The Other Belle of the Old West

 

Hi friends,

This is a hard post for me to write. I've been with Heroes, Heroines, and History since the conception stage, but I've decided to step down. I'm not writing much these days, and not sure if I will in the future due to some physical issues. It's been a great run here at HHH. I've learned a lot as I researched my posts, and I made many friends. Before I go, I have a new post for you.

Belle Siddons

Most of us know about the notorious Belle Starr, but have you ever heard of Belle Siddons? In the Old West, Belle Siddons was known by many names: Madam Vestal, Lurline Monteverde, and Montel Holman. She was born around 1842 in Missouri and was raised on a wealthy Southern plantation in a politically powerful St. Louis family. Belle Siddons was the definition of a Southern belle, beautiful, educated, and poised. She attended Seminary School in Lexington, and after graduation, she made her societal debut in Jefferson City, Missouri. Several society columns made mention of her. She was a well-connected young woman with a bright future.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Siddons decided to use her wiles to benefit the rebel cause and became a Confederate spy. She gathered information from numerous love-struck Union soldiers to pass on to the rebels. She made no secret of her duplicitous behavior, and in 1862, a Union general became aware of her activity and issued a warrant for her arrest. Belle wasted no time in fleeing, but it wasn't long before the authorities caught up with her. She had incriminating maps in her possession, and she proudly admitted to being a spy when questioned. Siddons was sentenced to one year in the Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis. After only four months, they released her under the condition she would serve as a nurse for the remainder of the war.

After the war ended, Belle spent her time lobbying in the capital city, where she met and married Kansas City surgeon Newt Hallet. Belle's new husband taught her to play cards. Finding that she was naturally good at the game, Belle became famous as a dealer of the game 21.

They later moved to Texas. He spent his days patching up patients with Belle as his nurse, and often at night, he'd play cards and gamble. Sadly, the seemingly happy marriage was short-lived, when Newt died from yellow fever in less than two years. Distraught over the loss of her husband and the need to support herself, Belle left Texas and followed the Gold Rush, making her way to the gambling halls of South Dakota.

Soon after arriving in Deadwood, South Dakota, Madam Vestal gained the name "Queen of the Black Hills." She would sit silently at the roulette table, in full costume of velvet gowns and ruby jewelry, shuffling cards, pistol on one side and stacks of money on the other. For those who crossed her path, losing to the beautiful Madam Vestal became a badge of honor. Belle's wealth grew until she was able to purchase her own dance hall, bar, and gambling establishment.

Belle met and fell in love with stagecoach robber and former guerilla raider Archie McLaughlin. Together, they forged a plan, and once again, Belle used her skills and beauty to become a spy to retract information from stagecoach drivers, which she then passed on to her lover. Unfortunately, Siddons overconfidence got the best of her, and one night she let slip that there was going to be a robbery. Bounty Hunters caught McLaughlin and he was tried and hung.

Guilt over Archie's death engulfed Belle. She spent the next few years wandering the West, drinking heavily, and visiting opium dens. She even attempted suicide. Eventually, she stopped in Nevada, where she married Eugene Holman. For a time, life was better, but then Belle reverted to drinking again and Holman left her.

There are two stories regarding Belle Siddon's death. One, that she died from a drug overdose and another that she died in jail. No one seems to know the truth. Though blessed with a good start in life, like so many others, Belle chose a path that led her to drug addiction and much sadness. Still, her colorful legend has become the subject of many tall tales and Wild West stories.

Here's a link to an actual newspaper article about Belle Siddons: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-black-hills-daily-times-belle-siddon/18794002/

Thanks for reading my many posts over the years. I've enjoyed your comments and getting to know some of you. I especially appreciate those who have read my books and left reviews. If you'd like to keep in touch, you can find me at www.VickieMcDonough.com or on Amazon, Pinterest, and Facebook. Blessings!

Luke Davis flippantly tells his cousins he'd get married if the right woman ever came along, never imagining the mayhem such a remark would make. One month later, three mail-order brides arrive courtesy of his well-meaning, scheming cousins. How will he decide which one is right for him? Widowed boardinghouse owner Rachel Hamilton has loved Luke for years but never worked up the courage to tell him. Now that three brides have shown up, vying for his hand, Rachel is totally unnerved. What will she do if Luke marries someone else? Will he ever realize that sometimes love is right in front of you? Purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/Bride-Texas-Boardinghouse-Brides/dp/0997176733

Vickie McDonough is the CBA, EPCA and Amazon best-selling author of 54 books and novellas. Vickie grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie’s books have won numerous awards including the Booksellers Best, OWFI Best Fiction Novel Award, and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice awards. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, making cards, gardening, and traveling. To learn more about Vickie’s books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com

Traveling the Oregon Trail

The journey west on the Oregon Trail was difficult and sometimes deadly. 300,000 - 500,000 people traveled to the Pacific Northwest between 1841 and 1884, with about 10 percent losing their lives along the way.

