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.
Ringing In the New Year with an Ominous Message!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
As the world celebrates the end of a year and the beginning of another, few are thinking about the violence and misery of times past. Why should you? It’s time to have fun with family and friends; grief only begins a month into the following year. But unfortunately for anyone who maintains the law, an old enemy is back again.
In Valentine, a clerk for the mail office spotted a well-dressed woman in a fancy hat in the early hours of the morning. She paid to ship a few items and, before she left, handed the clerk a note for the local sheriff. She then boarded a train bound for parts unknown.
The letter was eventually delivered and read. It merely wished everyone in the Five States a happy new year. It was signed, “Dear Old Myra.” Immediately a deputy threw the note on the ground for fear of poison, and a notice was put out for the sent mail. It was quickly intercepted and discovered to be nothing but a fancy hat and a petticoat bound for a New York store.
It’s summarized that this holiday greeting was just to remind people that the Black Rose still lives and can be wherever she wants to be. Not a happy way to end the year if you believe in justice.
Sheriff Sam Freeman’s “twin” spotted by multiple witnesses
By Jose Chavez
Doppelgangers continue to be sighted despite assurances that the barrier between worlds would repair itself once Halloween had passed. Dr. W. Bishop believes that someone from another world is causing these doppelgangers to appear in our world. “I am not quite certain if it is intentional or not, but someone is causing this, I am sure of it,” said Dr. Bishop. This claims this time are unnerving indeed. Several witnesses have reported seeing Sheriff Sam Freeman’s twin in Tumbleweed. “I saw his twin standing right behind him, in the shadows when I returned a bounty,” said a bounty hunter. Another cowpoke said Sheriff Freeman offered him an odd job to recover a wagon, but something was odd. “It looked like Mr. um Sheriff Freeman was sitting on his brother,” the witness said. However, both through interviews and through a look at census records, Sheriff Freeman does not have a twin brother. This has led many, including Dr. Bishop, to believe that what people have seen is Sheriff Freeman’s doppelganger from another world.
“I can think of two possible explanations,” Dr. Bishop said, “the first, is that the doppelganger is not actually here, but that witnesses are seeing ‘through’ the barrier and seeing this world’s Sheriff Freeman AND another world’s Sheriff Freeman!” Dr. Bishop exlained that this is the most likely possibility, and the least dangerous one. “The other possibility is that Sheriff Freeman is working with his doppelganger! And that, well, that raises a lot of questions, none of which are the kind that help you sleep at night.” Dr. Bishop was unable to explain why some people may be able to see through the barrier and others cannot. Sheriff Sam Freeman refused to comment for this story.
Assault on Colter fought off by brave cowpokes
By Caylen V. Hornby
A posse of cowpokes came together in Ambarino to fight off an assault on the abandoned mining town of Colter. Reports of the assault came in late this week and a call to arms was put out by the BHTNC over the telegraph system. Four cowpokes responded and made their way to the town and managed to fight off the attack. A few others from New Hanover joined the four cowpokes in the town’s defense. There were a number of causalities, though due to the think snow it is unclear how many defenders are among the dead. The family of a Valentine man who joined the defense but did not return has many questions for the BHTNC. “Why are them rich men asking sheep farmers to defend a town nobody lives in?” she asked between sobs, “if the outlaws want the damn town let them have it!” The BHTNC did not respond directly to the woman’s comment, however, they did release a general statement that they were acting at the request of the Ambarino state government and that any town held by outlaws is a foothold that endangers everyone in the Five States.
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Firework shows put on a Hanging Dog Ranch
By Daisy Fairman
Hanging Dog Ranch is believed to be a cursed piece of land. The Del Lobo gang has been known to take over the ranch. The Strawberry Sheriff and deputies say they have no authority over the ranch in Big Valley, leaving the legal owns of the ranch little legal recourse. West Elizabeth state police have pushed the Del Lobo gang out from time to time, however, the gang always returns. While officially, the state police say they will take action to secure the ranch, an anonymous source with the state police says there is no plan secure the ranch. “We are the police, not personal security,” said the anonymous source. This week, the ranch owners hired a group of cowpokes to retake the ranch. The hardened cowpokes succeeded, and while they received pay for their work, they were also rewarded with a firework show. “I can’t say that I’ve seen a lot of fireworks and it was a stunning display, great way to kick in the new year of 1898,” said one of the cowpokes.
A few of the cowpokes hung around at the ranch a little while longer to ensure the Del Lobo did not return. “I set up a camp nearby, cooked some food, cleaned my guns, watched the fireworks,” said one of the defenders, “but nobody showed back up at the ranch.” The cowpoke did say that they heard gunshots, however, they were not coming from Hanging Dog Ranch but from a small camp nearby. “I guess the Del Lobo decided to tend to their pride by attacking a few nearby campers,” the cowpoke said. They then rode off toward the gunfight, rescuing the campers from the remnant of the Del Lobo. It seems that no matter how many Del Lobo are killed, they manage to recoup their losses in time.
BHTNC encourages cleaning guns as a New Year’s Resolution
By Adam Parvey
Citing reports of injuries caused by misfires as a result of unclean guns, the BHTNC has kicked off the New Year offering gold nuggets for cleaning your own gun. “For several months,” said a spokesman for the BHTNC, “we’ve received reports of weapons misfiring and even exploding, injuring the shooter.” The spokesman went on to explain that examinations of the weapons suggested poor weapon maintenance as the result. An anonymous source in the BHTNC told us that the private group of investors attempted to get legislatures in the Five States to pass and enforce a law requiring proper firearm maintenance. The BHTNC was met with various forms of laughter from all five state legislatures. Officially, the BHTNC is claiming they never attempted to influence any legislatures, reminding us that, “this group of wealthy men started as a foil Congress and local governments and they get things done.”
