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.
U.S. Marshal Tom Davies under investigation
Following an assault that left many dead, including known leader of the Del Lobos gang Alfredo Montez, U.S. Marshal Tom Davies has been placed under investigation. While many have praised his heroic efforts in saving the town of Valentine, some have found Alfredo Montez’ death to be suspicious. “No witnesses reported anyone getting into the Sheriff’s Office and it seems odd that the Del Lobos would shoot directly into the building their leader was in,” said a federal investigator. Marshal Davies has denied any wrong doing and Sherif Curtis Malloy has refused to speak to this paper.
“Damn shame that a hero is being raked over the coals,” said a Valentine resident who helped defend the town last week from the Del Lobos attack. Marshal Davies has made fighting the Del Lobos gang his main priority for the last several months. It was Marshal Davies who paid bounty on Jorge Montez, who was killed just a week before Alfredo was captured. The origin of this investigation into Marshal Davies started when an anonymous tip provided to the Federal U.S. Marshal’s Office claimed Marshal Davies shot and killed Alfredo in cold blood before the shoot out started. The identity of this witness is unknown and so far, other witnesses have failed to corroborate the story.
Caravan waylaid by outlaws
By Alois Burditt
A couple of cowpokes took a job escorting a caravan of goods up to Rathskellar Fork from Benedict Point Station. The three wagon caravan saw little action for most of the the trip. However, at some point a posse of seven cowpokes set upon the caravan. The caravan was brought to a halt while the defenders and wagon drivers took cover behind the wagons. The pinned down defenders managed to get a few shots off but were unable to free themselves from their position. The attackers fired on them with impunity, keeping them trapped.
A lone cowpoke heard the gunfire and rode to the rescue of the defenders. She was a crack shot and killed three of the attackers before the attackers realized where she was shooting from. As they focused on her, the caravan made a mad dash to escape. Unfortunately for them, a trap had already been set. One of the attackers noticed the attempted escape and aimed down below and shooting at something on the road, which turned out to be dynamite. The horses were spooked and started pulling the wagons in different directions. A few more sticks of dynamite were thrown down and blew up two of the three wagons before the attackers fled. The single surviving wagon had to be rerouted, but made it to its destination as the savior fired on the fleeing attackers.
Man returns from the Tempest Rim
By Caylen V. Hornby
Weeks ago a party of explorers attempted to get into the Tempest Rim. They disappeared and were presumed dead. This week, however, a man from that very party walked into Strawberry. The man seemed dazed and remained speechless. I tried speaking to him myself, but he merely stared pass me as if I was not there. Friends of the explorer arrived in Strawberry late in the week and were similarly looked passed and ignored.
While his friends are worried, they are hopeful that he will recover fully. They seem less interested in what is in the Tempest Rim and more interested in their friend’s welfare. However, many have attempted to offer the man large sums of money for his story, though he shows no understanding of what these folks are asking for. Whatever he saw, friends say he is a changed man. Once loud and energetic, he is now a shell of a man constantly staring forward.
Do you explore every nook and cranny in Five States? Good with a typewriter and a camera? You might have what it takes to write for the Five States Herald. Apply today!
Write about what most interests you and have your work read by hundreds of Five States residents!
‘Yukon’ Nikoli Borodin seen in West Elizabeth
By Daisy Fairman
Nikoli Borodin, better known as ‘Yukon’ Nik has been spotted south of Strawberry. Borodin is a famed trapper of wild animals and according to some, is also a mad man. It has been documented that Borodin often feeds his enemies to animals he has trapped. “Not always his enemies though. Sometimes it’s just a poor soul to come across ‘Yukon’ Nik when he’s bored,” stated the BHTC Bounty Hunter Liaison. Before the issuance of the bounty, the federal government attempted to bring him in the old fashion way. A U.S. Marshal was sent to have a chat with Borodin but has not been seen since.
It is suspected that the Marshal is dead or captured. Bounty hunters interested in hunting down Borodin should consider that the Marshal may yet still be alive. The Federal Marshal’s Office has put out a request to bring their man back alive for an additional reward.
