Horse delivered to Benedict Station under heavy fire
By Alois Burditt
A fellow named Seymour Brinkman put out an advertisement about a job to transport a horse to Benedict Station. The job seemed easy and the payment offered was fair, so many arrived to take the contract. Mr. Brinkman met with several individuals and contracted with all of them individually, payment on delivery of course. “You must understand, this ensures my horse is delivered,” explained Mr. Brinkman. The contracted cowpokes, however, were none to pleased. Realizing that they now had to compete with others for the contract, they drew their weapons on each other.

It was not long until one of the cowpokes attempted to ride the horse to be transported. They were killed instantly. The shot was described by another cowpoke as being, “explosive, no way they could have survived.” Several folks got into a gunfight, however, the victor of that fight was killed by another man riding from a distance, who was able to mount the horse and take it all the way to Benedict Station without incident. One of the participants who survived was frustrated and confused, “I just don’t understand, I remember being on the damn horse and getting so close to the station. Then I was on my own horse and chasing someone else.” The winning cowpoke was awarded the payment, but it was given by a third party who announced that Mr. Brinkman was aware that his strategy may not have been appreciated by those he contracted with.

One traveler dead, another alive, after bandits attack their camp
By Wylie Frey
Tragedy struck for a pair of campers this week. A man and woman camped between Fort Mercer and Del Lobo Rock and paid for this mistake. According to the survivor, the pair did not know they were in a dangerous area. “We ain’t from the Five States. We had only just arrived and meant to explore the region before picking a place to settle,” she said. As she told the story, she and her husband had set up camp and were dozing off for the night when a gang of outlaws attacked them. “I was a feared for my life until those fellers showed up and fought off the bandits.” A posse of well meaning folk arrived to defend the couple. They were successful in driving the Del Lobo bandits off, however, not before the woman’s husband was fatally shot.

“I… I don’t know what I’ll do now. I’m so far from home and well, I can’t keep exploring this place now,” the woman said somberly. The woman opted to board a train in Armadillo, which was robbed only moments after she boarded it. “This has not been a place of good fortune for me, I think I’ll go home,” she told me.

Man killed in vicious ambush
By Jane Duran
Two men traveling through Grizzlies East were ambushed, leaving one dead and the other scarred for life. The ambushers were not bandits however, but a large pack of wolves. “It was supposed to be a pleasure ride, but my horse started getting agitated and then I heard the howling and my spine tingled,” said the survivor, a man named David Canham. Canham did all he could to maintain his horse’s calm and took note of at least a dozen wolves or more. “I managed to get Ed, that’s my horse, calm and rode as hard as I could. I heard Luther right behind me,” Canham said. What Canham did not realize immediately was that his friend did not manage his horse as well and was bucked off. He had heard his friend’s horse, but his friend was not on it. “I looked back and Luther wasn’t there, just his horse running scared.” What happened next was difficult for Canham to describe.

His friend’s screams echoed in his mind. While he was not sure if he truly heard it or imagined it, he thinks he heard chewing and gnashing. “I’m only alive ’cause they got him…” Canham reflected at one point. This realization seemed to leave him stunned and unable to cope with the reality of the situation. The longer we spoke the more he seemed to break. A hunter came across the victim’s remains hours later, describing the remains, “as sparse, mostly chewed up bones.”

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Griswald Brothers brought into Blackwater Police Station alive
By Nick McCrary
In what has become a common sight in Blackwater, Nathaniel Cross has once again brought wanted men to the Blackwater Police Station alive and screaming. The Griswald Brothers were wanted for a variety of crimes, including murder. While they were known to hire personal bodyguards, Cross reported finding the men alone. They had fled their last known location, but Cross was able to track them down. “They were clever, instead of hiring guards they spent time constructing false trails,” Cross said as he sat down at the Blackwater Saloon for a beer, as is his custom. “I was beginning to think the trail was cold when I heard them speaking loud enough to wake a grizzly from hibernation.”

Cross was an early adopter of the bolas, so according to him grabbing to wanted men alive is not a difficult feat. “In most cases, you can bolas one and the other will just look at you dumbfounded until you bolas them,” Cross said with a grin. Seems the men were not as clever as Cross had initially believed. After finishing his beer, Cross mounted his muscular Breton called Tombstone Shadow. It was then that I had a sudden curiosity about how Mr. Cross named his horses so I ran out and asked him about it. “When the outlaws think they have gotten away, they look over their shoulder and see a shadow on their back. It’s inspired by a folktale I heard.” It seems for Cross, bounty hunting starts with intimidation and that the tactic is a successful one.

