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.
Suppliers in the Five States accused of withholding product, violating terms of contract
By Nick McCrary
Several traders have filed grievances with the Five States Traders Association, the volunteer body that attempts to oversee disputes between traders and suppliers. The grievance alleges that several suppliers in the Five States are not living up to their contract agreements. Several traders have claimed that after completing a deal with suppliers, they have notice the supply wagons to be not as full as they should be. “I had a fella wanted a deer, so I got him a deer and he traded me a wagon of supplies for my troubles,” a trader said, “but I arrive and my partner looks at the wagon and we realize it ain’t all there!” In their situation, the supplier refused to take responsibility, claiming that they may have lost some of the supplies in transit. Other grievances filed with the Five States Traders Association have been similar, describing a smooth trade transaction only to realize the supplies are less than promised after arriving back at their camp.
The Five States Traders Association has stated that they are opening an investigation. The group has no power to do anything to rogue suppliers, but it may choose to establish a warning against working with repeat offenders. Should the warnings are issued it is unclear if they will have any effect, as most traders do not work with the Association out of mistrust. “Lots of traders just wanna get one over other traders and use so called cooperation as a distraction to their real motive: learn about our trades and movements,” said one trader. For now, it is advised that you exercise caution working with suppliers and be prepared to make extra deals should your original deals fall through.
Civil War Cannon Disaster!!!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
Weapons of war’s past are often left to rot in storage sheds and other forgotten locations. Even though they aren’t being used, the deadly power they contain still marches on, as the men of Fort Wallace learned.
A mail wagon was running late one misty morning; onboard were several pounds of letters from loved ones and associates. The driver kept whipping his horses to move faster, perhaps a little too fast. The gate was opened, and the wagon darted through the courtyard, but the horses couldn’t stop fast enough. The wagon rammed into a small shed; for a moment, it seemed a minor detail.
Then the cannon went off. The rusted ball bounced through the fort, taking out the leg of a guard tower. Several soldiers looked around to discover in horror that multiple men had lost limbs in the incident. The man in the guard tower is at this moment badly crippled and not expected to walk again.
A military tribunal is currently examining why an old, outdated cannon was still loaded and ready to fire. Most expect the tribunal to come down hard on Colonel Favors; the same experts equally expect no real change to come from this disaster.
A tragedy of incompetence
By Caylen V. Hornby
The Bureau of Internal Revenue took several losses at a checkpoint this week, though they were not killed while in the line of duty. Their fate was the result of incompetence and arrogance. The Bureau of Internal Revenue became concerned when a group of revenuers at a checkpoint north of Cattail Pond did not check in at the appropriate time. Fearing that the checkpoint had been overrun by bootleggers, a group of revenuers traveled to the checkpoint to investigate. The found the revenue agents dead, but not by gunshots. An anonymous source in the Bureau of Internal Revenue confirmed the agents had succumbed to the cold weather. “They did not dress appropriately for Ambarino weather and likely refused to leave their post even as the weather got colder,” said the anonymous source.
It is likely that at one point the agents were to cold to leave the area. A few of the agents were found gathered around what looked like a failed attempt at a campfire, one with kindling still grasped tightly in his hand. The Bureau is doing its best to keep the entire situation secret and as a result would not officially confirm what happened.
Blackwater Police under investigation following killing of hostage
By Odell Clifton
A cowpoke rode into Blackwater this week with ill intentions in mind. He started shooting up the town, which prompted a response for Blackwater police. As the police effort to stop the shooter mounted, the cowpoke grabbed an innocent bystander and held them as a hostage. The cowpoke’s plan, however, would prove a failure. A shot fired from an unknown Blackwater policeman hit the bystander, which sent him to the ground. With no hostage, the cowpoke fell back and moved into cover as he made is exit from the town. As the shooter was driven out of the town, a few townsfolk tended to the hostage. Despite their efforts to stop the bleeding and prepare the man for transport to Valentine, he died at the scene.
