years, the Santa Fe Trail would provide the most direct access root for Easterners, traders and more to arrive. Visitors can take time to visit the entire length of this trail crossing five states even today.

Heather's Surprise!

It’s my birthday week (April 2) and...

I want to give you a present for my 40th!

I’m giving away an eCopy of

Brave are the Lonely,

just leave a comment with your name and why you like westerns to be entered!

You can find Brave Are the Lonely at

Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, All Romance EBooks

Happy Birthday, Heather

Thanks for spending your special week with RTW!

Contest particulars:

PLEASE leave your email address with your comment or else we have to draw another name. Last week, the first two names drawn had to be eliminated because they left no contact information.

Drawing will be held April 7th at 9pm Pacific Time.

Thanks for joining us at Romancing The West!

Heather Long: Brave Are The Lonely

Brave Are the Lonely
by Heather Long

Heather Long is our guest this week on Romancing The West. Yep, another Texan. At a young age, she enjoyed Harlequin romances that her grandmother read to her, so she was hooked early.

RTW: Welcome, Heather! First of all, please tell us about your book.

HL: Cody Morning Star left his family behind and planned to die; the wolf shifter’s animal half mourned the only love he thought they would ever know. But Kid’s problems kept Cody going, kept Cody following him and when they saved the gypsy princess Mariska. Mariska’s tempestuousness proved far more alluring than Cody’s grief, but the three of them must confront individual truths or risk losing everything.

Contest!

See deets at the bottom of this article

RTW: What aspect of life in the Old West intrigues you the most? Did you work that into Brave Are the Lonely?

HL: The Old West was a difficult time, when surviving required a heroic amount of effort every single day. Communication over long distances took time, travel took time and you had to care for your horses better than you care for yourself or you were on your own. Those are all aspects that filter into my work.

RTW: If you lived in the Old West, what modern convenience would you miss the most?

HL: Running water.



Heather Long, author



RTW: Are there any common errors in western historical romances that bug you?

HL: I don’t mind errors or anachronisms believe it or not. I think of every book as a window into what could have been. Historical accuracy is great, but sometimes I want to know what could have been...not what was.

RTW: Why is Cody perfect for Mariska?

HL: Cody is stubborn, but he’s also loyal. He was raised with his brothers and sister, he knows the value of family. Once he pledges to someone, he never walks away, he never gives up and he will defend them to his dying breath. He and Mariska clash a great deal when they first meet, but she also brings out in him the more romantic side.

RTW: Please set up the excerpt you have for us today.

HL: This excerpt comes from the beginning of the book when Cody is still in his wolf form. He’s not been willing to turn human since leaving Texas. But his devotion to pack keeps him on his feet, pushing forward.

Excerpt of Brave Are the Lonely by Heather Long

Cody followed the curve of the wash trail Kid rode. The faint scent of water, rabbit, scrub brush and mice tickled his nose. The smaller animals went quiet in his passage and he left them be. He wasn’t hungry. Kid’s words echoed in his ears.

His turn to hunt.

The wolf’s mouth fell open, tongue lolling in the wind, sampling the air. He was ever watchful for the dangerous scent of man. Luckily, they were traveling upwind, which brought the scents to him. He would know they were there long before they appeared. Kid was safe for the time being, which meant Cody could roam.

The young man’s frequent visits to every hovel they came across left the wolf bewildered. He refused to follow him to closely, the smell of unwashed bodies, cooking food and strangeness overwhelming. But he never strayed far.

He’d ambushed one angry husband who came after Kid at their first town and frightened off another at the third town. Kid’s insatiable appetites for female companionship didn’t make him discriminating. They’d even spent one rainy night at a remote farmhouse. Cody in the barn with the horses while Kid seduced the absent farmer’s daughter. At least she didn’t have a husband.

The wolf understood the husband’s anger, the rage at Kid’s philandering. But Kid was pack. That meant Cody would protect him.

A long escarpment of rocky outcroppings beckoned. The sun-drenched stone would be warm in the air that turned progressively chilly the further west and higher up they went. Kid said they’d be in the mountains soon, but the distant peaks were closer than Kid believed. Cody grew up on a mountain, one didn’t have to go higher to find the colder air.

Home flashed through his mind. The scents of the lake, the rich pines, firs and cedars were fresh to his tongue. A familiar flame haired female splashing in the icy cold lake, heating the water at the edges until the boys could frolic there as well.

