Frontier justice rises as lawlessness worsens in New Austin
By Alois Burditt
Reports from the open flats of New Austin suggest that the long-promised march of order has stalled once more. A lone traveler, driving a modest wagon along a sun-blasted trail, found himself beset by outlaws who seized his wagon and left him scrambling for his life in the choking dust. Local lawmen and New Austin Rangers alike could offer little help, stretched thin and hampered by the growing sprawl of homesteads and trouble. Yet fortune shifted when the well-known MacFarland ranching family stepped in, hiring a mercenary of stern reputation to see the matter set right.

By all accounts, the hired gun tracked the thieves to their hideout, reclaimed the wagon, and delivered swift punishment upon the culprits — an outcome that spread quickly across the settlements and saloons of the territory. Many residents say such frontier justice feels like the only dependable remedy left, as townsfolk watch civilization’s promises struggle to take hold in these hard lands. With lawmen unable or unwilling to meet every threat, New Austin’s citizens continue to look to their own rifles, neighbors, and hired hands to preserve what peace they can.

Tragic misfire on the northern slopes
By Jane Duran
A grim misunderstanding on the high, wind-bitten ridges of Ambarino has left one man dead and another shaking beneath the weight of remorse. According to accounts gathered from trappers in the Grizzlies, the shooter spotted what he believed to be a prowling wolf moving through the swirling snow and fired a single round meant to scare off a predator. Only when he approached did he discover the fallen figure was no beast at all, but a traveler clad in a heavy wolf-skin coat, its mottled fur near indistinguishable from the real creature in the storm’s dimming haze.

Those who spoke with the killer described him as shattered by what he had done, insisting he dropped to his knees beside the body and remained there until help arrived. By all early indications, there was neither quarrel nor motive beyond a tragic error of judgment in the unforgiving wilds. The mountains are known to play cruel tricks on the eye, especially as winter’s shadows lengthen, but seldom do they end in such bitter consequence. Authorities will weigh the matter, yet locals already whisper that the man’s remorse may be punishment enough.

Greek Food Entices Blackwater!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax – Lead Correspondent
Walk the streets of Blackwater, what do you hear?  Polite idol conversations?  Horses trotting down the roads?  A light breeze picking up from Flat Iron Lake?  How about voices with a heavy accent yelling about a new type of food?

Last week, a new restaurant of sorts opened under the Skorpio; it is run by an elderly man named Basileios.  He is originally from Athens.  He left years ago after his house burned down and local fire brigades intentionally failed to save it.  For years, he lived in California seeking his fortune, which sadly never came.  But he made a good living by cooking traditional Greek food, especially a sandwich-like meal called a gyro.  He moved to Blackwater because West Elizabeth doesn’t have any restaurants serving Greek food. 

Locals have had mixed opinions of Skorpio.  The younger crowd has, to varying degrees, tried the food, and most have enjoyed the flavor.  Those who skew older tend not to have tried the food; instead, they complain about Basileios hawking his meals from up and down Blackwater.  Authorities have done nothing, despite complaints being filed.  Sometimes it’s the oldest who adapts the slowest to new ideas.

Valentine hunter saved from grizzly after gun misfires near Dakota River
By Emery Cosberry
A Valentine hunter tracking game along the Ambarino edge found himself in a deadly bind this week when his firearm failed him at the very moment he needed it most. The man had followed a sizable grizzly just north of the Dakota River, watching its tracks wind between spruce and stone. When the beast finally showed itself, he leveled his rifle and squeezed the trigger — only to hear, as he described it, “an almost muffled explosion, then heat in my face.” The misfire robbed him of his shot and, worse still, alerted the bear, whose answering roar shook through the timber like a rolling storm.

With no time to clear the chamber, the hunter turned and splashed across the Dakota into New Hanover proper, hoping to make for Valentine before the brute closed the distance. But the grizzly was too swift. In moments it was upon him, knocking him down in a crush of fur, claws, and weight. The man fought to keep its jaws from his throat, but his strength was fading fast and the beast showed no sign of breaking off.

Only the presence of another hunter, ranging the river flats a short distance away, kept the encounter from turning fatal. Hearing the commotion, the second marksman rushed in and fired a clean shot that brought the grizzly down before the mauling could go further. The wounded man was carried back across the river to Valentine, where he is being treated for several deep scratches and a broken rib — injuries that could have been far worse had help arrived even a moment later.

Accused killer contests capture methods in Lemoyne court
By Aloysius Levron
A murder hearing in Lemoyne took an unexpected turn this week when the accused, a wiry fellow brought in under heavy guard, declined either to confess or deny the charge laid against him. Instead, he rose to address the court with a complaint of his own, insisting that his “rights as a freeborn man of these United States” had been trampled well before he ever saw a jail cell. According to his statement, the bounty hunter who delivered him to Rhodes employed, in his words, “some kind of steel rope” that prevented him from resisting in any manner he deemed lawful.

The court gallery stirred as the man elaborated, swearing he had attempted to saw through the line while being dragged along a dusty road but found it “hard as iron and twice as stubborn.” He claimed this strange tether deprived him of his “God-given right to cut free of a lasso,” asserting that any man facing capture must be permitted at least a fighting chance. The presiding judge, unmoved, reminded the accused that the purpose of restraint is precisely to limit such chances, and questioned whether the material of the rope had any bearing on the greater matter of homicide.

Nevertheless, the accused pressed on, arguing that an arrest achieved by unfair means should cast doubt upon all subsequent proceedings. Court officers maintained that a bounty hunter’s choice of gear, steel or hemp, holds no influence over the truth of the murder itself. With testimony concluded for the day, proceedings adjourned amid low murmurs, leaving jurors to ponder whether the man’s grievance carries any weight or is but a desperate reach for leniency as the specter of a grave charge looms.

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