The Shooting of Meriwether Lewis

 

Fort Clatsop, OR, site of Lewis & Clark Expedition

Elaine Marie Cooper

 

 

The famous expedition of Lewis and Clark from 1804 to 1806 was remarkable for many reasons. Not only did they and their group of 33 members of the Corps of Discovery carry out a successful trek to the Pacific Ocean from St. Louis, they managed to avoid any bloodshed along the way. That is, until an accidental shooting of Meriwether Lewis took place within a month of returning to St. Louis.

 

The incident occurred August 11, 1806 when Lewis went on a hunting trip with Pierre Cruzatte. Why Cruzatte was chosen to accompany Lewis seems impractical at best and possibly deadly at its worst, since the man was blind in one eye and near-sighted in the other. 

 

Lewis was intent upon finding elk to bring back as food for the main party with whom they would rendezvous at the junctions of the Missouri & Yellowstone Rivers. Lewis and 9 other men in the Corps of Discovery had temporarily split off so they could explore as much territory as possible. But explorers have ravenous appetites and Lewis hoped to find some elk that lived in the Crow Hills of North Dakota.

 

He spotted one among the willows along a river and put to shore from their canoe. Taking aim at the beast, Lewis suddenly felt burning pain in his left thigh. A bullet had shot clear through from the back to the front of his thigh, barely missing his hip bone. The lead ball left a 3-inch gash. Assuming Cruzatte mistook him to be an elk (he was wearing leather) and had accidentally fired at him, Lewis cried, “D…n you, you have shot me.”

 

When Cruzatte did not respond, Lewis then feared Indians were attacking them and had likely kidnapped Cruzatte. The wounded hunter hobbled his way back to the canoe and managed to reach the rest of the party. Lewis told them they were under attack, but the others went to search and found no evidence of any attacking party. And Cruzatte was with them, unharmed. He denied shooting Lewis and said he’d not heard Lewis shouting for him. 

 

Lewis’ wound was tended by himself and Sgt. Gass, who helped the patient remove his breeches and fill the large holes, both front and back, with lint. “The wounds bled considerably but I was happy to find that it had touched neither bone nor artery.” He was fortunate indeed as either could have caused life threatening complications. 

 

He spent the next 10 days or so in pain and with a fever, lying face down in the canoe that would transport them to the Clark group. By September 8, the group was reunited into one party and Lewis had recovered sufficiently to accompany William Clark to the site upon which thy had started in 1804. 

 

The joyous celebration for the successful journey became the focus upon their return. But Lewis recalled the shooting incident in his journal: “I do not believe that the fellow did it intentionally but after finding he had shot me was anxious to conceal his knowledge of having done so.” 

 

When removing his clothing after the shooting, Lewis found the bullet in his breeches and it was of the same type used in the military weapon carried by Cruzatte. But the man denied being responsible for the injury the rest of his life. 

 

 

 

Elaine Marie Cooper has two historical fiction books that released in 2019: War’s Respite(Prequel novella) and Love’s Kindling. They are the first two books in the Dawn of America Series set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. This series will re-release with a new publisher beginning in 2021. Love's Kindling is a finalist in the 2020 Selah Awards.

Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her 2016 release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and HomeLife magazine. She also penned the three-book historical series, Deer Run Saga. 

Her upcoming release, Scarred Vessels, is about the black soldiers in the American Revolution. Look for it in October 2020. You can visit her website/ blog at www.elainemariecooper.com

 

 

 

 

 

TAKE A SPIN ON THE WILD SIDE

 

By Mary Davis

Montgomery County Jail Building

In 1881, architect William H. Brown answered the human incarceration problem with an engineering solution by designing a revolutionary new jail concept in housing criminals. Brown teamed up with Benjamin F. Haugh of Haugh, Ketcham & Co. iron foundry in Indianapolis, Indiana to build this modern masterpiece.

What was this work of genius, you may ask? A rotary jail.

Hmm… Sounds a bit odd. But whenever someone comes up with a new solution or new take on an old problem, it can seem odd. Let’s find out how this one stacks up on the oddity chart.

