The Other Monitors by Zina Abbott

 

As the Black Hills gold rush attracted more gold miners and fortune-seekers, the amount of gold, coins, and valuable paperwork being shipped between Deadwood and the railroad at Cheyenne reached record levels. They attracted numerous gangs of road agents determined to rob the coaches along the remote sections of the route.

Johnny Slaughter, murdered by road agent, Robert McKimie, on March 25, 1877, became the first Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Company driver killed while operating the stagecoach along the Deadwood to Cheyenne Trail. Not long after, the company built two steel-plated treasure coaches called Monitors after the Civil War ironclad, USS Monitor. One was named “Old Ironsides,” which was designed and constructed by A.D. Butler of Cheyenne at the cost of $31,000. A few months later, a second coach, the “Johnny Slaughter” to honor the company’s late driver, was built and delivered by the same company.

The "Salamander"

The stagecoach company commissioned a treasure box especially designed to thwart road agents. Manufactured in Cincinnati, the chest was lined with three-inch, thick steel and was bolted to the floor. It was secured with a Yale lock guaranteed to befuddle thieves for “six days.” Due to the coating of green paint on the outside, it quickly earned the nickname of “the salamander.”

Labeled a treasure coach, but does not show iron plating.

Both stagecoaches were lined with steel plates 5/16th inches thick. Each door had a porthole for two shotgun messengers to shoot out. In addition to the structural reinforcements, armed guards, or “outriders” were added. Some scouted the terrain ahead and others escorted the coach itself.

Since large quantities of wealth were at stake, the road agents responded accordingly. Gangs grew larger and more violent.

In May 1878, the first Monitor coach, “Old Ironsides,” went into service. It was put to the test in what became known as the Canyon Springs Robbery.

1914 recreation of "Old Ironsides" 

On September 26, 1878, Lame Johnny’s gang of outlaws ambushed the Monitor, starting with a hail of gunfire as it pulled into Canyon Springs Station thirty-seven miles south of Deadwood. The driver Gale Barnett and two shotgun messengers, Gale Hill and Eugene Smith, were wounded; and a telegraph operator named Hugh Campbell was killed.

 

Canon Springs Station 37 miles south of Deadwood

This robbery was well planned out. The gang knew the timing of the stagecoach’s arrival at the station, which was thirty-seven miles south of Deadwood. One gang member approached the station and asked for a drink of water. As soon as the stock attendant, William Miner, started for the water, the outlaw attacked and locked him in a prisoner in the stable grain room. Before the coach arrived, other gang members knocked spaces out of the stable walls to use as gun ports.

As the stagecoach approached, they followed their usual procedure. The driver sounded a horn to alert the attendant to bring out a fresh team of horses. When no one appeared, two men in front dismounted to check for the attendant. Those road agents waiting in the barn opened fire. The driver returned fire, and then took cover after being wounded. There were dead and wounded on both sides.

Robbers took the driver as prisoner, using him as a shield. This made it impossible for Davis to continue firing for fear of hitting Barnett. He abandoned the fight, which left the robbers free to work on opening the salamander. They tied up the survivors and within two hours, they broke into the “break-proof” safe and escaped with valuables totaling $27,000.

Miner, the station attendant, eventually freed himself and walked to the next station to alert them to the robbery. It didn't take long for the story of the robbery to make its way around the Hills, and a posse was formed to regain the treasure and capture Lame Johnny's gang.

The Monitors continued to be used to transport large cargoes of valuables for three years before their use was discontinued.

 

In my most recent release, Hal’s Lucky Escape, my hero finds work as a security guard for the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Company. His first escape was an entanglement with a mail-order bride with questionable intentions. The second was a robbery attempt on one of the coach runs. To find the book description and purchase options,

Please CLICK HERE

 

 

Sources:

https://truewestmagazine.com/article/surviving-a-stagecoach-robbery/

https://www.bhpioneer.com/opinion/robbing-the-monitor/article_5e7ab954-9e7f-11e0-a3b8-001cc4c002e0.html

https://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2023/8/9/stagecoach-robberies-in-the-american-west

https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-original-war-wagon/

https://shipwrecklibrary.com/deadlands/deadwood-stage/

Alfred Packer, an infamous name a Colorado history

 One hundred and fifty years ago, during a brutal winter in the San Juan mountains of Colorado, legend states Alfred Packer survived by eating at least some of his five companions.                                                                                  

 What exactly took place, only Packer knew, and over his lifetime, the details of his story changed making the account of what happened read like a novel. 

