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.
Madness and Murder in Court!!!
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
It took only a couple of hours on the last day of the trial to seal Myra Rose Hart’s fate. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, from attempted assassination of a sitting president, murders of men, women, children, all the way down to breaking sodomy laws. Each was read out loud by the judge, Charles Wexler, often known as the Hammer. The Hart family sat in the back row; Audrey was constantly sobbed, Fredrich comforted her. Daniel Hart sat near a window, telling a nearby witness that he was sorry it had to come to this.
The woman at the center of it all sat near the front of the room. Several people noticed she seemed less somber than before. As Judge Wexler continued to read out the crimes she was found guilty of, Myra stood up and started to speak.
“I think we’ve heard enough. You’re all very happy with this outcome. Well, if I’m to burn like a nice little witch, at least allow me the courtesy of lipstick and rouge.”
The judge didn’t take the disrespect lying down. “Shut up! You, above all, aren’t in a position to demand anything. Now sit down!”
“I don’t think I will. What’s the worst you could do? You can only kill me once. No, I think we’ve heard enough from the likes of you. Everyone thinks that by the end of the day, I will be a neat little pile of bones, and life will flourish. Did you forget what happened in these halls not a few months ago? You try to sweep away your problems. You will never forget me, no matter what you do. Children will quiver, the elderly shall cry, and the dead shall never rest. Your best and brightest will say why I did what I did. They will forever fumble in ignorance. You! I’m glad I killed your father, your mother, your brother. I stabbed, I shot, I burned, and I ate your loved ones. Why did I do it? Because I liked it! A woman capable of doing as she pleases, what a novel concept.”
Judge Wexler signaled to a guard to drag her away or silence her.
“There’s an old quote from the Bible I always liked. Mother probably remembers it. There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time for hate, a time for war, a time to die, and a time to kill. I cannot argue with that.”
Just as the guard started to grab her, the handcuffs she was wearing immediately fell to the ground. She pulled out a knife and stabbed the guard in the ribs. She then grabbed a pistol from under her skirt and shot two other guards. She then walked up to judge Wexler, still in shock.
“Now, who’s in a position to make demands? You know I’ll make an exception, for everyone to see. As a display of courtesy, I’ll make it quick.” With a single shot, Wexler fell dead. As she quickly walked out of the court, she stopped and turned to prosecutor Alexander Ferencz. She muttered something about try to sleep soundly before shooting him in the kneecap.
The last sighting of the Black Rose was a lady and her child walking near the courthouse. They noticed someone quickly getting on a horse and fleeing.
Before police could arrive, she was already gone; her belongings were also missing. It’s already strongly suspected that someone helped her escape, probably by unlocking her cuffs. No leads on who that may have been. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion, has become another day of infamy.
BHTNC announces bounty on the Grey Cowboy
By Alois Burditt
Though the Grey Cowboy is considered a hero by some, the BHTNC has stated they believe him to be a murderer. “This ‘Grey Cowboy’ is a killer, plain and simple,” said a BHTNC spokesman, “he takes it upon himself to be judge, jury, and executioner on men without legal bounties.” The Grey Cowboy was last seen in New Austin, and so the well known bounty hunter Nathaniel Cross has volunteered to lead the investigation. Cross has been at odds with the BHNTC in the past, speaking against the organization and supporting claims that they issues bounties for personal reasons instead of legal ones. However, Cross is known to be a skilled bounty hunter and so the BHTNC has accepted his offer. Sheriff Sam Freeman announced that he will not hold the Grey Cowboy in his jail cells. This makes Gaptooth Ridge a rather safe haven for the Grey Cowboy, as bounty hunters would need to secure the Grey Cowboy for a long ride. Sheriff Freeman, who has been friendly with Cross during his stay in Tumbleweed, had nothing to say about the bounty hunter leading the charge.