Brown’s idea was to have a revolving cell block. There were generally eight wedge-shaped cells per floor with a single exit shared by all the cells on that floor. This way only one cell could be accessed at a time, providing more security and fewer guards required to oversee the prisoners.

Cell Platform

The patent for this new style of jail had this description:
“The object of our inventions is to produce a jail in which prisoners can be controlled without the necessity of personal contact between them and the jailer or guard ... it consists, first, of a circular cell structure of considerable size (inside the usual prison building) divided into several cells capable of being rotated, surrounded by a grating in close proximity thereto, which has only such number of openings (usually one) as is necessary for the convenient handling of prisoners.”
 

 

Cell Door Partially Open & Cell Door Open

Sounds like the perfect social-distancing facility between guards and inmates. But one cell would often house more than one prisoner. No social distancing there.

The greased mechanism sat on a ball bearing surface that was so well built a single man could work the crank to spin the entire block.

Gear for Moving Platform

This video shows a man cranking the handle to rotate the cell block.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIswvJFoT0A

 

 

Rotating Crank Mechanism

In the late 1800s, several of these rotary jails were built across the American Midwest. The first was constructed in Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1882. Five others were soon built in the Midwest. In total, eighteen of these bad boys were erected at a cost of $30,000 each.

 

Rotary Jail in Gallatin, Missouri

The rotary jail boasted an indoor, sanitary plumbing system, a luxury most regular people didn’t have yet. Prisoners received three meals a day, a hot bath, and their clothes laundered. A pretty sweet deal.

Detail Diagram of Central Core Plumbing Connections to Cell.

Very quickly the pitfalls and safety hazards to this style of construction became evident. First, the jails often held mostly individuals too inebriated to walk. They might pass out in their cell with an arm or leg through the bars. Then when the cell block was rotated, arms and legs were injured ... or worse.

Another hazard was what to do in case of a fire. A guard would need to stay behind to turn the crank handle to let the prisoners out one wedge-shaped cell at a time. Who was going to watch these freed prisoners with the reduced manpower? And what if the guard was too afraid for his own life to stay inside a burning building. Not good. A set up for failure.

Double-Tiered Cell Block

Due to the safety hazards, most of the rotary jails had their mechanisms welded into a stationary position and doors made for each cell within a few years. Nearly all of these jails were decommissioned by 1939. The Pottawattamie County jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa was the last of these jails in service. It shut down in December of 1969. It’s rotating mechanism was still in use up to 1960.

 

Food Pass-Through Slot

The Montgomery County rotary jail in Crawfordsville, Indiana is the only one of these jails still able to rotate. However, no prisoners are housed there as it is now a museum. This would be so much fun to visit.

I would give Brown high marks for ingenuity, creativity, and out of the box thinking. But very-low marks for safety considerations before construction and cost savings for their clients. I wonder if any of the towns, which had these jails built, recouped the money they were supposed to save by paying fewer guards.


THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) #TheDamselsIntent #HistoricalRomance #FreeKU #KU #ChristianRomance
Can Nicole learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?
   Nicole Waterby heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband, not realizing women don’t wear trousers or carry a gun. She has a lot to learn. Rancher Shane Keegan has drifted from one location to another to find a place to belong. When Nicole crosses his path, he wonders if he can have love, but he soon realizes she’s destined for someone better than a saddle tramp. Will love stand a chance while both Nicole and Shane try to be people they’re not?

Free on Kindle Unlimited, or $2.99 to buy ebook.

Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Damsels-Intent-Quilting-Circle-Book-ebook/dp/B089DTXDCN/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=The+Damsel%27s+Intent&qid=1590863747&s=books&sr=1-2

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, Courting Her Amish Heart, The Widow’s Plight, Courting Her Secret Heart , “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , and Courting Her Prodigal Heart . 2019 titles include The Daughter's Predicament and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-five years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

Sparking Fire on the American Frontier

by Misty M. Beller

As a writer of historical fiction, I've always been a little fascinated by how people had to light flame before the invention of the friction match we use today. 

(By the way, the first "matches" were actually invented all the way back in 577 AD using sulphur, and various versions of sulphur and phosphorus to make fire were experimented with for centuries. None were practical, inexpensive, and safe for the general public until the friction match was invented by English chemist John Walker in 1826. But that, my friends, is a blog post for another day.)

