Outlaw Henry Newton Brown ~ D. K. Deters

I was rummaging through some western historical books recently and came across an interesting story about the infamous outlaw Henry Newton Brown. This part of his history begins in Caldwell, Kansas. Growing up in Kansas, the story immediately drew my attention.

Geographically, the town of Caldwell was known as the “Border Queen” because its southern boundary is on the Kansas-Oklahoma border. Located fifty miles south of Wichita, Caldwell was also a stop on the famous Chisholm Trail.

Caldwell, Kansas 1889 (Public Domain)

In 1880, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad reached Caldwell, sparking a boom for commercial establishments. Saloons lined Caldwell’s main streets with hosts of businesses as the town continued to expand. Unfortunately, Caldwell had earned a reputation as a disorderly town.

Gunfights plagued Caldwell:

1880 - A city marshal and an assistant marshal were murdered.

1881 - The mayor and a former marshal were killed in a street fight.

1882 - Another city marshal was gunned down.

As the town fell rife with lawlessness, enter notorious outlaw Henry Newton Brown, who was involved in the Lincoln County War in New Mexico. He had joined up with Billy the Kid and the “Lincoln County Regulators.” On April 1, 1878, Brown, Billy the Kid, and other desperados murdered Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady. Brown left New Mexico to avoid murder charges. After leaving the gang, he found legitimate work as a cowboy and even became a deputy sheriff, but those jobs didn’t last because he had a temper and was quickly dismissed.

 

Henry Newton Brown  - 1857-1884 (Public Domain)

However, by 1882, Brown had made his way to Kansas, and Caldwell officials welcomed him as an assistant city marshal. He was later promoted to marshal. The gunfighter quickly cleaned up the bustling border town. Afterward, the grateful citizens raised his pay to $125 per month and awarded him with an engraved Winchester for restoring law and order.  The inscription read: "Presented to City Marshal H. N. Brown For valuable services rendered in behalf of the Citizens of Caldwell Kas A. N. Colson Mayor Dec 1882.” Area papers wrote glowing articles about his deeds. Of course, they didn’t know about Brown’s outlaw past.

(Public Domain)

Brown seemed to have abandoned his life of crime and married Alice Maude Levagood, the daughter of a well-to-do Caldwell brick maker, in March 1884. A woman of good standing, Alice had graduated from Park College, Parkville, Missouri, with the class of 1882.

 

Alice Maude Levagood  - 1861-1935 (Public Domain)

On April 30th, 1884, the marshal, in debt and living beyond his means, returned to his outlaw roots. Joined by his deputy and two outlaw friends, they robbed a bank in Medicine Lodge using the rifle the citizens of Caldwell had given to him. Two people were killed, and his gang was captured. Brown was shot the same day, trying to escape. His gang members were lynched.

 

.

Bank robbers John Wesley, Henry Brown, William Smith and Ben Wheeler. 

(Public Domain)

He did write a letter to his wife which read in part: "Darling Wife: I am in jail here. Four of us tried to rob the bank here and one man shot one of the men in the bank. I want you to come and see me as soon as you can. I will send you all of my things and you can sell them. But keep the Winchester. It is hard for me to write this letter, but it was all for you, my sweet wife, and for the love I have for you. "Do not go back on me. If you do it will kill me. Be true to me as long as you live, and come to see me if you think enough of me. My love is just the same as it always was. Oh, how I did hate to leave you last Sunday evening. But I did not think this would happen. I thought we could take in the money and not have any trouble with it, but a man's fondest hopes are sometimes broken with trouble. We would not have been arrested but one of our horses gave out and we could not leave him [the rider] alone. I do not know what to write. Do the best you can with everything. I want you to send me some clothes. Sell all the things you don't need. Have your picture taken and send it to me. Now, my dear wife, go and see Mr. Witzleben and Mr. Nyce and get the money. If a mob does not kill us we will come out all right after while. Maude, I did not shoot anyone and didn't want the others to kill anyone. But they did and that is all there is about it. Now, my darling wife, goodbye. H. N. Brown."

