Mission Statement:
To endeavor to bring to all residents of the Five States the most current and important news from across the entire Five States region. Never yellow, the Five States Herald vows to serve only the people of the Five States, from New Austin to Lemoyne, free of charge now and forever.
1st U.S. Calvary launches attack on alleged Mexican forces at Riley’s Charge
By Lucien Privitt
Riley’s Charge, a battlefield from the Mexican-American War, has largely been abandoned. Travelers often find scraps of the battle in bullets, broken down equipment, and even canons. A group believed to be the Del Lobo gang recently took up residency in the area. Local law enforcement had difficulty assaulting the encampment, leading to the national government’s involvement. “This encampment only appears to be Del Lobo gang members,” said a government official, “but our intelligence suggested that it was an incursion of Mexican forces disguised as gang members.” As a result, the U.S. government sent in the 1st Squadron of the 1st Calvary Regiment.
The Regiment staged their attack from Tumbleweed. The forces encamped at Riley’s Charge were overrun by the the calvary’s charge. “They were not quite prepared for a calvary division,” a source told me, “and reports indicated they were scattered quickly and all runners were chased down.” There was no solid evidence found that proved beyond doubt that the encamped defenders were really Mexican military forces. Though there were military grade weapons and crates of ammo marked as owned by the Mexican military, this could be explained by theft. None of the killed men could be identified. The U.S. government maintains that the forces were Mexican military but has not declared war, but warned Mexico against any future excursions into U.S. territory.
Hunter killed by coyote
By Jose Chavez
A hunter attempting to track the legendary Red Streak Coyote lost their life to their hunt. Westley Talcott had spent several months tracking the elusive coyote before being found dead. The details of his death are not known as there was no witness. A posse of investigators that included an experienced hunter investigated the scene. “I could see where he fell, big disturbance in ten ground and broken cacti,” said the hunter, “looks like they were dragged a bit too.”
A doctor examined the body. The bite marks were consistent with coyote bites. “There was an anomaly though,” the doctor said, “their ankle was broken clean, not something a coyote would do.” The theory is that Mr. Talcott was chased and while fleeing broke his ankle. This unfortunate even would be all the coyote needed. At the scene, Mr. Talcott’s rifle was found, however, it was noted to be in poor condition. Investigators believe his rifle jammed, leading to the coyote to chase him. “Mr. Talcott may have been a hunter of renown a some point,” said a fellow hunter, “but if he allowed his gun to get to this condition, well, he earned his fate.”
Trial remains pending, but details about evidence emerge in Executioner case
By Jane Duran
This week the case against Emmaline Haven, alleged serial killer The Executioner, will resume. The trial was delayed when new evidence was announced. That evidence has not been revealed ahead of the trial resuming, but I have learned details about that evidence. The state prosecutor is in possession of a journal that allegedly belonged to Emmaline Haven. In that journal, Mrs. Haven does not admit to any wrong doings. However, she allegedly writes, “that fool of a man husband of man thinks I don’t know. I ought to shoot him in the head and say we was robbed.” In another entry, she allegedly writes, “the unfaithful will be punished.”
Mrs. Haven’s defense team is aware of the evidence but has not commented on what it is. “We were made aware of the evidence and have examined it,” Mrs. Haven’s attorney said, “we cannot speak to what it is at this point, but urge people to not judge anything until the evidence is presented in court.”
Prosecutors will have to prove first that the journal does belong to Mrs. Haven. Then, they will need to connect personal thoughts written in a journal to actual murders.
Drunkard says secret bar exists in Strawberry
By Odell Clifton
Strawberry is the only “dry-town” in the Five States. It is the only place where it is illegal to sell alcohol and so the one place you will not find it. Unless some are to be believed. “I got drunk with local produced alcohol, moonshine!” said a prisoner as he sobered up in a Strawberry jail cell, “the general store has a secret!” Town Mayor Nicholas Timmins offered a comment. “Strawberry is a beautiful, but untapped town,” Mayor Timmins said, “to make it more appealing, we are serious about there being no alcohol and take claims of alcohol sales within our borders seriously.” The mayor ordered Sheriff Hanley investigated the claims himself. “I personally handled the investigation along with my ranking deputy Vernon Farley,” Sheriff Hanley said, “and we did find an underground room but it was just storage for various items and such, no alcohol or fermenting equipment involved.”
