Bounty hunters livid about reduced pay after sheriff killed escaping target
By Alois Burditt
A group of bounty hunters appeared extremely confident in themselves following the capture of four wanted men. Instead of turning the bounties in, the bounty hunters chose instead to lay the targets on the floor near the Tumbleweed Jail, which serves as a makeshift sheriff’s office. One of the cowpokes then pulled out a camera and got a passerby to take their picture. As the bounty hunters drank, smoked, and posed for the picture, one of the targets managed to get free and ran. “The bounty hunters just sort of watched the guy run while they laughed it up,” said a Tumbleweed resident. Another witness stated that one of the bounty hunters did whistle for his horse and appeared to prepare to give chase, however, Sheriff Sam Freeman fired his rifle and killed the escapee. As the bounty hunters turned to face Sheriff Freeman, he merely placed a hand on his revolver, the dozen or so nearby deputies followed suit.

Realizing they were outgunned, the bounty hunters asked for their payment. Sheriff Freeman paid them for three targets brought in alive and one dead. “They let that man escape so they could take a damn picture,” Sheriff Freeman said, “what in the world possessed them to act in such a way?” The bounty hunters were not happy about the reduced pay, but accepted it and moved on grumbling, “one tenth of a gold bar ain’t worth it.”

Cowpoke found dead at their camp just outside of Armadillo
By Wylie Frey
Armadillo residents were awoken during the night by two gunshots. While it is common to ignore gunshots in New Austin, these shots were close to the town. This brought the attention of the few lawmen. “We road out and found a camp,” one of the deputies said, “there were two folks dead.” There was a set of tracks that led into the camp, then out of the camp. “The tracks were light, the killer was definitely being cautious as they approached,” the deputy noted. The tracks exiting the camp were heavier, indicating a less cautious escape. Those tracks led to a set of horse tracks that led north, until getting lost among other tracks on the road. “It was a professional assassination,” the deputy asserted, “poor victim never saw it coming. Probably was asleep or just not otherwise paying attention.” This story serves as a reminder that one’s camp is not always a safe place.

East Grizzlies expedition promises new fossil discoveries
By Jane Duran
Archeologist Caroline Sterville is putting together an expedition into the East Grizzlies. Many cowpokes who make a living collecting items across the Five States have noted that more fossils can be found in this area than any other in the Five States. “Though most of these are likely to be small, they are no less important than the monstrous dinosaurs,” Miss Sterville said. The next few weeks are critical, according to Miss Sterville as she works on securing additional funding to bring more archeologists. “Most of us would do this for free, you understand,” Miss Sterville explained, “but we need supplies nonetheless. The bigger the party, the more food we need and that is costly.” If she can secure enough funding, Miss Sterville promises that new discoveries will be made. With each new discovery, she says knowledge grows. “And that’s my goal you see, to grow knowledge.”

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Peace between gangs amid the creation of new Bounty hunters units
By William Cormac (Freelancer)
During the last month the residents of West Elizabeth, Ambarino and northern New Hanower were aware of the war between gangs that hampered commerce and life itself. But in the last week the clashes between O’Driscolls and the Skinners began to slow down until clashes were no longer be reported. The people of these states as well as the authorities were convinced that they were preparing a final confrontation, unfortunately that is not the case.

The Blackwater police department received a report from a local hunter in which the man told them about an encounter in Tall Trees between the infamous Colm O’Driscoll and the brutal Otis Skinner. The department did not let me read the statement but they did tell me where the man was residing for the moment so I went looking for him to see if he’d agree to an interview, which he accepted. The elderly man who didn’t want to be named just in case, began to tell me about how he was in Aurora Basin trying to find “a deer as pale as snow” and how that did not bring him good results. When night fell the man decided to go to Manzanita Post to rest and spend the night there But the man noticed that the abandoned cabin in Aurora Basin was being inhabited at the moment, so he decided to approach believing that they were other hunters But when the man approached the cabin he noticed that there were armed guards outside, so he decided to hide until he could discern his intentions. In what he described as a moment of “pure terror and despair” he saw Colm O’Driscoll himself come out of the cabin, at that moment he noticed a group of horsemen led by Otis Skinner approaching.