   Alfred G. Packer was born in Pennsylvania in 1842. As a young man, he was a shoemaker by trade. When the Civil War broke out, he joined company F, 16th U.S. Infantry.  Afflicted with epilepsy he was discharge a few months later. Having a feel for army life, he then enlisted in an Iowa regiment, but was soon let go for the same reason. 

   Heading west to search for gold, by 1873 he was working as a guide in the wilds of Utah and Colorado. During the winter in question, he was employed to lead twenty-one men to the gold fields of Breckenridge Co. 

   After three harrowing months of deadly storms, the group was saved when they located the camp of Ute Indian Chief Ouray. This was near Montrose, Co.  

   The Chief generously provided food and shelter and advised the men to wait out the weather. Ignoring the sage wisdom, Packer and five men left on their own. Sixty six days later, Alfred Packer came out of the mountains alone. 

                                

   Parker stated he got separated from the others and survived on rabbits and rose buds. The fact he carried a good amount of cash and personal possessions of the other five men, raised questions. When pressed, he changed his story stating along their travels, one man after another succumbed to the treacherous weather, and to survive, each man in turn was eaten by the rest. Finally when only he and a man named Shannon Bell were left, Bell went crazy and Packer had to kill him in self-defense. 

                                

   Although a horrible tale, cannibalism was not unheard of (the Donner party of 1846–1847), and the story would have been taken as truth until the skeletons of the five men were eventually found and they were all together not strung out along a trail indicating they had not died one by one. 

  Israel Swan's body showed signs of struggle, and Parker was charged with his murder, but he escaped jail the very night of his arrest, and remained at larger for nine years.             

   Finally recognized in Wyoming, Parker was captured and returned to Colorado. His ever changing story now stated all the men were alive in camp when he took off alone seeking a useful trail. Returning after several hours, he found Shannon Bell had gone mad and killed the others. Then Bell attacked Parker who shot Bell in self-defense at which time he resorted to eating the dead. 

   This time a jury convicted Packer of the single murder and he was sentenced to hang. Due to some typed of legislation error the conviction was over turned, but then at a new trial he was charged with five counts of manslaughter and was convicted and sentenced to forty years in prison. He was remanded to the State Prison in Canon City in 1886. 

    Due to the efforts of Denver Post editors and reporter Polly Pry, who were convinced of his innocence, he was paroled in 1901 and went to work briefly as a guard at the Post building in downtown Denver.    

        Packer spent the final years of his life living in and around Littleton —on Harrison Avenue and on west Hampden. According to Littleton historian Dave Hicks, "He was described as a kindly man who would take children on his lap and tell them of his early days in the old west."  

  He died April 24, 1907, evidently of liver and stomach troubles. Because he was a Civil War veteran, the military paid for the funeral and provided the tombstone, which reads: "Alfred Packer, Co. F, 16 U.S. Inf." His dying words, according to the Littleton Independent, were "I'm not guilty of the charge."        

                                       

On a dark humorous note, CU Boulder has a the Alferd Pacer restaurant & Grill. (His first name was occasionally spelled Alferd due to the misspelling of a tattoo he got.)

https://www.museum.littletonco.gov/Research/Littleton-History/Biographies/Packer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_PackerWikipedia 

                

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Fantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

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One Hundred and Sixty Acres for $1.25 per Acre! by Reggi Allder

 Does $1.25 per acre to buy land, does the sound good?

 The Homestead Act on May 20, 1862 law established a three-fold homestead acquisition process: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. It was for land not in the original thirteen US states. This would bring people to settle the west.  

Nebraska sod home. I love the cow on the roof.

Any U.S. citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. Government could file an application and lay claim to 160 acres of surveyed Government land.