Pinkertons Murdered, Misfit Bunch Suspected
By Odell Clifton
Detective Tom Watson, assigned to stop the reign or terror of the Misfits of the West, and five other men were killed in the Blackwater Saloon last Monday. Four of the victims have been identified, two of them were Pinkerton agents working under Detective Watson, and the other two were his hired hands (who some people claim were Del Lobos). The fifth victim, who remains unidentified, was the informant who revealed the picture of the Misfit leader, which kicked off the investigations.
In an effort to demystify the obscure Misfit gang, Detective Watson agreed to release parts of his investigation into this Bunch to the public through our newspaper. The new Pinkerton agents assigned to this case agreed to continue this arrangement, but chose to remain nameless, since it’s clear it is no longer safe to go after this gang publicly. This is the information they released to us about the murders.
Detective Watson had taken a room in the second floor of the Blackwater Saloon, which served as a base of operations for his investigation. He had his team and his hired guns on high alert after his informant, the man who brought forth the picture of the outlaw leader we published weeks ago, reportedly feared for his life and was convinced the Misfits were going to come after him. Watson had sent telegrams to the Pinkerton headquarters in Chicago and to the industrialists who sponsor the investigation to send out more agents and money to hire gunmen for protection. Unfortunately the Pinkerton reinforcements, who are now in charge of the investigation, arrived after the killings occurred.
Reluctant witnesses and testimony taken from the people who were briefly taken hostage in the saloon have allowed the detectives to reconstruct what happened. Three yet unidentified outlaws busted into the saloon a couple hours after midnight and held patrons hostage, we know that the leading man had a Mexican accent, and seemed to be around 40 years of age, the other two were an older man and a younger adult. While these men were taking control of the crowd, 5 more outlaws went inside and straight upstairs, this was followed by many gunshots. After a brief shootout a voice with a strange foreign accent called from above to get the hostages out. A fire was then started in the room where the agents were as the hostages were let go, then the outlaws emerged from the building. Five unfortunate police officers who responded quickly to the sounds of gunfire were wounded as the Misfits escaped, disappearing into the night.
The outlaws who killed the detectives are believed to have been the Misfit leader “Mister T.”, Jeremy “Tech” Bentham, John “Vision” Kelby, the “Wapiti Hammer” himself Rick Scaggs, and the man responsible for this heinous attack, Dexter Grey (pictured below), whom Detective Watson referred to as “Dex” on his telegrams. Reportedly, Detective Watson’s informant was a hired killer after a substantial reward for the Misfit leader who had a price on his head for some past deed. The informant had offered to help in the investigations on the Misfits by exposing its leader in exchange for publicly getting the credit for killing the outlaw, which would’ve allowed him to collect the money from his employers, plus a portion of the bounty of each Misfit brought to justice. The informant became aware during the investigations that Dex, his former associate who was also a killer for hire, was now part of the Misfits and he panicked, which prompted the request for reinforcements. The informant knew that Dex was aware that the source of Mister T’s picture had to have been him, and warned that Dex was an expert assassin whom no victim had ever eluded (curiously not even the Misfits had eluded him, although it is unclear how he became one of them instead of trying to get the reward for killing their leader).
The investigation on these murders is ongoing. Suspicion now falls on the owner of the saloon, who has been notably uncooperative, due the apparent readiness to combat the fire and the promptness to extinguish it before it could propagate from the room, how quickly he paid for repairs and replaced what was lost without seeming upset (strange coming from a man begrudging of any damage to his property in past drunken brawls and occasional shootings), but mostly for trying to hide pieces of evidence that survived the fire, although he claims he always intended to turn them in, which the Pinkertons were able to seize form him. We will report more findings when the information is released to us, as well as the consequences of these murders, in the weeks to come.
Valentine rebuilds
By Emery Cosberry
After last week’s war in Valentine, the people are rebuilding. While the man that saved them is under investigation, they must continue focusing on every day life. Right now that life includes repairing windows, signs, and burying the dead. The state of New Hanover has already issued a state of emergency and made funds available for the repairs. The federal government has also made money available to Valentine.
To be eligible for assistance, one must of course live in Valentine and also provide evidence that their property was damage in during the shootout. Some of the money is being directly given to Valentine residents while most of it is being used to procure supplies needed to make the repairs.