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Criminals seeking to take advantage of lawlessness in Ambarino came to a rude awakening
By Jane Durand
Though Ambarino is a large state, it is not very populous. The state government is small and state police nearly nonexistent. This is something many criminals have attempted to exploit over the years. To battle this, Ambarino has largely relied on bounty hunters, freelance workers, and upstanding residents to provide safety and basic services such as mail delivery. One of those residents is Hamish Sinclair. A Civil War veteran missing a leg, Hamish no longer goes looking for battle but actively seeks out cowpokes looking to right the wrongs that have been committed against Ambarino residents and its visitors. This week a small group of outlaws stole a wagon from an Ambarino farmer. The residents surely thought that they would get away with the crime, as they were drinking and in a state of celebration when a couple of Hamish’s hired help showed up. “Fellers said the wagon was theirs, but each gave a different story about how they got it when asked,” the freelancer said, “we promised Hamish we wouldn’t kill the folks, so we beat them senseless then took the wagon back.” The criminals were not seen again in Ambarino, but a witness claims to have seen three beat up men who looked like, “bad folk,” boarding a train at Emerald Station. The men kept to themselves but the witness did overhear them talking about heading south and getting far away from Ambarino.
Drunken man wanders into Blackwater Saloon and confesses to moonshining
By Nick McCrary
A man stumbled into the Blackwater Saloon after nearly crashing a wagon into a pedestrian. After managing to walk tot he bar without falling, the man said he was a famous moonshiner. “If moonshining was a business folks talked about, you’d all know who I was,” the man said. He said he supplied the Blackwater Saloon on many occasions, though the owner of the saloon denied those claims. When the man offered to give away free moonshine from his wagon, the bartender had decided they had enough. “I ain’t gonna begrudge a man making money, but don’t start cutting into my business,” the bartender said. The bar tender tossed the man from his saloon at that point. A revenue agent who was off duty witnessed the altercation and decided to investigate. After confirming that the wagon was full of moonshine, the drunken man was arrested and the illegal alcohol confiscated. The entire incident serves as a warning to moonshiners to not drink their own strong moonshine.
Madam Nazar claims to have sold a record number of maps
By Adam Parvey
Thousands of collectors have come to Madam Nazar this week not to sell her collectibles, but buy maps from her. Madam Nazar says her maps are unique and will lead collectors to locations she divined herself. While each map is guaranteed to lead to a new collectible item, many prefer alternative maps that lead to more specific locations of items. The alternative map cuts down on search time and helps collectors complete sets, say users. Best of all, this popular alternative is freely available and passed along from collector to collector. Though the alternative map has been less powerful lately. “This map has no real magic, none that can compete with me,” says Madam Nazar, “it was not difficult to disrupt this map’s accuracy.” This, however, was not enough to increase sells of maps and so she reached out to her partners are the BHTNC.
“Madam Nazar self funds and provided the gold for the bonus,” said a BHTNC spokesman. That bonus was for using and for purchasing Madam Nazar’s maps. As a result, map sells increased. Madam Nazar claimed to have sold a record number of maps this week and that she sells more maps than any other mapmaker. “Trust no magic,” said Madam Nazar, “but mine.”
Partial mine collapse kills two, injures four
By Van R. Seldon
Annesburg residents were awoken early Thursday morning to an explosion and screams. Dynamite had gone off prematurely and led to a partial mine collapse. The two miners nearest to the explosion died, one believed to have died instantly by the explosion itself. “He was thrown back hard, hit the wall of the mine and never got back up,” said one witness. The other death occurred when a miner was crushed during the collapse. Three others were hurt with minor injuries. The mine foreman said the area has already been cleared and new supports have been built. He said that while he will not interfere in any investigation local authorities want to conduct, that this accident was the result of user error. “The fella setting the dynamite was careless, said to have been smoking a cigar,” the foreman said, “and now he is dead and his carelessness resulted in the death of another worker.” The mining company also said that while the worker’s actions did result in death and injuries, they cannot be punished because they are already dead.
Many flock to Valentine to listen the “Blueboy”
By Emery Cosberry
A musician who last week was a nobody has steadily made a name for himself. Avoiding the busy city of Saint Denis, the musician named Dooley, chose the quiet sheep town of Valentine to play his music. Valentine residents quickly took a liking to Dooley, giving him the nickname “Blueboy” as a result of his bright blue hat and vest. “During the day we work hard,” said a farmhand, “but soon’s the sun goes down, that’s when the fun begins!” It did not take long for people to start traveling to Valentine from “miles around,” to see the Blueboy play. Dooley’s show went extra late one night, prompting the local deputies to threaten shutting him down so folks could sleep. However, dozens of residents sang out, “ooohhh let the Blueboy play!, ooohhh let the Blueboy play!” until the deputies relented. Dooley has said he does not know how long he will stay in Valentine, but will go when and where the music takes him.