 Local land offices forwarded the paperwork to the General Land Office in Washington, DC, along with a final certificate of eligibility. The case file was examined, and valid claims were granted patent to the land free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after a 6-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre. After the Civil War, Union soldiers could deduct the time they served from the residency requirements. 

Many pioneers had a rough time once they arrived on their land. They often build sod homes that gave them little protection from the elements as it has little isolation. One woman reported a roof of sod dropped dirt, grass, and bugs from the ceiling. 

Sisters living in a small sod home in Nebraska.

     Still, in 1870 a Montana settler reported spending only $2.78 on the construction of his entire sod home. However, since the house was literally built of dirt and grass, it was constantly infested with bugs, mice, snakes, and assorted other "varmints and vermin." One sod-house settler lamented that, "In the afternoons, every afternoon, the rattlesnakes would come out of their hidden dens in the walls and roof, and sun themselves on the western window-sill." The very best sod roofs tended to leak, which turned indoor dirt flooring into a quagmire. Wet roofs took days to dry out, and the enormous weight of the wet earth caused many roofs to collapse.

Making a living farming or keeping animals under was difficult with bad weather, drought, floods, etc. Even so, by 1934, over 1.6 million homestead applications were processed and more than 270 million acres—10 percent of all U.S. lands—passed into the hands of individuals. The passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 repealed the Homestead Act in the 48 contiguous states, but it did grant a ten-year extension on claims in Alaska.

Sod house with windows, Oklahoma 

Some of the above text was adapted from the article "The Homestead Act of 1862" by Lee Ann Potter and Wynell Schamel, 1997.

In my book Our Country Heart the third book in the Sierra Creek series, Emanuel Gordon is building a home with his own hands. Is he a fool hoping Vanna will ever see it let alone live there?

      Reggi Allder Sierra Creek Series Book Review, “Book is so good I didn’t want it to end. A great stand-alone book. Wonderful Characters!” "Reggi Allder will hold you on the edge of your seat as you follow her real-to-life characters."

Have you ever made a mistake you would do anything to change?

Two people return to the small town of Sierra Creek to right a wrong. Can they ignore the past and put aside their problems for the good of the town? Are they wrong to have confidence in their ability to work together without breaking a heart? 

Excerpt Our Country Heart Sierra Creek Series Book 3:

 “At loose ends.” The saying had no meaning until today. Vanna Danelavich surveyed the California town of Sierra Creek spreading out in a vista before her. In the small village, brick and stucco houses dotted the landscape and surrounded the Main Street shopping area, where no big box stores were allowed.

From the knoll where she stood, the morning sun glistened on the bell tower of the church where her best friend was married a week ago.

This time yesterday, she was working a temp job at the preschool. The teacher returned today, after being on maternity leave. Now, Vanna confronted an uncertain future with few prospects in the rural community, where jobs were scarce, and opportunities limited. Still, it was her hometown.

Tired of being anonymous in Los Angeles, she’d thought of Sierra Creek, population five thousand, and longed for close friends, clean air and little traffic. In LA, with a population of over ten million, finding a friend to say good morning to was often impossible as people lived in a huge geographical area and met only by appointment.

Heat, smog, and gridlock were the only things LA residents could rely on. She might have tolerated those but for a disastrous relationship that left her shaken. Then her mother had a health scare and needed her. It seemed the right time to leave Los Angeles. So, at twenty-seven, she gave up her unrealistic dream of being an actress in Hollywood and came home.

She returned to the place of her birth and a better quality of life should have fallen into place. Too bad reality is never as perfect as a person’s desire. Vanna laughed without humor. She was home now. She’d better make the best of things in Sierra Creek because living in Los Angeles was over.

Could witnessing her best friend’s marriage, and seeing Amy so happy, after years of struggle, be the catalyst for her musing? Vanna had reveled in the joy Amy Long found with Wyatt Cameron, but she couldn’t escape the realization of her own empty personal life.

With a groan, she turned toward Main Street and Sophie’s Ice Cream Parlor. Today, it was her turn to open her mother’s shop. Just then, a sleek black sports car drove down the street. The car parked near the courthouse and a handsome, well-built, brown-haired, man left the vehicle and jogged up the steps to the entrance and disappeared inside. Not many strangers in this community. Who could he be?

 

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