Once the shooter left the town, the police attempted to figure out what happened. However, it is unclear which policeman shot the hostage. This is not a case of the police protecting their own, but a case of several policeman firing on the shooter while he held a hostage, resulting in it being unclear whose gun actually fired the killing bullet. Witness reports indicate the hostage may have been hit more than once. The West Elizabeth state police are looking into the matter and have opened an investigation into the Blackwater Police Department.
Reports that the Five States is dead may be overstated; local group conducts unofficial census of the Five States and reports the population has recovered
By Lucien Privett
It seems that no matter what saloon you go into these days, you will find a drunken cowpoke telling anyone who will listen that the Five States is dead. They wax poetic about the “old days,” saying that their first days in the Five States were full of hope and possibilities. Then they go on about the sudden decline in support from the powers that be. They describe the Five States as a forgotten land of lies, a place of promises that were not kept. Yet despite these yarns of a failed region of emptiness, a new report indicates a healthy and vibrant Five States. A private group made up of locals from across the Five States conducted their own unofficial census to determine if the Five States was truly dying.
“It ain’t what it used to be, but its far from dying,” said one of the census taker, “in fact, just this last month we haven’t seen as many folks as February of last year!” The group conducted their census by first counting occupied residencies in towns. When possible, they interveiwed residence to determine household size and how long they have been in the Five States. They also used “old fashion observation.” “Lots of folks are distrustful around these parts and so we can’t get accurate information from them, if we get anything at all,” said the census taker in Valentine. So their counters would move into towns and observe them several weeks at a time in order to ensure accurate counts of townsfolk.
For the transient community of cowpokes who make the wild lands their home, they had to get creative. “Well, we used photographs,” the census leader said. He explained that certain counters would explore an assigned region, photographing cowpokes as they counted them. Then, at the end of the process, they put all the photographs together and removed duplicates, then removed that number of counts from the overall tally. “You see if this fella had five photographs, then we counted him five times,” said the leader, “so we’d take out four photographs and just remove four from the count, so he only counts once.” As a result they do not have accurate statewide counts, so they do not know what regions of the Five States are most popular, but they do have a good idea of how many people are presently in the Five States. “If this keeps up, well, we expect robust development of the area to provide continued support to a growing population,” the leader said.
Cowpoke arrested when they shoot the wrong man
By Donna Deshner
A case of mistaken identity led to a cowpoke’s arrest in Valentine this week when an innocent man was mistaken as an aggressive cowpoke. The entire incident happened quickly and there was a lot of initial confusion as the dust settled. What is known is that there were three parties involved, two shooters and an innocent bystander. Neither of the shooters were identified, though one was arrested while the other escaped. The incident occurred when one of the shooters fired on the other outside of Valentine Train Station. Witnesses say that the shooting was unprovoked and that the two involved did not seem to have any history. “Usually when folks come to shooting or fighting, we all see it coming,” said a resident, “they’ll argue, threaten, whatever, but these two had never said a word to each other.” Not a single witness could put the two together before the gunfight.
The fired upon cowpoke was hit in the shoulder. After being taken into custody and receiving treatment from the town doctor, the cowpoke refused to identify themselves but did say they were caught off guard by the shot. Witnesses confirm the man’s statements that he immediately took cover after getting shot. When the attacker stopped shooting, the cowpoke came out of cover and fired his gun on the first cowpoke he saw, killing him instantly. Unfortunately, the man he shot was not the man who fired on him. “The shooter fled soon as he stopped shooting ’cause the deputies were coming for him,” said a witness. Those deputies, however, ended up arresting the original victim when they witnessed him shooting the innocent bystander.
The cowpoke dropped his weapons and allowed the deputies to arrest him. Initially, deputies believed they had the original shooter in their custody, but soon learned all of the details. Though witnessed confirmed that the man in their custody was a victim himself, they could not allow him to get away with murder. “He may have been defending himself,” a deputy stated, “but that don’t mean he can shoot recklessly, he took a life and he’s gotta pay for it.” The sad situation offers a warning to trigger happy cowpokes out there, take care that you are targeting the right cowpoke because the line between self defense and murder may be clear when you are calm but could be blurry when under pressure.