Did Maude still love him? That is unclear, but she never remarried. Maude didn’t keep the rifle, and it became the property of the Robert R. Foster family. The Fosters later sold the gun to Dr. M. B. Aynesworth around October 1976. A short time later, in 1977, Dr. Aynesworth donated the rifle to the Kansas Historical Museum in Topeka, Kansas. (The museum is on my bucket list.)

I found several articles about Henry Newton Brown. All of them are fascinating. Although nefarious acts marked Brown’s life, he was the essence of the Old West figures who changed from outlaw to peacekeeper and back again.

 

Resources:

Truewest Magazine, Lawdogs Go South Henry Newton Brown’s Gang vs Medicine Lodge Cowboys by Bob Boze Bell 

The Wild West, Lawmen, Outlaws, Ghost Towns & More by Bill O’Neal, James A. Crutchfield, and Dale L. Walker

Legends of America, Henry Newton Brown – Outlaw Marshal of Kansas

Wikipedia, Henry Newton Brown

New Release ~ Julie Lence

 It's my pleasure to share with you my latest release, The Pop Star Loves Her Cowboy! This is book #2 in my Bennett Family Series; is a western contemporary series set in Reno, Nevada. 

Pop star Barbie Bennett is certain her future is with Zach, until a photograph suggests their relationship might be nothing more than a lie. 

Pop-music superstar and CEO of Bella Cosmetics Barbie Bennett is ditching her tour bus for her hometown of Reno, Nevada. Her sweetheart works the family ranch and long summers of separation from him are finally over. When photographs of Zach cozying up to another woman find their way to her desk, Barbie is almost certain he’s the victim of tabloid fodder. But what if she’s wrong and he’s just another man who broke her heart?      

After a knee injury forced him to retire from the rodeo circuit, ranch hand Zach Maldonado is finally in a position to propose to Barbie. He’s gained her father’s approval and has put in motion a romantic evening to pop the question, only Barbie accuses him of stepping out on her. Zach vows to find the culprit behind the comprising photographs and expose the lie. But will that be before or after her anxiety convinces her to cut ties with him?

The Pop Star Loves Her Cowboy is available in both E-book and print on Amazon and can be found here:  www.amazon.com/dp/B0FG48TFYH 

  

   

Roller Skating ~ Julie Lence

 Kids of every generation are always looking for some form of entertainment. Many listen to music. Others join the chorus at school. Those with a talent for playing an instrument sign on with the school band. Girls try out for the cheerleading squad while boys vie for a spot on the football or basketball team. While today’s youth feed the rumor mill or form life-long friendships using the latest app, previous generations hung out at the mall or movie theater. Some flocked to the bowling alley or local park. In the 80’s, it wasn’t uncommon for parents to drop their kids off at the neighborhood roller skating rink, to return for them hours later. But before the roller rink was all the rage, kids skated on sidewalks, and had keys to adjust skates to fit beneath their shoes. Before that…

Roller skating dates back to the 1700’s and London, England. While it’s not known who invented the 1^st roller skate used in a stage performance, it has been documented the 1^st roller skate in use took place in 1743. Two decades later, John Merlin is credited with inventing the 1^st inline skate; a skate boasting two metal wheels but not easily maneuverable. Merlin wore them to a party and crashed into a mirror.             

wooden skates courtesy Science Museum

The 1800’s brought significant changes to the roller skate. Petitbled patented the 1^st roller skate design in 1819. Although the design was deemed impressive, it again lacked maneuverability.  In 1823, Robert Tyers patented a skate resembling the roller blades we know today; 5 wheels in single file on the bottom of a skate boot. 1857 saw the opening of the 1^st roller rink in London. James Plimption designed the quad skate in 1863 (2 wheels in the front and 2 wheels in the back), and in 1876, the toe stop was patented. It wasn’t until the 1880’s that the United States devoted time and money to mass producing skates, thus becoming known as the 1^st boom decade for roller skating. Before the 1880’s, public rinks had been open in New York since the 1860’s, but the craze spread west during the boom decade, with McCarty’s Rink opening in Dodge City, KS in 1885 among the other 50,000 rinks in existence.  