Investigators look into reports of poisoned fish in Elysian Pool
By Van R. Seldon
Federal investigators have responded to a complaints about poisoned fish and mangy animals near the Elysian Pool in Roanoke Ridge. For some time now cowpokes, thinking the pool is a nice place to fish, have pulled poison fish from the water. Complaints have built up for weeks but federal investigators have barely responded to requests, citing lack of manpower. However, now that they have arrived, they are taking samples of the water, living fish, and samples of mangy fur. “We hope to understand what is going on here within a few weeks. We just need to run some tests and then we can figure out how to repair the area,” stated the lead investigator.
Train robbery in Rhodes
By Mathilde Orry
A professional train robbery has many shaken and afraid to take the train. A group of outlaws boarded the train as it pulled out of Rhodes and according to witnesses, immediately went to work robbing passengers. Nobody was harmed during the robbery. In fact, not a single gun was fired. “I figured it wouldn’t be long until we would pull into Saint Denis, right? And then they’d be busted,” said one passenger. However, the train robbers got off the train somewhere south of Caliga Hall. One witness reported seeing horses hidden in the swamps that the robbers ran to with sacks full of valuables.
By the time the train pulled into Saint Denis Station, the robbers were long gone. The riders of the train reported the information to the Saint Denis Police, but they are not hopeful that they will ever see their valuables again. “I suppose it’s risk of travel. Maybe I oughta get me one of them sawed off shotguns for protection,” said another victim of the robbery.
Murder in broad daylight!
By Ela Q. Asken
A pair of victims were killed on the docks of Saint Denis. However, unlike previous killings at the docks, these were done in broad daylight. Witnesses reported hearing the gunshots while they were still working. Saint Denis Police acted quickly to surround the area, but the killer was not located. One witness noted a man riding away on a black and white horse, “but he weren’t in no hurry like tha killer woulda been,” he said.
I was able to investigate the scene alongside the Saint Denis Police and near the bodies I found the evidence I needed to confirm this was the work of the Smoking Gun: a cigarette filter from a hand rolled cigarette. The victims were identified, though their names are being withheld as part of the investigation. I can confirm however that these two people were part of a larger contract. I uncovered a contract for six people to be killed for debts unpaid. While the other four victims have not been located, I can confirm that the contract for the group was paid in full.
Conservationists say there is a new threat to wildlife: extinction
By Frederick Vannesse
Conservationists have issued a stark warning about wildlife in the Five States: it is going extinct. For several years now a few have claimed that over hunting would drive the buffalo to extinction. Hunters have largely ignored the warnings and continued to hunt bison in the Great Plains as well as the Heartlands. Though now even hunters are admitting that animal populations, not just the buffalo, are in decline. “The buffalo were once quite abundant. Maybe we were too greedy,” admitted on hunter. “But look, if I don’t hunt them someone else will. I need to make that money while we can.”
The Five States Conservationist League has petitioned Congress to protect these animals with the issuance of hunting licenses. “We cannot stop hunters, but if we can limit the number of hunters, we may be able to save these species,” said one conservationists. Others, however, are pressing Congress to take more bold action. “Human intervention is what caused this threat and so human intervention must end the threat. We believe that Congress should focus on protecting these animals and give them special classification so they cannot be hunted for sport or out of necessity,” said another conservationists.
The Five States Conservationists League says they are pursuing multiple pathways to saving not just the bison, but other animals that are under threat of going extinct. “Did you know the Bald Eagle, the symbol of freedom and our great nation, is also under threat? Congress needs to act soon or our national symbol simply won’t exist anymore.”
New invention promises speedy manufacturer of envelopes
By Adam Parvey
John Ames Sherman has patented his new invention, an envelope folding and gumming machine. While an assembly of workers hand fold and gum envelopes presently, Mr. Sherman says people get tired but that his machine does not. He promises that his machine will be so efficient that he will be able to sell envelopes for less money than current manufacturers.
Author Lewis Carroll has died
By Humphrey Harker
Lewis Carroll has passed away just weeks before his birthday after a bout with pneumonia. Carroll passed away in his sister’s home. Most known for his book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll was a beloved author. He will be missed by his family as well as by his many fans. Mr. Carroll spent much of his time the last few years teaching at church and those close to him say he was never more at peace.
The Five States Herald 