Man fined for entering train station by shooting out a window
By Emeline Vickroy
A man was fined for his creative entry into the Rhodes train station. According to witnesses, the man pulled out a gun and starting shooting a window out. People inside the train station immediately ran for cover while the station clerk prepared for the worst. However, the worst never came. Once the window was shot out, the man jumped through it and walked up to the clerk to do business. Rhodes deputies arrived after hearing several shots. The man offered no explanation for his dramatic entrance. As nobody was hurt, the deputies chose to not make an arrest. They did, however, issue a fine for reckless endangerment. According to official records, the fine was paid immediately. The only comment the man made for the record was that he had no regrets.
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!
Wave of abductions hits the Five States
By Adam Parvey
Authorities in all five states of the Five States region are concerned over a wave of abductions hitting the region. Missing men and women have been reported for several weeks, however it has been difficult to ascertain the cause of these disappearances. It was suggested that many dissappearances are likely just folks leaving the region. “They don’t say anything because they don’t wanna be talked out of leaving, you see,” suggested one deputy who has receive several reports. Others have suggested the missing people have met their end in the wilds of the Five States. Though, new reports suggest that abductions, not people leaving or being killed, are responsible for the missing people.
Several cowpokes have reported escaping attempts to capture them. The stories have enough similarities that investigators believe they are related. “In all cases, the attempted abductee is riding their horse on the road when a carriage of some sort rides toward them,” the investigator said. According to those who escaped, as they made their way past the carriage they were pulled from their horse and thrown into the carriage. The escapees say they were not hogtied, but the surprise of the attack was enough to throw them off for a few moments. “Eventually I collected my wits and realized I was being attacked and managed to fight my way free,” said one of the escapees. They said they whistled for their horse instead of engaging in a prolonged gun battle because they did not know how many people were responsible for their brief abduction. Another escape said she escaped by engaging in a gunfight, claiming to kill everyone on the wagon. However, there was no carriage with dead bodies where the woman said it should be. Authorities believe the abduction network is large and that the killed abductors were just a small part of it. For the time being, authorities are warning cowpokes to steel clear of carriages they come across on the roads between towns and to keep a hand on their gun around strangers.
United States now holds more gold than any other nation
By Frederick Vannesse
The Director of the Mint has confirmed that the United States now possesses more gold than any other country. The exact value of U.S. gold is $910,000,000. The next three nations, France, Great Britain, and Germany own $850,000,000, $675,000,000, and $625,000,000 in gold respectively. Great Britain’s total includes gold owned by Australia. Just two years ago, the U.S. only had $626,000,000 in gold. The $280,000,000 increase in two years is the result of commercial enterprises. The U.S. has managed to keep much of its own gold production in the country while importing gold from other nations. In fact, $135,000,000 in gold was directly drawn and imported form European banks. Economists have indicated this puts the balance of trade in favor the the U.S., a fact that has been true for the last nine years, in fact. This growth is expected to continue in the near and distant future.
Girl from Dublin Takes Europe by Storm!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
Ireland is often considered a quaint country, small, laidback, and quiet. For some, this is true, but of course not everyone experiences life the same way. Many a young girl has gotten a natural wanderlust for the world, hoping to see more than the Emerald Isles. This perfectly describes a girl from Dublin who is becoming quite the star.
Her name is Kathleen O’Shanassy; at the young age of 25, she is becoming a leading lady in the West End, the Broadway of the British Empire. An Irish girl is an unlikely star, but despite preconceived notions, she has flourished where others have fallen. Despite this, the stage of Europe still seems not enough. She already plans on moving to New York and performing with fellow Irish actress Donna O’Hennessy and Alcina Robertson.
This is all noteworthy because there is a chance Miss O’Shanassy might be the first actress recorded. A moving pictures corporation wants to record her performance as Lady Macbeth. What an honor, the first of likely many performers to be immortalized on celluloid. She shall never grow old or frail in that film.
The Five States Herald 