There were two main methods of producing fire before matches came into widespread use. Most of the "civilized world" used flint and steel to build their fires, however when Lewis and Clark explored the vast lands of the Louisianna Territory, they found that the natives mostly used various versions of a bow drill to spark flame for campfires. 

Versions of the flint and steel method for starting fire. From the United States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution), Washington D.C.

Regarding the flint and steel method, below is an excerpt Herbert Manchester's book, The Diamond Match Company; a Century of Service, of Progress, and of Growth, 1835-1935, which gives an unfortunately realistic description of how a morning fire was started: 

"known to the Romans and . . . developed in the Dark Ages along with hand-wrought steel for weapons and armor. The steel, which was curved so as to form a handle, was held in the left hand and struck with the sharp edge of the flint. Good tinder was very important and was made by charring lint, or other easily combustible material, and keeping it dry in a tinder box or pouch. The fire maker blew upon the lighted tinder to spread the fire and added shavings, or perhaps so-called matches, which then meant only splints dipped in sulphur. If everything went right, a fire was kindled in a few minutes, but the flint might have lost its sharp edge, the steel might be blunted and the tinder might be damp from rainy weather or merely from fog; moreover, as the fire was usually built in the dark before sunrise, which was the getting-up time in those days, the knuckles might be hit instead of the steel, and the fumes in-haled in ineffectual puffing."

If the fire was being built on the trail, add to the above image the challenges of wind and rain, and the difficulty of securing decent tinder like dried moss or shredded birch bark.

Versions of the bow-drill method for starting fire. From the United States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution), Washington D.C.

As for the bow-drill or other methods of using wood upon wood for the friction to create a spark, there were as many variations as there were people using this method to start fire. Typically a spindle about a foot long would be held upright with one end in a hole in a block of wood that sat on the ground. The base board should be made from spruce, cedar, balsam, tamarack, or similar, non-resinous wood. The string of a bow was wrapped once around the spindle, so that it was tight enough not to slip during operation.

Diagram of a bow drill designed for fire starting

With these two methods as the primary ways to build a fire, no wonder people rarely allowed fires to go out, even in the hot summer months. A fire had to be used for cooking, so banking coals, so they could be re-kindled into flame, became a carefully honed skill.

But for settlers, frontiersmen, or Native Americans on the trail, a new fire would probably need to be built at each stopping point. Especially in the cold winter months, where the campfire would serve for both heat and cooking. If a fire wasn't needed for warmth and they had sufficient cooked food, the groups would certainly not go through the effort. But hunting along the journey was usually the primary source of food, and that meat had to be cooked.

Cooking, of course, required a fire. 

***

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

Her latest release, Hope in the Mountain River, is an epic journey along the path taken by the Lewis and Clark expedition—an epic journey through breathless landscapes and adventure so intense, lives will never be the same.

For a limited time, you can get one of Misty's bestselling novels free here: https://www.subscribepage.com/s8n2o1

Botanical Gardens: Giant Victoria Water Lily

by Anita Mae Draper

Woman playing violin, standing on lily pad at Shaw's Garden (Missouri Botanical Garden), in front of Linnean House, c1905. Courtesy of Missouri History Museum, Public Domain

Back in the Victorian age when botanical gardens were flourishing and botanists traveled the world in search of new plants they didn't have in their own gardens, discoveries were made that awed and delighted the citizens of cooler climates. One such plant was a giant water lily with leaves so big that a person could sit or stand on it. German naturalist, Robert Schomburgk, discovered the huge lily with dazzling white flowers in the Amazon River area of South America and named it Victoria regia after Queen Victoria. 

Botanists grew successful with duplicating growing and propagating conditions, yet no one was able to successfully bring a giant water lily into bloom. Enter Joseph Paxton, the renowned head gardener of Chatsworth in Derbyshire who received one plant from a new batch of seeds propagated at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, England. With a heated tank of his own design, and coal-fired boilers heating the greenhouse, Paxton simulated the Amazonian climate. That fall when Paxton placed his seven-year-old daughter Annie on one of the four-foot leaves, a reporter for The Illustrated London News created an  illustration which was published in the Nov 17th issue of that year, and which also showed the water lily in flower. Yes, Paxton had coaxed the Victoria regia into blooming.

