Cowboy Kisses: September 2025

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Madame Pearl DeVere ~ Julie Lence

Pearl or one of her girls

Born in Evansville, Indiana October 1859, Eliza Martin was one of five children to John (a Civil War veteran) and Nancy Marshall. She moved to Denver, Colorado at age 15 and found work as a prostitute. During this time, Denver was experiencing a down time in ‘business’ and Eliza moved to El Paso County (south of Denver), where she met Albert Young. The two married but lived apart. Eliza gave birth to a daughter and it’s believed she gave the child up for adoption. Around this time, she dyed her hair red, dressed in fine clothing and jewelry, and adopted the namesakes, Isabelle Martin and Mrs. E. A. Martin.

Having made quite a bit of money working in Denver, Eliza moved to Cripple Creek, Colorado in 1893. Located on the back side of Pikes Peak, the town was booming from gold strikes. She changed her name to Pearl DeVere and went to work as a prostitute, buying a small house on the famed Myers Avenue and hiring only the prettiest girls to work for her, as she herself was considered a beauty. A smart businesswoman, Pearl insisted her girls practice good hygiene, dress smart, and have a medical exam every month.

The Old Homestead (today)

Pearl was also an avid rider and could often be found renting a horse at the livery to ride around town. Many of the ‘ladies’ favored the pastime, which was also deemed good business. Sitting in the saddle and decked out in their finery, they caught the attention of many men, especially Pearl. With a striking figure and known to never appear in public in the same gown, she caught the attention of wealthy mill owner, C. B. Flynn. They married in 1895, and a few months later, what is now known as the historic fire of 1896 swept through town, destroying most of the businesses, to include Flynn’s mill and Pearl’s house. To recover some of his losses, Flynn went to work as a smelter in Mexico. Pearl stayed in Cripple Creek, and with new buildings springing up fast, she borrowed funds from Orinda Straile of New York and built a new home for herself on Myers Avenue. Named ‘The Old Homestead’, the two-story brick home with its electric lights, running water, two bathrooms, and intercom and telephone had everyone gossiping. Coal stoves placed in upstairs rooms kept the second floor warm and cozy during winter months; fireplaces heated the downstairs rooms. Rich clientele flocked to The Old Homestead to enjoy not only the women who worked there, but the finest liquor and the scrumptious meals Pearl served, and to attend the lavish parties she held, at a cost to them of $250 per night.

Sadly, Pearl’s reign over her new establishment was short-lived. After an all-night party in June of 1897, she was having a difficult time unwinding and falling asleep. She asked one of her girls to bunk with her, and the following day, the girl found Pearl with her face in the pillow and her breathing heavy. A doctor was summoned, but there was nothing he could do to help Pearl; she overdosed on morphine and died that afternoon. Laid out in a rich ball gown, Pearl’s funeral was a grand affair, with mounted policemen escorting her body to Mt. Pisgah Cemetery. The service was quick, and afterward, the Elks Club band played, ‘They’ll Be A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight’.

The Old Homestead continued under Hazel Vernon, from 1897 – 1916. Afterward, it became a boarding house and then a private residence, with owners discovering several original items they decided to share with the public. In June 1958, the house opened as a museum and remains as such today.

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Hearty Gnocchi and Sausage

With school back in session and busy days ahead, I love simple one-pan meals. I picture a hungry crew coming in and setting down to shovel in bits of this easy dish. It's cowboy approved!

Sausage Gnocchi

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork sausage

1 package gnocchi

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

In a large cast iron skillet (10-inch was the size I used), brown crumbled sausage until cooked through and no longer pink. While it is frying, set a pot of water on to boil.

Using paper towels, absorb the grease. While the paper towels are doing their thing, add gnocchi to boiling water and cook to package directions (should take about 3-4 minutes). Drain gnocchi and add to skillet. Stir in soup and Parmesan cheese. It will only take a minute or so for the soup to get hot. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and a garnish of sage or parsley, and enjoy!

NOTE: You can also cook the gnocchi in the skillet with the sausage, it just doesn’t get quite as soft or plump.

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.

Shanna is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.

Visit her website for more information about her books: https://shannahatfield.com/

Monday, September 1, 2025

Medicine in Dallas in the 1890s

By Kristy McCaffrey

In 1890, Dallas, Texas, was a growing center of commerce for North Texas. The population was nearly 38,000, but the medical care offered was primitive. Science-based medicine was in its infancy and Dallas doctors had not yet accepted the germ theory of disease. Surgical hygiene and the sterilization of medical instruments were virtually nonexistent.

At a meeting of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) in 1890, it was stated that “the profession of medicine in the United States is sick.” It was suggested this was due to homeopathy, eclecticism, so-called acupuncture, and “Wilford Hall's method of rectal irrigation.”

Some topics addressed at TMA meetings held between 1886 and 1902 were:

Opposition to a bill proposing “regulation of the practice of medicine”

Expulsion of Dr. M. Salm of Austin for gross plagiarism and seduction of a young lady under grave circumstances

Defense of animal experimentation

Dismissal of the teachings of Darwin and Huxley

Papers, including Texas quackery, early blistering in pneumonia, prophylaxis in smallpox, malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, insanity, enlarged prostate, glaucoma, and menstrual disorders in schoolgirls

Antiseptics

Diphtheria antitoxin, which had only recently been proposed in 1895

In Dallas in the 1890s, surgery and deliveries were done in the home. It was common practice to radically instrument pregnant women about to undergo delivery to promote cervical dilatation. There was no washing of hands or cleaning of dirty fingernails prior to delivery or surgery, and no rubber gloves were used.

Although the value of antiseptic techniques in surgery had been described in the 1870s in an article published in the Lancet, Dallas doctors hadn’t adopted this stance. One even used the example of a person who survived a surgical procedure under contaminated conditions as evidence that the germ theory was just a fad. Quinine, the cupping glass, and strong emetics were instead the universal cures.

* * * * *

In my newest release, the heroine is a doctor unable to find work in Dallas so is headed to Oklahoma Territory where she is sidetracked to a small town in the Chickasaw Nation.

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.