Public domain, Wikicommons

The 2,000-mile overland trip from the Midwest to Oregon and California was lengthy and very difficult. In good weather, a wagon train would complete the journey in five months. The average wagon train traveled about 10 - 20 miles per day, over rough terrains such as rocky land, crossing dangerous rivers, and traversing steep hills and mountains. Of course, the distance they ventured each day was dependent on the weather, the difficulty of the landscape, and unexpected obstacles along the way.

Public domain, Wikicommons

It wasn’t cheap to outfit a Conestoga wagon. The total cost of the trip with supplies could be as much as $1,000. Putting that into perspective, $1000 in 1850 equals nearly $40,000 today. The recommended amount of food for each adult was 150 lbs. of flour, 20 lbs. of corn meal, 50 - 150 lbs. of bacon, 40 lbs. of sugar, 10 lbs. of coffee, 15 lbs. of dried fruit, 5 lbs. of salt, half a pound of saleratus (baking soda), 2 lbs. of tea, 5 lbs. of rice, 15 lbs. of beans, and 25 pounds of green apples or peaches. The travelers enjoyed fresh game when it was available, as well as wild berries.

Here is a price list of some of other necessary items they often had to purchase:

Ox - $30-35 each, with 4-6 oxen needed
Mule - $10-15
Pack horse - $25
Riding horse - $75
Milk cow - $70-75
Cattle - $8-20
Covered wagon $70
Tent - $5-15
Rifle - $15

On the trail there were other things that you had to pay for such as tolls for crossing bridges, ($0.15 - $0.50) ferrying rivers ($2 - $5) per wagon, and Indian moccasins ($0.50) to replace worn out shoes.

Public domain, Wikicommons

The entire Conestoga was narrower than a full-size bed and slightly longer. Including its tongue, the average wagon was 18 feet (5.5 m) long, 11 feet (3.4 m) high, and 4 feet (1.2 m) in width. It could carry up to 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) of cargo. Every stitch of the family's belongings needed to be packed into the wagon, leaving no room for beds or the comforts we take for granted. The families either camped in the open under the stars or slept on the ground beneath the wagon or in a tent.

Beans, cornmeal mush, Johnnycakes or pancakes, and coffee were the usual breakfast fare. Fresh milk was available from the dairy cows that some families brought along, and pioneers took advantage of the rough rides to churn their butter in a bucket hanging on the side of the wagon.

Painted by Emanuel Leutze, Public domain, Wikicommons

Contrary to popular belief, Indians were among the least of the settlers' problems while in transit, though the settlers themselves certainly believed otherwise. While there were cases of Indian attacks on western wagon trains, the majority of settlers made their cross-continent journeys without incident. Shootings, drownings, being crushed by wagon wheels, and injuries from handling domestic animals were the common killers on the trail. One of the biggest killers was disease, namely cholera, diphtheria, and dysentery. Wagon accidents were most prevalent. Both children and adults sometimes fell off or under wagons and were sadly crushed under the wheels.

Considering everything that wagon train travelers endured, it’s a miracle that any of them made it to trail’s end, but many of them did, and their stories are an intriguing part of our U.S. history.

A woman fleeing her past runs straight into her future.

Laney Dawson is desperate to leave Council Grove, KS. Her abusive father is getting out of prison in a week, and she refuses to allow him to hurt her again. With few options available for a young woman, she poses as Lane, a teen boy, and hires on with a family traveling the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico. Laney regrets lying to the kindhearted Buckley family, especially Ethan, the oldest of the five siblings. As her feelings for Ethan grow, she knows she needs to tell him the truth, but will he leave her at the next town when he learns she's a woman?

Amazon

Vickie McDonough is the CBA, EPCA and Amazon best-selling author of 54 books and novellas. Vickie grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie’s books have won numerous awards including the Booksellers Best, OWFI Best Fiction Novel Award, the Inspirational Readers’ Choice awards. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, doing making cards, gardening, reading, and traveling. To learn more about Vickie’s books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com

Soda Pop History

I'll admit that on New Year's Eve, most people aren't thinking about drinking soda pop, but that's what I'm talking about today. For many years Coke was my go-to drink, but in my effort to lose weight, I gave it up except for on rare occasions. The history of pop is rather interesting. Did you know that both Dr. Pepper and Rootbeer were invented by pharmacists?

 

1798—The term “soda water” was first used
1810—The first U.S. patent for the manufacture of mineral waters was issued
1819—The first soda fountain was patented
1835—The first bottled soda water was available in the U.S.

Note: The drinking of mineral water was considered a healthy practice. American pharmacists, who were selling most of the mineral waters, started to add medicinal and other flavorful herbs to the unflavored beverage, such as birch bark, dandelion, sarsaparilla, and fruit extracts.

1851—ginger ale was created in Ireland
1861—the term “pop” was first used

Just imagine, all of that happened before the Civil War had ended. It makes me thirsty just thinking about it.

1876—Mass production of Root Beer began. It started out as an herbal tea that Charles Hires, a Philadelphia pharmacist, created on his honeymoon.