The howl tore out of his throat before he could stop it, hard, long and keening. Scarlett chose another. Cody understood that. She was happy. The man was happy for her.

The wolf missed her.

The land went silent around him, what few critters that hadn’t scrambled out of his way huddled quietly, sure that the end was near. Cody ignored them all. He’d caught the scent of deer the night before. He wanted venison, sick of rabbit, squirrel, grouse and fish. The wolf wouldn’t bother with it all, but Kid said it was his turn.

He would take care of his pack.

RTW: Great opening hook! Where can we buy this book?

HL: You can find Brave Are the Lonely at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and All Romance EBooks

RTW: What are you cooking up for us next?

HL: Currently I’m working on my paranormal romance for Siren, but I will have the third book in the Fevered Hearts series, Micah & Mrs. Miller out in the fall. Where Cody’s story was very much the lone drifter, Micah is the affable rancher who may find himself pushed too far.

RTW: More good books to look forward to! Anything else you’d like to add?

HL: Writing Marshal of Hel Dorado was a dream for me and it became a wonderful exodus into the possible past, mingling actual history with paranormal elements. Brave Are the Lonely took me a step further down that rabbit hole and I can’t wait to go see my boys again.

Heather's Surprise!

It’s my birthday today and I want to give you a present for my 40th! I’m giving away an eCopy of Brave are the Lonely, just leave a comment with your name and why you like westerns to be entered!

Happy Birthday, Heather, and thanks for spending your special day with RTW!

Contest particulars:

PLEASE leave your email address with your comment or else we have to draw another name. Last week, the first two names drawn had to be eliminated because they left no contact information.

Drawing will be held April 7th at 9pm Pacific Time.

Chicken Dinner: Horse Thieves, Bedbugs, and Charity

by Jacquie Rogers

There's no fooling today on this April 1! Everything on Chicken Dinner is genuinely legit. No, I don't have my fingers crossed behind my back--you're safe. Back in the Old West, danger lurked everywhere be folks watched out for one another, and so did the press.

Newspapers weren't afraid to make comments about a person's guilt in the olden days, and no one had any sympathy for a horse thief. This is from The Owyhee Avalanche, Nov. 19, 1870:

A young man named John Germaine, stole Hank Townsend's horse, saddle and bridle from a shed near Springers stable last Sunday night, and started on the road to Elko. Rightly surmising the direction taken by the thief, Hank started after him the next morning and found the horse, minus saddle and bridle, tied in the bush about two miles beyond Walbridge's sawmill on Boulder Creek. Supposing that the fellow would come to Fairview after something to eat, Hank went up there the next night and found his man in a high old state of intoxication.

By means of threats he was induced to bring in the saddle and bridle, which he had concealed in the bush near where the horse was found. As Hank had recovered all the stolen property he did not have the scamp arrested, not wishing to put the county to unnecessary expense.

People should be aware of the thieving scoundrel, as he intimated that this was not the first horse he had stolen, nor would it be the last. If caught making off with another horse that does not belong to him, a dose of gun shot would probably cause him to have a better regard for the rights of property.

Got bedbugs? The newspapers were helpful in many ways, and here The Owyhee Avalanche tells how to get ride of unwanted sleeping guests.

REMEDY FOR BEDBUGS: We have pretty good authority for saying that the boughs and leaves of teh common Juniper trees that grow in abundance in this country, constitute a thorough rememdy for teh vile pest, the Bedbug. The plan is to decorate your apartments with the green boughs, renewing them when they become dry. Instead of straw ticks, fill a tick with Juniper leaves and small twigs and place it under your mattress, and gnerally about and through the bed between blankets etc. This is a cheap rememdy, and we are assured very effective.

In 2012, we aren't much farther along curing some disorders and diseases than we were back in the Old West. One of those is a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis.

I'm donating six books to commenters in the Charity Hopping Around The World Blog Hop, so please check out my author blog, and also try the links at the bottom of the page to read about other charities and enter to win stuff. Don't worry, we're not hitting anyone up for donations. We just want to inform. And give away a few books.

Contest: Winner's Choice!

This week's guest, Sarah McNeal, gave away a pdf copy of the winner's choice of Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride or the revised edition of The Violin.  So who is the lucky winner?

Linda Swift

Congratulations, Linda!

See you at next Sunday's Chicken Dinner.

Jacquie Rogers

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