The cost for a pair of skates was $6. In 1885, sales reached more than $20 million in the United States, and as the craze soared higher, people of all ages could be found gliding around the smooth wood floors. Businessmen skated to work. Amateur and professional athletes, along with sports promoters, also joined in on the fun. A 6 day race (March 2-8, 1885) was held in New York City, with the winner receiving $500 and a diamond belt worth $250. Thirty-six men signed up for the race. Eleven thousand were estimated to have watched. Newsboy William Donovan from Elmira, New York won.

 

Fast forward to 1970’s when disco came on scene. Many weren’t just out on the dance floor doing the Hustle, they were disco dancing on roller skates at the roller rinks, and movies were showcasing the fad. (Roller Boogie and Skatetown, U.S.A. come to mind). 1979 saw the launch of Rollerblade, Inc., owned by Scott Olson. In 1983, President Regan declared October roller skating month, and in 1993, Rollerblade, Inc. developed the Active Brake to increase safety for skaters.  Whether young or old, a novice or a pro, rinks and roller blades are still in existence today, so if you’re inclined, get out there and have fun!      

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so I thought I'd share my mama's recipe for chocolate chip cookies (see below). 

For years, I struggled to make chocolate chip cookies. They were too dry, too cakey, too flat, too ... something. 

After my mom passed away, I found a handwritten copy of her cookie recipe. I followed it to the letter and baked a batch of cookies that tasted like my childhood. 

In new new release, Sunrise Surf, the hero, Logan, loves anything with chocolate chips in them. In fact, he's quite taken with the cookies the heroine makes for a party for her nephew. 

You're probably wondering what a beach book has to do with cowboys. 

Logan grew up on a ranch in Central Oregon, and despite his work undercover for the Oregon State Police, he goes back to the ranch to see his family whenever he has a chance. 

So how does a cowboy end up posing as a surfer for the summer?

I'll let Logan explain ...

~*~

From the time he was seven until his grandfather passed away during Logan’s sophomore year of college, he’d spent two weeks every summer with his grandparents on the Oregon coast. After that, his grandmother couldn’t bear to visit the familiar places and walk through the memories the coast stirred in her thoughts.

However, it didn’t keep Logan away. He continued surfing every chance he got, even with his demanding and busy career as an Oregon State Police officer. Logan had known the first time he’d seen a state police car cruising down the lonely stretch of highway by his family’s ranch in the middle of nowhere that he wanted to work for them.

With that goal in mind, he’d pursued it until he’d become a respected member of the force.

Which is how he’d ended up undercover in Seaside.

~*~

When a police officer posing as a surfer and a doctor wading through the uncharted waters of parenting a teen join forces to dismantle a drug operation, anything is possible.

 Oregon State Police Officer Logan Wright swaps his badge for a board, posing undercover as a homeless surfer to infiltrate a deadly drug ring. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Seaside's rugged coastline, he struggles with his dual life, especially after meeting a beautiful doctor who turns his head and touches his heart. Troubled by the fine line between duty and authenticity, Logan fears sharing the truth of his identity will drive her away.

 Laken Hayes is a devoted doctor, fiercely protective of her teenage nephew, and determined to keep her hectic life in balance. But when a free-spirited surfer enters her world, nothing will ever be the same. Unexpectedly drawn to the charismatic man, Laken finds joy in his upbeat outlook on life while inadvertently becoming entangled in the web of Logan’s mission.

 As their connection deepens and mysteries unravel, Logan faces a heart-wrenching dilemma: will he continue the deception to protect his cover or reveal his true self to the woman who has captured his heart?

 Join Logan and Laken as they navigate a tide of secrets, false identities, and a wave of fast-moving danger in Sunrise Surf, a wholesome small-town romance that proves love may be the ultimate risk worth taking.

I hope you'll check out Logan and Laken's story, and have a beautiful August!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and combine. Add vanilla. Stir baking soda and salt into flour then add a little at a time to dough. Stir in chocolate chips.

Use a cookie scoop, or a tablespoon to drop dough on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes until cookie are just set and barely starting to brown. Remove from oven and cool for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Yield: 36 cookies

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Land Allotments in the Twin Territories and THE SWAN is out!!

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

The Dawes Act (the General Allotment Act) was passed in 1887 and authorized the U.S. President to break up Indian reservation land into small allotments. The purpose of the Dawes Act, and subsequent extensions, was to protect American Indian property rights, particularly during the land rushes of the 1890s that occurred in the Twin Territories, which encompassed Oklahoma and Indian Territories.

