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.
Federal offices dispute bloody confusion at revenue cordon
By Adam Parvey
Federal authorities across the Five States spent much of yesterday attempting to untangle a humiliating clash between two branches of their own government after a party of special investigators examining the growing practice of private bounty contracts exchanged gunfire with federal revenue agents at a roadside checkpoint. According to preliminary accounts gathered from both camps, the investigators were traveling under sealed authority from Washington and had been moving quietly between settlements collecting testimony concerning hired bounty hunters operating beyond local jurisdiction. Revenue agents stationed at the checkpoint claim the approaching riders ignored repeated orders to halt and made for their weapons when challenged. The investigators, however, insist they loudly identified themselves as federal lawmen and were met with hostility by nervous revenuers already expecting interference from moonshine smugglers and tax evaders moving through the territory under cover of darkness.
The quarrel reportedly lasted less than a minute before both sides recognized the error and ceased fire amid shouting and confusion. No deaths occurred, though one investigator suffered a gunshot wound through the arm and was later carried to medical treatment under guard. Witnesses described the scene afterward as “more ashamed than angry,” with several federal men refusing to speak while officers gathered spent cartridges from the roadside mud. Spokesmen for both sides have thus far offered conflicting explanations, each office insisting proper procedure had been followed while privately conceding the affair has become an embarrassment for a government already struggling to project order across the frontier territories. Earlier reports concerning disputes over bounty authority are now expected to receive renewed scrutiny as federal departments quietly seek to determine which agency, if either, bears responsibility for the exchange.
Wagon raider shot dead outside Tumbleweed
By Jose Chavez
A would be thief was killed outside Tumbleweed this week after allegedly attempting to seize a supply wagon bound for the desert settlement. According to the traveler driving the wagon, the encounter began without warning along the dusty road leading into town. “I was minding my own business when they rode up to me,” the traveler recounted afterward, “then they jumped onto my wagon, fixing to steal it!” The driver responded with a single gunshot that reportedly killed the cowpoke immediately before continuing onward to report the matter to Sheriff Sam Freeman upon reaching town. Local authorities later traveled to the scene to recover the body and gather statements, though early accounts suggest the shooting will likely be regarded as an act of lawful self defense amid the increasingly desperate robberies troubling travelers across New Austin.
WANTED!
Investigators: Travel the Five States and report on what is going on.
Writers: Write the stories investigators find!
Photographers:
To take photographs to be used in the Herald.
Can also do all three!
Federal inspectors depart Bacchus Bridge after recommending costly modifications
By Jane Duran
Federal inspectors have now concluded their examination of Bacchus Bridge and departed from Ambarino after submitting what officials describe as extensive recommendations intended to harden the crossing against sabotage, criminal attack, and structural failure. Earlier reports detailed the arrival of engineers, surveyors, and armed escorts who spent days studying the iron span, surrounding cliffs, and vulnerable approaches under harsh mountain conditions. Sources close to the expedition now claim the investigators advised additional iron reinforcement beneath portions of the bridge, fortified watch posts overlooking both approaches, stronger patrol schedules along the rail line, and the installation of signal systems intended to warn against tampering or obstruction. Though no official accounting has yet been released, several railroad men privately admitted the projected expense may prove staggering, particularly given the difficulty of transporting heavy materials into the Grizzlies.
The camps raised during the inspection have largely been dismantled, with most federal personnel and engineering crews already descending from the mountains before heavier weather arrives. A small contingent of additional guards, however, has been ordered to remain near the crossing for at least several weeks while railway authorities review the inspectors’ proposals and debate how much protection the bridge truly requires. Freight traffic continues uninterrupted for the present, though conductors passing through the region report increased scrutiny from armed sentries stationed near the tracks. Officials remain unwilling to discuss any specific threat against the bridge itself, yet many frontier residents view the sudden concern as evidence that federal authorities fear the consequences should one of the Five States’ most vital rail crossings ever be successfully targeted.
Federal men mocked after mistaken arrest in Blackwater
By Odell Clifton
For several quiet days the talk of Blackwater had drifted away from town’s famous trick shooter, when four weary federal lawmen rode into town with a handcuffed prisoner and the proud declaration that the notorious bounty hunter Tom Lockburn had at last been taken into custody. Witnesses say the officers arrived dusty and triumphant, insisting the man had been seized while operating unlawful private bounty contracts somewhere beyond the Upper Montana. The prisoner reportedly matched Lockburn in only the broadest frontier descriptions, a strongly built fellow with long brown hair, a beard, and a weathered coat. The federal party demanded immediate use of cells inside the Blackwater Police Station while telegraphs were prepared for higher authorities. Their confidence did not last long. One local officer, unable to contain his amusement, remarked that the supposed Lockburn wore his eye patch over the wrong eye entirely. “He looked like him enough I suppose and an eye patch, sure,” the lawman said afterward, “but it was the wrong eye, on the right instead of the left.”
