African American's in the West

In my newest Tale from BidersClump, a family searching for a better life find themselves stranded in the tiny town at the foot of the Rockies. Despite their differences and doubts about the town's folks, they discover more than they had planned on.

Often African American's have been known as the other pioneers and many of them headed west after the Civil War seeking a better situation for themselves and their families. It was an unwritten rule in the west to take a man or a woman as who they were and many people started over in the wide open spaces of the American Frontier.

There are many famous examples of African American men and women who did exactly this.  Take for example Mary Fields.
Born a slave Mary Fields found herself in Montana when she rushed to tend Mother Amadeus who was suffering from pneumonia. Although Mary had worked for Mother Amadeus she was not what one would expect at the St. Peter's Mission and school for Native American girls.

Mary Fields was known to drink, cuss, and was not afraid to stand up for herself. On one occasion a disagreement with a male subordinate resulted in gunplay which led to the Bishop ordering Mary to leave the convent.

In 1895 at the age of sixty, Mary signed on as a mail carrier, a job she won because she was the fastest at hitching a six-horse team, making Mary the first African American woman to work for the US Postal service.  Mary worked the route between from Cascade Montana to St. Peter's Mission for eight years. In winter if the snow was too deep for the horses she delivered the mail using snowshoes and carrying the mail on her back.

Mary Field was well known in Cascade Montana. Not only did they close school each year to celebrate her birthday but when Montana passed a law forbidding women from entering a saloon, the mayor of Cascade made an exception for Mary.

Mary is just one example of how people could reinvent themselves in a new land.

In Winter's Worth Book Ten of Tales from Biders Clump, an African American family, led by their mother arrives in town seeking shelter from the cold and trials of winter. My character Agnes has the strength and fortitude that was needed by anyone setting out to start a new life in the west. Still finding friends in a time need would help. It was hard enough being a woman on your own in the wild west but to be a woman of color as well could potentially make it even harder. Fortunately, in the town of Biders Clump few people worry about things like that. Add to it a little Valentine's miracle and you'll find that sometimes you have to wait because the best is yet to come.

It took all sorts of people to build this country. People pulling together to build something great that could be enjoyed for generations to come.  I hope you'll take the time to get to know the people of my tiny town in the shadow of the mighty Rockies! https://amzn.to/2tbQsai