The Gigantic Waterlily (Victoria Regia), In Flower At Chatsworth, Illustrated London News, 1849. Public Domain

In her book The Flower of Empire: An Amazonia Water Lily, the Quest to Make it Bloom, and the World it Created, Tatiana Holway explains how Queen Victoria herself was in attendance to witness the giant white flower start to bloom the first evening, close the next morning, reopen in a rosy pink hue the 2nd evening, and slowly close forever during the second night. But oh, the perfume it apparently lent the air. 

Cornell University has created a time-lapse video of the Victoria x 'Longwood Hybrid' at their Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory so we can witness the same event that Victoria did at https://youtu.be/OaqkNzeJV5o




Many images exist of the Victoria regia, yet the subject of the images were more often people standing, or sitting, on the giant leaves rather than the flowers themselves. 

Gigantic lily leaf (Victoria Regia), used as a raft - in charming Como Park, St. Paul, Minn. 1903. Library of Congress, Public Domain

Miss Cotton, daughter of Kew's Herbarium Keeper Arthur Cotton, sitting on a Victoria amazonica waterlily in 1923. Creative Commons Attribution CC BY © RBG Kew

 View in one of the greenhouses of the Hortus Botanicus, Netherlands, with the water plant Victoria Regia, in a pond. A boy is sitting on one of the leaves. Late 19th century. Wikimedia, Public Domain

The Book of Water Gardening by Peter Bisset, published in New York in 1907 showed an image of children standing on the giant leaves and an explanation of how the leaves were able to accept the weight due to its underside structure.

The Book of Water Gardening by Peter Bisset. 1907, New York. Public Domain

As you can see from the above images, botanical gardens around the world built greenhouses to mimic the growing conditions needed for the Victoria regia. What is not often known, or shown, is that the water lilies were grown in knee-high ponds. But how could a lily pad support the weight? The underside structure was a marvelous network of ribs which enabled the leaf to float, and coupled with the high rim on the topside, stopped water from covering the leaf which extended its life. Prickles on the underside also stopped fish from getting too close. 

The Gardens of Kew - the work of Kew Gardens in Wartime, Surrey, England, UK, 1943. Wikimedia, Public Domain

Due to its unique ribbed support system, the legacy of the Victoria regia lily leaves was the inspiration it gave for many designs in greenhouse structures that allowed the spanning of wide open spaces for optimum light. 

Despite their strength, a sharp projectile like a straw dropped straight down from a few feet above the giant leaves can poke a hole and allow water to seep onto the topside, initiating deterioration. This makes me pause when I see images of people standing on the leaves. Usually, there are props beneath the people's feet to distribute the weight evenly over a larger surface of the leaf itself, but I would think even that would damage the leaves. 

Tower Grove Park Lily Pond. Man and Woman Standing on Lily Pads (Saint Louis, Mo.) c1910. Courtesy of Missouri History Museum, Public Domain

The Victoria regia can still be found in botanical gardens and natural locales around the world where people seem to have the same sense of wonder about them. Unfortunately, there are those who don't see the beauty of the plant, but the novelty of using it as a target. 

Plastic & giant water lily in the Bogor Botanical Garden, 2018, Bahasa Indonesia. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Botanical gardens are wonderful places to see novel and interesting species in as natural a habitat as can be created. As we face monumental environmental challenges in our modern world, botanical gardens and the teams that run them are instrumental in preserving our diverse biosphere. 

Have you ever visited a botanical garden? Care to share your thoughts on transplanting botanicals from their native environment?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper lives on the Canadian prairies where she uses her experience and love of history to enhance her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism and faith. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Having a Baby in the 19th Century

by Kiersti Giron

"The New Arrival," By David Henry Friston, fl. 1850s to late 1880s Artnet.com, Public Domain

The coming of a baby has been a source of wonder and joy since time began. Last month, my husband and I were blessed by the birth of our first baby, a little son, and it's given me a new connection and empathy with mothers throughout time. For this post, we'll take a journey back to what having a baby was like during the 19th century, followed soon by a post on baby care during the same period. I hope you enjoy the ride!