Hunting encouraged by BHTNC, with modest bonuses to alligators
By Aloysius Levron
The BHTNC offered gold nuggets bonuses this week to hunt a variety of animals. The most contreversial bonus offered was for alligators. Alligators have a long history of being hunted to near extinction. As large and aggressive as today’s alligators are, they are nothing compared to the creatures that occupied the bayou swamps just 100 years ago. The largest and most ferocious were hunted, while smaller alligators willing to run and hide survived. As a result of this history, many have called criticized the BHTNC’s decision to offer gold nuggets for killing alligators. “These beautiful creatures are nearly extinct and they want to encourage hunting more of them, can you believe it?” said naturalist Harriet Davenport, “that’s why I offered gold nuggets for going a day without killing animals.”
The BHTNC defended itself by pointing out that they placed deliberate limits on the hunting of alligators. “It is true we encouraged alligator hunting, but no hunter could claim a gold nugget reward for more than one alligator,” a BHTNC spokesman said, who then clarified, “alligator populations have grown and become a nuisance to locals, so some hunting is necessary.” Locals did confirm that alligators are a common sight on the property, but say they do not bother them. “Leave ’em be and they leave you be,” said on crayfish fisherman. Locals also confirmed that when alligators do aggressively encroach on their lands, they can take care of them themselves.
Blueprint for War?
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
Europe is currently at peace, as it has been since 1871. In France, they are now calling the era literally the Beautiful Age. But beneath the glamor lies building resentment. Now the current fears are of revolution from the lower classes, but that doesn’t worry me. What does, is the complex web of empires.
Since 1871, nearly all the major empires of Europe have entered into some kind of alliance. The type where if one empire is attacked, others will come to its aid. Britain is close friends with Belgium, France is close with Russia, Germany is close to Austria-Hungary, and so on. What prevents a global conflict if one of these empires attacks another?
One could argue that in such a situation, diplomacy would prevail, or someone would back out of an agreement. War is terrible for business, and these empires absolutely prioritize business. Still, I cannot shake this fear.
It’s made only worse by current international relations. French relations with Germany are obviously not excellent after the last major war, plus territorial spats in Africa. Germany is currently engaging in a naval arms race with Britain, which is deteriorating relations. Russia wants to prove it’s still a modern empire badly, and Austria-Hungary is plagued with internal strife.
Many see a beautiful age. I see only a powder keg. Under the right circumstances, the entire continent could be burning, with more lives lost than I dare to imagine. New weaponry like the Maxim makes my fears only graver. Some make mock such beliefs and call me a nervous nelly. I only pray that’s true.
American writer sentenced to 5 years in prison for embezzlement
By Frederick Vannesse
William Sydney Porter, known for his short stories published in the short lived weekly The Rolling Stone and later in the Houston Post. Porter had been working at the First National Bank of Austin while writing for The Rolling Stone but was fired when he was connected to several account shortages. Porter carried on with his life but federal auditors began an investigation and brought charges against him in 1896. Though he origally paid bail and intended to attend the court hearings, he became nervous and fled until finally being arrested early this year. He was found guilty of embezzlement in February and sentenced to five years in prison this week. As a result of his famous-ness in Texas, he was booked under the name O. Henry.
Suez Canal reopens to Spanish ships
By Ivy Seager
The Suez Canal has been an official international passage for ten years, open to all nations to use. This international status only made official what had been the practice since the canal was inaugurated in 1869. When the the Spanish-American War began, the Suez Canal denied passage to a nation’s ships for the first time when Spanish warships were denied passage. Now that the war has ended, the Spanish have begun to freely use the canal once again, though for trade as intended. Authorities who oversee the maintenance of the canal have expressed their support for the canal reopening for all. They went on to say that short of the passage being blocked, nobody will be denied passage again.
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