Though the federal officers attempted to quiet the matter and reportedly ordered several stable hands and deputies not to discuss the prisoner publicly, word spread through Blackwater with uncommon speed. By sundown, saloons along the waterfront were roaring with laughter at the expense of the embarrassed agents, while townsfolk gathered outside the station hoping to glimpse the unfortunate captive mistaken for one of the most recognizable bounty hunters in the Five States. Several policemen privately questioned how trained federal officers could fail to recognize so well-known a figure, especially a man whose brown leather trench coat and stoic manner have become near legendary in frontier reports. The prisoner’s true name has not yet been publicly released, though sources inside Blackwater suggest he may simply be a drifter caught carrying a revolver too fine for his station.
Failed bounty seizure ends in bloodshed near Flatneck Station
By Donna Deshner
Travelers near Flatneck Station yesterday witnessed a violent and bewildering confrontation after two licensed bounty hunters allegedly attempted to seize a lone man who had been quietly overlooking the plains south of the tracks. According to several witnesses, the fellow appeared untroubled and unaware of danger, standing beside his horse and staring across the open country before the pair approached him from behind. One witness claimed the man was suddenly thrown by a lasso while another hunter moved quickly to hogtie him in the dirt. A station clerk later confirmed the attackers were recognized bounty men carrying proper licenses, though no warrant has yet been publicly produced identifying the intended captive. Before the hunters could secure him, however, the captive’s horse reportedly lashed out with a powerful kick that dropped one of the men flat to the ground and scattered the other long enough for the victim to break free.
What followed was described by onlookers as a chaotic and desperate chase around the station grounds, with the bounty hunters repeatedly attempting to bring the man down alive while receiving deadly resistance in return. “They clearly wanted him alive,” the station clerk explained afterward, “but their target had no such concern for them.” Witnesses state the pursued man drew a revolver and fired with startling precision, killing both bounty hunters before mounting his horse and fleeing northward across the Heartlands. The bodies remained near the station for some time as shaken railroad workers attempted to piece together the affair. Local authorities have not yet announced whether the slain bounty men were acting under lawful authority or pursuing a private contract.
Gunfire outside Saint Denis leaves two dead and one vanished
By Aloysius Levron
Saint Denis policemen rode in force yesterday afternoon after sudden gunfire erupted along the roadway just outside the city limits, alarming merchants and residents entering the crowded streets. Witnesses described the violence as abrupt and without warning, involving three men gathered around a small campfire near the roadside. “I was riding my wagon into the city for business,” one shaken merchant explained, “the three of them were sitting around a fire and then just started shooting at each other!” Several residents initially mistook the exchange for drunken revelry until stray rounds tore through the sideboards of a passing wagon belonging to a Saint Denis resident returning from market. Though the driver escaped physical harm, witnesses say the frightened citizen demanded immediate police intervention and shouted for officers as nearby horses bucked and scattered from the noise.
By the time city lawmen arrived, the shooting had already ceased. Officers discovered two dead men near the extinguished fire, while the third participant had disappeared entirely into the marsh roads and brush beyond the city outskirts. Police searched the surrounding area through the evening but found no clear trail indicating whether the missing gunman fled wounded or unharmed. Authorities have thus far withheld the identities of the dead while investigators attempt to determine what provoked the sudden exchange. Some nearby residents speculated the men may have been outlaws dividing spoils or bounty hunters disputing payment, though officials cautioned against rumor until facts could be established. The battered wagon struck during the exchange was later escorted safely into Saint Denis under police supervision as nervous travelers continued arriving at the city gates long after sunset.
Ohio to Sweep the Nation!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax – Lead Correspondent
What state is the least respected in our great nation? It’s hard to say, it’s not like you will find people clamoring to praise Rhode Island, but I think there’s a fairly easy winner, Ohio. When was the last time you thought kindly of dear old Ohio?
It gave many of its soldiers to the Union army in the Civil War, and numerous presidents hail from it, including our current one. But when was the last time you heard him praise it? To those who live out west, it may as well be a different nation, said to be miserable and boring beyond belief. Well, the state wants to change that.
By 1900, according to the current governor, Ohio will lead the nation in agriculture and manufacturing, beating Iowa and Michigan in wheat and apples, and Pennsylvania in steel production. Cleveland will be the largest port town on the Great Lakes, and Columbus will shine brighter than Richmond. That’s the plan anyway, but few believe it will be done. Oh, but so many love to dream, and when it comes to something petty like state rivalries, let them dream. Although this rivalry seems to be, Ohio vs everyone else.
The Five States Herald 