Using the funds of those wealthy men, the BHTNC provided an incentive for “positive behavior.” Some refused to clean their guns during the active period for this promotion, with one woman asking, “where does it end? Pay us to clean our own guns now and then what, pay me to turn my guns in?” The BHTNC assured us they have no nefarious plans and are only interested in safety.
Drunk man shoots own foot while celebrating the new year
By Emery Cosberry
A celebration in Valentine took an unfortunate turn for one party goer. A few wild and drunk men fired their guns wildly in the air to celebrate the coming of a new year. Others warned them that those bullets will need to come down eventually and may even cause an injury or death. One of the men did not take kindly to the warning and began waving his pistol recklessly. The entire party became aware of the behavior when the gun went off, followed by a scream. While aiming the gun down, the drunken man fired it off and shot himself in his right foot. He dropped his gun and hopped outside on one foot before stumbling to the ground. As he laid on the grown groaning, witnesses stated that he made a sudden scream and sat back up screaming, “my foot!”
“This fella had pretty poor luck,” said Dr. Ben Calloway, “after shooting himself in the foot and sprawling on the ground outside, well, a bullet fell from the sky and hit his other foot!” It is unclear if the bullet that fell back down on the man’s foot was fired from his gun or from one of the other drunken shooters. The man had to be carried to Dr. Ben Calloway’s office. Dr. Calloway had been celebrating himself, but was more than able to tend to the man before returning to the Valentine saloon to celebrate. No more shots were fired into the air and more than a few of the drunken residents who fired into the air spent the rest of the night looking up.
Cowpoke’s Celebration of the New Year interrupted by a robot and visitors from another world!
By Emeline Vickroy
A cowpoke was deep in a solo New Year’s celebration when he was suddenly joined by a group of robots. “I saw them and said, ‘what in tarnation?’ because well, I had never seen such a thing before!” they said. The robots were, “friendly enough, I mean they didn’t give me no hassle and didn’t even want any of my drink. Do robots drink?” they explained. The cowpoke admitted that they continued drinking heavily even after the robots showed up. “But I don’t they cared ’bout my drinking, neither did the spacemen!” they said. They also claimed that not long after the robots showed up, a flying ‘disc’ that was, ‘quieter than a locomotive’ and ‘faster than a horse at full gallop.’ The story generated a significant amount of interest, with several positing that the robots likely came from the flying disc, which itself likely came from a world far away.
“In the sky we see the stars, but what we can’t see are other planets, other worlds teeming with life,” said Dr. Arnold Welton. Dr. Welton explained, “the other worlds may contain advanced life, life that may want to visit us.” An inventor, however, said such robots are possible to build here and now. “I cannot say much, but it is not beyond our current technology to create a robot,” said Marko Dragic, “the flying disc, however, I am unsure of.”
Gamblers Continue to Create New Weapons!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
Gambling has never been the safest of professions. One minute you might be playing cards or shooting dice, the next moment, you’re on the ground with a bullet in your chest. Perhaps you cheated, or someone thought you did; it’s over in an instant. Yet people keep at it time and again because they believe the great payout is around the bend. You just need to stay alive long enough to reach it.
This hostile environment has bred an entirely new type of weapon. Experienced gamblers have been bringing in so-called “pocket” pistols, guns that can fit in a sleeve or pocket. They aren’t powerful guns, but they are strong enough to put you in the grave if they hit their mark. Some people are even bringing in guns that can hit multiple people at once, guns that look more like a duck’s foot.
Such weapons are technically illegal; Saint-Denis police already have built up a sizable collection of these firearms. But the gamblers keep bringing them in anyway, probably believing they won’t get caught. They just don’t know when to fold and walk away; they would rather fight than lose the chance to win it all.
New York celebrates the New Year and the unification of its city
By Frederick Vannesse
The five boroughs in New York, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, became unified officially as New York City this year. The unification has had a profound effect on the city and its population, who now see themselves as one group of people. Many residents gathered in various parks around the city on December 31st, the last day of 1898 to celebrate the year and welcome the new year. The crowds were quite large, with the theme of unification bringing a certain celebratory feeling to he proceedings. When the crowds started their countdown, the excitement was palpable. Yet still, that excitement became even higher as the countdown ended and the new year official began.”1898 has been a great year, with unification and all,” said a New York City resident, “I can’t wait to see what 1898 has to offer!”
Cuba, recently freed from Spanish rule, prepares for new occupation
By Ivy Seager
The people of Cuba have little reason to celebrate this year, though American generals would have you believe otherwise. The liberation of Cuba from Spain was little more than propaganda, according to many critics of the United State’s actions during and after the Spanish-American War. “Can a people be called liberated if they are placed under another yoke just as soon as they were freed from one?” asked a critic. The U.S. maintains that the occupation is to ensure Spain does not mount a surprise attack to retake the island nation, something Spain says will not happen. Though U.S. forces have been quick to offer another justification: transitioning to freedom is not easy. “The Cuban people are used to a colonial ruler, so we are going to provide that comfort and slowly ready them for proper freedom,” said a U.S. spokesman. Debate continues in Congress to determine the fate of the people previously under Spanish rule.
The Five States Herald 