Now, an easier to read transcription for a newspaper article of the story that the friendly hunter told me is that Colm and Ottis argued in the cabin for 4 hours until in the early hours they came out and shook hands, what little my source could hear from the conversation is that “there is a lot of heat on us” and that “if we continue like this we will be weakened and asking the authorities to erase us from the map,” by Colm. My source also said that he stayed all the night hiding out in the trees because when the gangs left he feared they could return and find him if he came out of hiding. But it seems that the negotiations that happened in Aurora Basin gave results since not only can you not see or hear the gangs fight, but there are reports, which have not yet been confirmed but are being investigated, of these two gangs working together, So the expansion of licensed bounty hunters and the entry of more enthusiasts into the five states may bring larger consequences than we thought. Hopefully this new initiative from the BHTC can be of great use to law enforcement and to the safety of the Five States.

Horse thief under values the bond between cowpoke and horse
By Emery Cosberry
A cowpoke came across a woman with a strange request. “She said she liked my horse, wanted to take a picture with it,” the cowpoke said, “she even offered to pay me.” The cowpoke thought it was an easy way to make some money, However, the woman had a different plan. As soon as the cowpoke raised their camera, the woman grabbed the horse’s reins and rode off. “I wasn’t too concerned, of course,” the cowpoke said, “my horse and I have a strong bond.” The cowpoke whistled, causing the horse to stop and buck the rider. The woman fell to the ground and by the time she managed to get back to her feet, the cowpoke had their gun drawn and aimed at her. “Just wanted to put some fear into her, I mean who steals someone’s horse?” the cowpoke asked, “we don’t just ride these animals, we bond with them. They are our family.”

The woman then begged for her life, before the cowpoke holstered their gun and chose instead to lasso the woman. “I hogtied her, left here there afraid like the horses she tries to steal.” The cowpoke said they did not report the altercation to authorities, believing that she learned her lesson well enough, “assuming wild animals didn’t get to her before she had the opportunity to learn it,” they said with a grin.

Bounty capture creates tension between local authorities and the Bureau of Internal Revenue
By Mathilde Orry
Revenue agents and bounty hunters found themselves chasing the same target this week when a bounty for Tobias Bellingham went up in Lemoyne. Bellingham was wanted for a variety of crimes, most recently the establishment of moonshine operations in Lemoyne. The Bureau of Internal Revenue had been chasing Bellingham for several weeks, however he seemed to be a few steps ahead of them. He managed to evade capture by constantly moving his operation. “He is a wily one but moving and establishing a new base of operations is costly,” said a spokesman for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, “and if you hurt ’em in the pocket book they will eventually give up.” Bellingham, however, never gave up and continued setting up new stills whenever authorities shut him down. The Bureau was against the issuing of the bounty, believing that it would interfere with their own efforts to capture Bellingham. This week, their concerns came to fruition.

A small group of revenuers were found north of Rhodes, shot dead around a campfire. The Bureau of Internal Revenue was able to confirm that these three agents were specifically tasked with catching Bellingham. “We are confident that bounty hunters interfered and killed our agents,” the Bureau’s spokesman announced. To support the assertion, the Bureau points to the fact that throughout the hunt for Bellingham, not a single has been killed. “Fact is, Bellingham isn’t a gunfighter, he’s a moonshiner and a runner. No way he shot three trained agents dead.” A pair of bounty hunters did find Bellingham and brought him to the Rhodes Sheriff office. They said nothing of revenue agents and no other evidence could be found that confirmed the Bureau’s claims.

Speaker of the House holds to pro war position
By Adam Parvey
Despite the peace talks underway, Speaker Thomas Bracket Reed is fiercely sticking by his pro war position. Reed was unmoved when President MacAlister, formerly as fiercely pro war as Reed, began supporting peace and he is unmoved now. Reed has passionately called for a continuation of the war, claiming that Spain must pay for the sinking of the USS Lewiston. The ship was named for a city in Maine, where Speaker Reed is from. He successfully used this cause to win reelection. However, if peace talks are successful, it is possible Reed will suffer backlash for being tied to the losing side.

Official peace negotiations between the U.S. and Spain underway
By
Though Spain’s surrender marked the end of most hostilities, the two nations are officially still at war. The nations have sent diplomats to Paris, France to discuss the official ending of the war. At stake is the historic Spanish Empire, which stands to lose much of its territory. The U.S. is still walking a fine line between replacing Spain as the colonial power in the Caribbean and leaving these fledgling nations to their own fates. There are no official reports on which way the talks are leaning, however, it is clear that Spain’s negotiating power is severely weakened as the U.S. plans to use the treaty to hold Spain accountable for the sinking of the USS Lewiston. While Spain maintains their innocence, it is likely the U.S. will get its way.

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