In 1896, the Dawes Commission received congressional approval to compile rolls of tribal members in the Five Nations (the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles) who would be eligible to receive allotments, allowing it to add individuals who maintained they had not been included on the various tribal census rolls.

In 1897, the Atoka Agreement called for an equitable distribution of Choctaw and Chickasaw tribal land among the members, except for lands set aside for schools and townsites and land reserved because of coal and asphalt deposits. Homesteads of 160 acres would be inalienable for a period of twenty-one years, and the surplus land could be sold, one-fourth in the first year, one-half in the second year, and the remainder by the fifth year after allotment.

In my new novel, The Swan, a group of women must stand against those who would take advantage of Chickasaw orphans and their allotments. The Swan is Book 11 in my Wings of the West series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Twin Territories
November 1899

Dr. Anna Ryan has been spurned by the Dallas medical community for the simple reason of being a woman. Wanting more than a rural practice alongside her mother, also a doctor, Anna accepts an invitation from a mentor to join a private hospital for disabled children in Oklahoma City. But when she falls in with a band of women attempting to protect the rights of Chickasaw orphans, she’ll need more than her medical training to survive.

Malcolm Hardy has skirted the line between lawlessness and justice since escaping the mean streak of his father and his no-good half-siblings a decade ago. In Oklahoma Territory he created enough distance from his family name to find a quiet purpose to his days. But then Anna Ryan walks back into his life, and his hard-won peace is in jeopardy.

The last time Malcolm saw Anna, she had been a determined girl he couldn’t help but admire. Now she was a compelling woman searching for answers that could lead straight to him. But one thing was clear—Anna’s life path was on a trajectory for the remarkable while Malcolm’s was not. Surrendering to temptation would only end in heartbreak.

The Swan is an emotional story of a woman finding her true calling and a hero moving forward after a difficult past. It has light steam and a heartfelt and poignant ending.

An excerpt from The Swan

(Malcolm Hardy is meeting with Cash Wright, an old friend and a Lighthorseman - the Chickasaw police force.)

“Who would’ve thought back when we worked for Kellogg that you’d end up a respectable lawman,” Malcolm said.

“And you’re respectable?” Cash’s tone was tinged with irony.

“I’m trying,” Malcolm answered honestly, proud of the fruits of working hard. “Ever hear from Ambrose?”

“No. You?”

“Not in some time.”

“You gave him and Bessie a chance,” Cash said. “He wouldn’t have squandered it.”

Malcolm couldn’t disagree. Ambrose was the son of a black Chickasaw freedman—released from slavery after the Civil War—but had struggled with citizenship since the Chickasaw refused recognition. It had sometimes lit a tension between Ambrose and Cash, both men paying for the actions of their forefathers. Guilt by association rather than true differences.

Then Ambrose had fallen in love with a Ponca woman, and Kellogg’s true nature and ambitions had come to light in his machinations of acquiring allotted Ponca land. It had been a testament to the friendship between the three of them that they’d managed to thwart their boss and give Ambrose and Bessie a life with the Ponca.

“I’ve seen Delmont,” Malcolm said, mentioning the final cog that connected them all.

Cash’s face stilled, the surprise obvious. “Where?”

“Conleyville.”

“The hell you say.”

“Why?” Malcolm asked.

“I’m on my way there. I’ve got business, and also to see my mother.”

That caught Malcolm off-guard. “Drusilla lives in Conleyville?” He had met Cash’s mother once in Tishomingo shortly after he and Cash had quit Kellogg’s outfit and come south.

“Outside of town,” Cash said, “in the Arbuckles. I don’t like her living out there alone, but she prefers the wilderness.” He took a gulp of coffee. “Is Delmont still with Kellogg?”

“I think so. He’s got something going on, and knowing him it must be related to land.”

Cash raised his brows. “In Conleyville? It’s Chickasaw territory, and he’s not Chickasaw.”

“That we know of.” But Malcolm’s response was etched in sarcasm. Both he and Cash knew that if Webb could lie about his ancestry, he wouldn’t hesitate.

Cash’s voice was quiet and contemplative as he said, “He’s after the allotments.”