Man robbed in Big Valley
By Daisy Fairman
Authorities in West Elizabeth are cautioning cowpokes across the state to look out for men and women asking for help getting into town. Several reports have come in over the last several weeks of folks posing as victims only to lure unsuspecting cowpokes into a dangerous situation. One such man rode hard into Strawberry to report being robbed in such a fashion. He had stopped to help a women whose horse had died, she said she needed a ride. However, as soon as he got off his horse to offer assistance, she whistled and he was beset upon by dozens of outlaws hiding behind trees. “I threw my money into the air and jumped on my horse and rode away,” they said. Others have not been so lucky and have been killed. Authorities advise caution when offering assistance.

14 year search for missing princess continues
By Van R. Seldon
In 1884, the Royal Family of Luxembourg came to the United States. The visit was to secure relations between the two nations. Unfortunately, the visit was marred in tragedy. Young Princess Isabeau Kathabrina Zinsmeister disappeared from the hunting lodge they stayed in and never reappeared. Initially it was believed that the Princess was lost in the forest, however after days of searching many began to believe she was kidnapped. “I was hired back then to look for her, but never found her, a body, or any of her belongings,” said one of the trackers I spoke to. He highlighted a fact most at odds with the theory that the Princess merely got lost: suitcases of her belongings also came up missing. Investigators later speculated that this may indicate that someone the family knew and trusted had a part in the disappearance of five year old Princess of Luxembourg. While the family refuses to believe that someone they trusted would have taken Princess Isabeau, they have acknowledged that many of their employees and servants had the kind of access necessary to steal the Princess away unnoticed.

However, it must also be said that no known ransom for the Princess has been made. If she was kidnapped, surely a ransom would have followed soon after. Some have suggested that the kidnapping may have went wrong, ending up with the Princess dead. This could explain the lack of a ransom. What is known is that an investigator “obsessed” with Princess Isabeau’s disappearance has followed a lead to the Van Horn region. Indeed, luggage that has the Princess’ initials and the Luxembourg coat of arms recently showed up at a store on the Van Horn pier. The owner of the store claims to know nothing of, “missing princesses or Luxem, what did you call it? I just buy stuff and resell. Everything here I own legally,” the shopkeeper said. Many have descended on Van Horn and nearby Annesburg in search of the Princess, in hopes of both a reward and notoriety.

Most recently, investigators from Pawnee County, or PC folk as some call them, attempted to use their own special talents and abilities to track down the Princess. The best they could do, however, was come up with how the Princess may look now, at 19 years old. She has blonde hair and distinct birthmarks on her left cheek and right hand. Some worry that the Princess may be alive but unaware of her previous life, living in the Five State under a false identity her kidnapper gave her. As a result, she may not know that she is a missing person. If you have any information please contact your local sheriff.

Cowpoke goes on rampage in Valentine after being turned down for a job
By Emery Cosberry
For cowpokes of a less discerning disposition, it is rumored that a young man in Valentine offers jobs that may or may not be legal. However, this young man, only known as the Boy, maintains that he himself does nothing that violates the law. The Valentine Sheriff agrees. “We’re aware of the rumors but we’ve got no evidence that the Boy violates the law,” said Sheriff Malloy, sounding disappointed. To maintain his appearances of innocence, the Boy refuses to do work with notorious outlaws, a choice that had unintended consequences when a wanted man came to the Boy seeking work.

Witnesses report that the Boy told him he would not work with a man with a high bounty. Indeed, witnesses also mentioned several deputies keeping their eyes on the wanted man, waiting to seize him. “You’re a goddamn outlaw same as me and you won’t work with me!” the man reportedly yelled as he pulled out two pistols. It is reported that the outlaw aimed at the Boy but was forced to turn his attention on the approaching deputies who had pulled out their own guns. The outlaw managed to gun down the approaching lawmen and went on to massacre innocent residents in town before being chased off by bounty hunters. The Boy refused to comment for this story.