Sheriff Hanley turned down the offered assistance of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. “The feds do not belong in Strawberry,” Sheriff Hanley said, “we can handle our own here.” Mayor Timmins accepted Sheriff Hanley’s findings. The assumption now is the drunkard likely brought his own alcohol with him, which is frowned upon but not illegal.
Bounty hunter survives horrific accident, their captured bounties do not
By Emery Cosberry
A bounty hunter was spotter riding his prison wagon into Valentine in a hurry. “I saw her pretty far off and notice a lot of dust, new she was going fast,” said a witness, “and I also heard the train coming and told my friend it was gonna be close.” Several witnesses told similar stories as many began to watch what they were sure was an impending collision. The bounty hunter showed no intention of slowing and according to witnesses, pushed the horse to pull the wagon even faster.
“It looked like she was gonna make it, and well, I guess in a way she did,” one witness said. The horse pulling her wagon made it across the tracks but the train hit the back of the prison wagon. The sound of the collision was horrifying according to witnesses. The wagon was completely destroyed as the train tore into it, bending the wall of the wagon inward. The bounty hunter was thrown from the wagon and she landed hard on the dirt floor. The horse went down and was dragged a bit, but a Valentine resident jumped into action to release the horse from the wagon. The horse was injured but will survive.
The bounty hunter survived with injuries, none of the bounty targets did though. Though the bounties were wanted dead or alive, the manner in which they died was determined to be negligent and so the bounty hunter was arrested on three counts of murder, one for each bounty target that died. Other charges are pending. When asked why they did not stopped, the bounty hunter replied, “I waited too long and I was running out of time.”
Gunfight breaks out over misunderstanding
By Mathilde Orry
Two men bumped into each other as one exited the Rhodes General store and one entered. What could have, and should have, been a brief misunderstanding turned into a gunfight. After bumping into each other the men had words and things go physical. A push turned into a punch and soon the men were rolling around in the dirt. By the time the two men stood up, friends of each had arrived at the scene. One of the men threw another punch and then the guns were pulled out. Rhodes’ townsfolk fled, running for cover. Several shops locked their doors and secured their buildings.
According to residents, Rhodes deputies had a delayed response. However, Sheriff Leigh Gray explained the delayed response was not a delay at all. “My deputies went into action immediately,” Sheriff Gray said, “but we took deliberate action to contain the situation and bring it to a swift end.” He further explained that deputies took positions to surround the gunfight, as it had yet to spread across the entire town. This allowed deputies to get advantageous positions and fire on the gunfighters. After several of the gunfighters were killed by deputies the rest threw their weapons down.
Of the two that started the altercation, one survived. All of the survivors are being held in Rhodes until they are transferred to Sisika Penitentiary.
Anniversary of the Collapse of American Passenger Line Approaches!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax – Lead Correspondent
Citizens worldwide look upon the great liners of the Atlantic as wonderous creations. Thoughts inevitably drift however, from the grandness of the ships, to why their own nations do not own them. Well, if you live in the United States, there once was a time when we did own such giants of the sea, but that time has long since passed.
The company was known as the Collins Line, run by the shipping magnate Edward Knight Collins. For a few years in the 1850s, it held the record for the fastest passenger liner in the world, specifically the liners Pacific and Baltic. But the company was never that profitable, and a series of horrible shipping disasters did much to kill its reputation. Most notably, the loss of the steamer Arctic after a collision, a sinking that also killed Collin’s wife and two children.
The company was almost dead when it launched its largest vessel, the Adriatic. It completed one voyage before the company declared bankruptcy, the anniversary of which is this week. Adding insult to injury, the Adriatic was bought by a British steamer company, got stuck in the ice, and was scrapped over a decade ago. None of these ships survive, it’s a legacy thoroughly lost to time.
The American Empire may be vast, and it may be strong, but upon the waves, only Britannia rules I’m afraid.
The Five States Herald 