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The Far West Steamboat by Zina Abbott

In the days before railroads reached the Dakota and Missouri territories, the fastest form of transportation was by steamboat. One of the best known steamboats, or riverboats, was the Far West. Built in 1870 for the Coulson Packet Company, it was designed as a packet boat specifically for what was then known as the Upper Missouri River trade—or the part of the river between its headwaters high in the Rocky Mountain down to Sioux City, Iowa. (Packets are medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport.)

Representative of several of the steamboat packets that plied the upper Missouri River the Far West steamship had a shallow hull and three levels, but only two decks. It was a light vessel with powerful engines, a hull with limited water resistance, and a low profile that reduced wind resistance on the particularly windy rivers such as the upper Missouri and Yellowstone.

The Far West  was able to steam at higher speeds than average, allowing her to set a number of speed records for both upstream and downstream travel on the Missouri and the Yellowstone. 

 

By virtue of her shallow draft and her ability to "grasshopper" over sand bars (using spars and steam capstans (A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to multiply the pulling force of sailors when hauling ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle on the front of the boat to lift the boat and swing it forward a few feet at a time.) she was famous for being able to get through shallow channels and low water conditions on the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers that turned back other steamboats.

Captain Grant Marsh

The Far West’s first Captain was Grant Marsh, a man who had worked on steamboats for thirty-two years, ever since the age of twelve. Prior to being assigned to the Far West, he had captained the Coulson packet, Josephine.

Generally, Far West and its sister boats sailed between Sioux City or Yankton, Dakota Territory up river to the head of navigation, which was Fort Benton, Montana Territory. During the period of the fur trade with the various upper Plains tribes, Fort Benton was known as the busiest trade center in the West.

The Coulson Packet Company also contracted with the Department of the Interior to deliver Indian annuities to various agents for distribution to the tribes required under various treaty obligations. Likewise, it contracted with the U. S. Army for transport of men and supplies to the various upriver forts and camps, as well as transporting supplies for various expeditions. One of the most notable Army expeditions in which the Far West played a key role was the three-prong Centennial Campaign, also known as the Bighorn-Yellowstone Campaign.

Part of the difficulty of conducting any military campaign in the Missouri Territory was getting animals, wagons, and freight across the rivers—those flowing south to north into the Missouri River. In addition to hauling food, fodder, ammunition, supplies, and personnel, steamboats such as the Far West were used to shuttle these across the rivers.

Upon learning he would captain the Far West on the Army’s 1876 expedition against the Northern Plains Indians, Capt. Marsh proudly displayed the Coulson Packet Company’s elk’s head symbol on the pilot house of the boat. Coulson Packet Company issued this symbol to the captain of the fastest vessel in the company.

Upper Missouri and related rivers flowing into Yellowstone and 1876 Centennial Campaign

Brigadier General Terry’s last orders to Brig. Col. Custer advised him to meet the Far West at the “juncture of the Horn and Little Horn, if navigation permits” at the expiration of his carried fifteen-day supply of rations, which would have been July fourth. The qualifier “if navigation permits” always applied to the constant changes in the Missouri, Yellowstone, and surrounding rivers, since water levels and other hazards change from day to day.

Captain Marsh accepted the phrase, “if navigation permits,” as a challenge. He piloted the Far West to where those two rivers joined before tying his steamboat to a large tree. This would have been at the absolute upper reaches of navigation for any boat ascending the Bighorn River, and it was less than fifteen miles from the site of the famous June 25, 1876 “Last Stand” battle between the U.S. Army and the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne.

The exact date of the arrival of the Far West at this location is uncertain, but it was there on the evening of June twenty-sixth when a lookout cried “Indians!” and the crew jumped to their combat stations. What they saw were Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors chasing Curly, a Crow Army scout, who witnessed the destruction of all the men in Brig. Col. Custer’s command. He used sign language to express what happened.

Within hours, several soldiers arrived with the same news as Curly, along with the message that fifty-two wounded soldiers from the battered battalions of Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno were on their way to the Far West. Brig. Gen. Terry ordered the transfer of the wounded to take place at night, in cooler conditions and at a time less vulnerable to Indian attack. The wounded were brought to the boat by horse-drawn litters to minimize the jarring of the suffering soldiers.