Infamous Bounty Hunter Group Continues to Splinter
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax (Lead Correspondent)
Two weeks ago, the Hangman’s Bureau was the law and order of Saint-Denis. But now they are a shell of their former selves. Having been forcibly kicked out following the Great Saint-Denis Riot, fortunes have continued to plummet. They have found it difficult to find high paying contracts, even titans of industry are wary of using a group associated with a national embarrassment.

Well, the hardship continues, as another member has left the group. The former Apache chief Ironclad left the Bureau yesterday. The Indian warrior was disgusted with having helped slaughter the innocent and strongly believed the group had lost its way.

“When I joined this organization, it was on the basis that it was designed to bring in the worst of the worst. What better way to atone for one’s sins, then to bring monsters to justice? But that was not what we became in that ghastly city. We hunted those who had done nothing, executed possibly innocent people. Murdered those who needed help. I cannot stand with warriors who value cursed currency over righteousness.”

Where the aging chief goes, none can say yet. Rumors swirl that Ironclad might start assisting various Indian tribes across the nation or join a wild west show like other notable chiefs. Whatever path he now walks, it is not the road traveled by James Frazer or Sandra Walsh.

Those two continue to try and keep the Bureau going, taking low paying bounties usually reserved for rookies. Walsh herself continues to mourn at the loss of her men and rage at her circumstances. What keeps her going? The one thing that has kept many a man and woman together far past the line of reason. Revenge. While Walsh has not given out any interviews, those who have seen her claim she is obsessed with killing the person who started the riot in her twisted mind. To Sandra Walsh, the cause of her misery is that southern harlot in red and black who’s name need not be said.

Prison break in Saint Denis! Suspect believed to have been linked to the assassination of Governor Murphy James escapes
By Aloysius Levron
The misfortunes of Saint Denis continue, as the city has been the center of conflict since the assassination of the governor. This week the misfortunes continue. A group of prisoners were being taken to the Saint Denis Courthouse, where authorities have managed to maintain control of the city. Five prisoners were to be sentenced; Louisa Gregor, Isaac Finley, Tristan Beckett, Grace Winston, and Khali Rosehall. Nearly as soon as the prisoners were loaded into a prison wagon they were beset upon by at least 20 armed individuals. A gunfight ensued between the attackers and the Saint Denis police, leaving several dead before the wagon was busted open.

The escape plan largely failed, as 16 of the attackers are in the custody of the Saint Denis police. Further, four of the five prisoners being escorted were recaptured. The lone escapee was Khali Rosehall, a 20 year old man wanted for terrorism and sodomy and who may be linked to the assassination of Governor James Murphy. He also may be linked to the Morlee Gang, who once terrorized West Elizabeth and New Hanover before going quiet for the last several years. Authorities report that Rosehall was kicked in the mouth by a horse during the escape, which will leave a short term injury to identify him and perhaps even a long term scar. Rosehall was last seen boarding a train on going toward Van Horn. About an hour later, several robberies were reported in Van Horn, including an aged gunbelt, a sawed off shotgun and carbine rifle with ammunition, and a grey Kladruber. If you have any information about the wherabouts of Khali Rosehall, report that information to your local sheriff.

Separate but equal causing a stir at Trans-Mississippi exposition
By Adam Parvey
Just two years ago the U.S. Supreme Court found the separate but equal reasoning behind segregated public places was constitutional. Many leaders in the northern states condemned the decision, saying that separate by definition is not equal. As people come from all over the world to experience the culture of the Wild West, they are also getting a dose of post-Reconstruction culture in the South. Many exhibits feature segregated seating, with black residents being pushed out to make room for whites. However, many Northerners have been appalled by this and simply left exhibits and given their seats to a black expo goers were forced to move. The expo is a harsh reminder that the work of abolitionists did not end with the Civil War.

The Southern Cross Expedition sets sail from London
By Ivy Seager
Magazine publisher Sir George Newnes has privately financed this expedition, which is headed to Antarctica. The goal is to make land fall on the Great Ice Barrier, which was discovered about 50 years ago by Sir James Clark Ross. The team is equipped with the latest in technological advancements as well as tried and true solutions. “Making landfall is one thing, but how will we explore the region?” one of the exhibition leaders asked. The answer was via sleds pulled by a dogs, a method used hundreds of years or more in Northern Canada. This expedition is expected to be the first of many if all goes well. The team will take its time and is not expected to complete its work for several years to come. The data they uncover on this trip will help refine future expeditions.

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