Home vs. Hospital

18th/19th century midwifery log,
possibly owned by Timothy Watkins. Wikimedia Commons

In the earlier decades of the 19th century, midwives tended laboring women almost exclusively, and the vast majority of babies were born at home. While women widely feared the pain and danger of childbirth--and indeed, death in childbirth was common--midwives brought the knowledge and wisdom of generations of women to ease the birthing process as much as possible. Only poor women had their babies in hospitals until the early 1900s, and these "lying in" hospitals were notorious for maternal death, with infections running rampant due to doctors not washing their hands between patients and other unsanitary practices.

Doctors and Forceps

Obstetrical Case, including forceps, mid-19th century. By Welcome Images, https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/a4/c5/5a56ebb92aa1e3d1da13bacc13f7.jpgGallery

With the growing popularity of forceps in the 19th century, doctors began to regularly enter the birthing room for the first time, since they were the ones trained in the use of forceps. This technological invention changed other aspects of childbirth also, such as position. Whereas previously women tended to give birth in a more upright position--which we now know is optimal in easing and expediting the baby's birth--now they started lying on their backs in bed to facilitate the use of forceps.

Anesthesia

Young Queen Victoria, By Franz Xaver Winterhalter - Osborne House, Isle of Wight,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1299559

Queen Victoria was famously the first woman to demand chloroform anesthesia during childbirth. While anesthesia during birth didn't become widespread until the 20th century, it began during the 19th, though it was often dangerous and generally frowned upon. But in an era when the pain of childbirth was emphasized as God's curse upon Eve--never mind that the word for "pain" in Genesis 3 is the same one translated "toil" for Adam--Victoria's success proved a significant precedent, though the growth of anesthesia paved the way for the horrors of twilight sleep in the early 20th century and other less-than-positive interventions.

"Lying In" - Postpartum Care

The Young Mother by Charles West Cope, 1845. Valerie McGlinchey,
CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9977581

As I've been in postpartum recovery mode myself, the 19th century rules for mothers recovery from childbirth were particularly interesting to me. Women were encouraged to stay in bed for some time--no huge surprise there--and not even to get up into a chair until at least the tenth day, according to one 1800s manual. Another, Elizabeth Robinson's Scovil's 1896 Preparation for Motherhood, insists that new mothers not even talk! According to her:


"After all that the newly made mother has undergone, she needs perfect quiet for several hours before she is permitted to see anyone. A five-minute interview with her husband is all that should be granted. However well she feels, quiet should be insisted upon. Excitement is dangerous and no visitors must be permitted to enter the room, nor should conversation be allowed, even if she wishes to talk. Neglect of this precaution may cause serious disaster, even when all seems to be going on well."

Of course, not all women would have had the luxury of resting the four or five weeks recommended by the experts; still, these old-fashioned guidelines can remind us that in most traditional cultures, new mothers are surrounded by a community giving tender loving care for the first month or so to give her and her baby the best possible start.


Now that her baby was born, the 19th century mother, like any other, moved into the next stage of life: motherhood and infant care. But that will be a topic for my next post!


So, how much did you know about 19th century childbirth? What details are most interesting to you? What things are you glad have changed? Please comment and share!




Kiersti Giron holds a life-long passion for history and historical fiction. She loves to write stories that show the intersection of past and present, explore relationships that bridge cultural divides, and probe the healing Jesus can bring out of brokenness. Kiersti has been published in several magazines and won the 2013 and 2018 ACFW Genesis Awards - Historical for two of her novel manuscripts. An English teacher and member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Kiersti loves learning and growing with other writers penning God's story into theirs, as well as blogging at www.kierstigiron.com. She lives in California with her husband, their two kitties, and their new baby boy.

Interesting Facts About Stagecoaches - Plus Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Stagecoach to Liberty, third book in the Montana Gold western historical romance series, I’m giving away to two winners their choice of a digital copy of either Hills of Nevermore (Montana Gold 1) or Cheyenne Sunrise (Montana Gold 3). Comment before midnight, Pacific Time, January 25th on the question in this post for a chance to win. Leave your email address to be eligible. I'll contact the winner privately by January 27th. 