Capt. Marsh directed a main deck mattress to be made. The men prepared a 12-inch-thick bed by gathering lush green prairie grass and covering it with canvas. The sacks of food supplies were relocated along the outer edge of the first deck to serve as a shield against any attacks. As they arrived, the wounded men were placed on this mattress. Only one doctor was available to attend them.

On July third, when the last of the wounded were stabilized and Brig. Gen, Terry, who had use the Far West as his headquarters, moved his headquarters ashore. Capt. Marsh then ordered the Far West underway, bound for Fort Abraham Lincoln, 920 miles downstream. He returned the wounded men to the fort where the campaign had begun its westward march in May. At several riverside Army forts along the way, Marsh stopped long enough to share the news. From one of these stops a telegraph operator transmitted the details of the Custer defeat to Fort Lincoln. It was then forwarded to the War Department in Washington, D.C.

The passage of the Far West from the mouth of the Little Bighorn to Fort Lincoln, near Bismarck, was made in fifty-four hours, at an average speed of seventeen knots, with the boat traveling night and day. This trip set a record that was never broken. Only two of the wounded soldiers died. The compelling mission to return these soldiers to their home fort and proceed upriver again to support the campaign gave all onboard the Far West the motivation to push the boat and themselves to the limit.

Capt. Marsh expedited the loading of provisions and returned to the mouth of the Bighorn. Beginning in the month of July, three other Coulson Packet Company steamboats, the Josephine, Carroll, and Durfee, joined the Far West in supporting this military campaign. Before its end, the Josephine and the Far West would each make at least two round trips between Bismarck and Brig. Gen. Terry’s new base camp at the mouth of the Rosebud Creek. The 910-mile river route to Bismarck was run continuously until mid-August, when the Yellowstone River water level dropped to a point that made navigation hazardous. It was because of the dangerous river conditions on the Missouri and Yellowstone that Brig. Gen. Terry concluded the military campaign in late August.

Following this campaign, Colonel Nelson A. Terry of the Fifth Infantry, who had been stationed in Kansas, was ordered to the area to help with subduing the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. When he arrived, he was ordered to establish a military installation at the mouth of the Powder River where it emptied into the Yellowstone River. First known as Cantonment Powder River, it later became an established fort, Fort Keogh, named after Capt. Myles Keogh of the 7th Cavalry, who died during the same battle at Little Bighorn as did Brig. Col. Custer.

The Far West continued to fulfill the Coulson line contracts with the military until the steamboat was sold in 1880 to Durfee and Peck of the Northwest Transportation Company. The steamboat continued service on the Upper Missouri until 1882 when it was sold to H. N. Dodd and Victor Bonnett. With Capt. Dodd as ship’s master, the Far West entered the lower Missouri short trade route in November 1882.  The Steamboat continued to transport household and agricultural goods up and down the lower Missouri River for eleven months until October 20, 1883 when it hit a snag just below St. Charles, Missouri, and sank in five feet of water.

The cargo, engines, boilers, and most of the superstructure down to the waterline were salvaged within a few days. All that remained to be swallowed up by the river the Far West  had plied with such honor and distinction for thirteen years was the lower hull.

 

My latest release, Hal’sLucky Escape, is my third book to follow the romances of three veterans of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77 against both the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes. The other two books are Elise and Florence’s Good Deed. After being discharged months after their official enlistments ended in 1877, they boarded the steamboat, Far West, at Cantonment Tongue River to return home. When asked to assist a fellow Army veteran by escorting a cousin and her daughter to his new home in Helena, Montana Territory, Hal finds himself once again traveling up the Missouri River on the Far West.

Hal’s Lucky Escape is currently available for sale as an ebook and available on Kindle Unlimited. To find the book description and purchase options,

Please CLICK HERE

 

 

Sources:

https://the-past.com/feature/the-battle-of-the-little-bighorn-custers-last-stand/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_West_(steamship)

https://armyhistory.org/steamboat-at-the-little-big-horn-the-agile-mountain-steamboats-role-in-the-1876-indian-wars-campaign/

https://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/FarWest-ACUA-2019-DougScottReport.pdf