Interesting Facts About Stagecoaches 

There's something about a stagecoach that brings out the romantic in all of us. Picture a stagecoach pulled by a team of frothing horses and you summon the very essence of the Wild West. You imagine yourself settling back against the leather upholstery with a view of the western plains. You sigh. Romance and adventure await! Hold your horses. So do nausea and exhaustion. 

Being tossed about a coach with little or no shock absorbers took a toll on the passengers. Despite the galmourous image, stagecoach travel was pretty rough. Let's take a look at what else we might not know about stagecoaches.

Origin

The stagecoach originated in Great Britain during the 1600’s as one of the earliest modes of public transportation.

Name

Stagecoaches traveled from stop to stop so drivers could swap tired horses for fresh ones and allow passengers to purchase food and drink. The characteristic travel in stages gave rise to the term ‘stagecoach,’ or ‘stage’ for short.

Stage Stops

Passengers could alight for about 10 minutes at stage stops to stretch their legs, purchase food and drink, and attend to other necessary matters. These stops were spaced between 10 and 30 miles apart.

Speed

A stagecoach covered, on average, 5-8 miles in an hour. Rate of travel depended on condition of the road and the terrain.

Windows

The risk of breakage was too great, so stagecoach windows had no panes. Instead, thick leather curtains could be unrolled and attached at the bottom over window openings to shield passengers from inclement weather, dust, or mud.

Sleep

Exhaustion helped people fall asleep while riding in the coach, however staying asleep could be a problem due to the jostling from rough roads. Sometimes stagecoaches ran through the night. If they stopped at a roadhouse, they usually had to wake early to continue the journey.

Mail

Starting in 1785, Congress passed legislation to allow stagecoaches to carry mail. America relied on stagecoaches to transport mail through the 1840’s. Postal delivery was an important function for stagecoach lines, and often passengers shared coach space with mail bags.

A First-Hand Account

In Roughing It, Mark Twain’s autobiographical account, he describes traveling with the mail. "Whenever the stage stopped to change horses, we would wake up, and try to recollect where we were - and succeed - and in a minute or two the stage would be off again, and we likewise. We began to get into country, now, threaded here and there with little streams. These had high, steep banks on each side, and every time we flew down one bank and scrambled up the other, our party inside got mixed sowewhat. First we would all lie down in a pile at the forward end of the stage, nearly in a sitting posture, and in a second we would shoot to the other end and stand on our heads. And we would sprawl and kick, too, and ward off ends and corners of mail-bags that came lumbering over us and about us; and as the dust rose from the tumult, we would all sneeze in chorus, and the majority of us would grumble, and probably say some hasty thing, like: 'Take your elbow out of my ribs! Can't you quit crowding?'” 

Giveaway Question

Have you ever had a bad travel experience that is funny in hindsight?

Winner chooses between the following books from the Montana Gold series
Hills of Nevermore: Can a young widow hide her secret shame from the Irish circuit preacher bent on helping her survive?

Cheyenne Sunrise: A young Irish widow has no choice but to trust her half-Cheyenne guide with her life, but can she trust him with her heart?   

About Janalyn Voigt

Janalyn Voigt's unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and whimsy creates breathtaking fictional worlds for readers. Known for her vivid writing, this multi-faceted author writes in the western historical romance, medieval epic fantasy, and romantic suspense genres.

Janalyn is represented by Wordserve Literary Agency. Her memberships include ACFW and NCWA. When she's not writing, she loves to garden and explore the great outdoors with her family.

About Stagecoach to Liberty

Can a desperate young woman trust the handsome Irish stranger who wants to free her from her captors?

Elsa Meier, a young Hessian woman newly in America, falls into the hands of soul merchants intent on forcing her into prostitution.

The last thing that Connor Walsh, an Irishman returning to his ranch after a bout of amnesia, wants is trouble, but he suspects that Elsa isn't wholeheartedly traveling with her companions.

Based on actual historical events during a time of unrest in America, Stagecoach to Liberty explores faith, love, and courage in the wild west.

Purchase Stagecoach to Liberty

Learn more about the Montana Gold series.