1881—The first cola beverage was introduced

1885—Dr. Pepper was invented, also by a pharmacist

1886—Coca-Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton—you guessed it—a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. Pemberton concocted the Coca-Cola formula in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard. Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut.

1892—William Painter invented the crown bottle cap

1898 Pepsi Cola is invented by Caleb Bradham. His most popular beverage was something he called "Brad's drink" made of carbonated water, sugar, vanilla, rare oils, pepsin, and cola nuts. "Brad's drink" was later renamed "Pepsi-Cola" after the pepsin and cola nuts used in the recipe.

1899—The first patent is issued for a glass-blowing machine to produce glass bottles.

Did you know that soda pop has been around for so long? There are plenty more events in the soda pop timeline, but I’ll stop here. Next time you’re reading a historical set in the late 1800s and your hero refreshes himself with a soft drink, just remember it could have really happened. And, next time you indulge in a cold, refreshing soft drink, be sure to thank all those early pharmacists for their creative genius.

THE MARSHAL NEXT DOOR

Vickie McDonough

In hopes of making his twin sisters more genteel, Marshal Justin Yates asks his neighbor, Marta, for help. At first, Marta is stunned, but then she realizes the motherless teens could benefit from learning to cook and sew better. 

Justin’s deputy claims he’s seen Justin’s twin sisters snooping around businesses where there have been recent thefts. Justin can’t believe his sisters might be involved, but when evidence is found in his house, will he have to arrest the twins at Christmastime?

To make matters worse, he is starting to fall for his deputy's sister. He can only imagine what the cranky man will say about that.

Available on Amazon / Free KU

Vickie McDonough is an award-winning author of over 50 books and novellas. Vickie’s books have won the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest, and she has been a multi-year finalist in ACFW’s BOTY/Carol Award contest. Vickie series include the Texas Boardinghouse Brides, Land Rush Dreams, and Pioneer Promises. Vickie and her husband live in Oklahoma. She is a wife of forty-eight years, mother of four grown sons, and grandma to a smart and pretty high school senior. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, gardening, watching movies, traveling, and card-making. To learn more about Vickie’s books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Only U.S. Town Bombed in WW ll

Did you know that a small town in the Midwest was bombed during World War II? It’s true, and it holds the record for being the only American town bombed during that war since Hawaii wasn’t yet a US state.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, America increased its military spending, and installations began to pop up across the country to help support the war efforts in Europe. Small airfields and bases sprang up all over Oklahoma in towns like Altus, Enid, Tinker, Woodward, Jet, Frederick, Burns Flat, Muskogee, and Ardmore to serve the Army Air Corp. The US Navy also had small air bases in Clinton and Norman, OK.

By the summer of 1943, Oklahoma was swept up in the war movement. People were extremely supportive of this endeavor against evil happening overseas. Food, clothing, and fuel were rationed since they were needed for the war effort. Most cities observed blackout status so they wouldn’t be targeted by the Axis Powers in one of those daring nighttime bombing runs.

If you lived near Altus, Tinker, or Vance Air Force Bases in Oklahoma, you could hear planes at all hours of the night since training happened twenty-four/seven. Remember the cheer, “Freedom Never Sleeps?” In Lawton, OK, home of the Field Artillery, it was not uncommon to hear the howitzers in the dead of night as our nation's military trained hard.

Howitzer

On a humid July evening in the summer of 1943, the bellowing engines of a bomber came roaring over Boise City in the Oklahoma panhandle. Although it was after midnight, truckers and night workers were still eating in the diner on the square. As they enjoyed their meal, the quiet drum of conversation suddenly stopped when an explosion rocked the diner. Everyone in the small town rushed to see what had happened. A bomb had crashed through the roof of a nearby garage leaving a huge crater in the floor.  Just then, the planes came around for a second bombing run, dropping ordnance close enough to the local church to blow out the windows.

Boise City, OK is where the red marker is placed

When the truckers realized what was happening, they sprang into action moving a load of munitions one truck was carrying and a tanker of gasoline away from the city, knowing the horrible damage that could occur should one of them be hit by a bomb. Fortunately, the last two bombers passed, both dumping their loads away from town without incident.

By the time the bombing of Boise City was done, six bombs had been accidentally dropped on the town. A navigational mistake had been made during blackout conditions, and instead of dropping ordnance at the practice range, it was accidentally dropped on the small town.

B-17 Bombers

If there could be good news in such a situation, it turns out the bombs were practice rounds. Instead of being packed with one hundred pounds of high explosives, each bomb contained only four pounds of dynamite. While it was enough to kill people, amazingly nobody was hurt. The damage was limited to the garage and church in Boise City.

Although the bombing was a huge mistake on the part of the bomber crew, they later proved themselves. The exact same B-17 crew that accidentally bombed Boise City ended up leading an 800-plane daylight bombing run over Berlin just a year later. According to locals, all ten men survived the war, becoming one of the highest decorated Air Corp crews during WW ll.

Here's something a bit different from me. Along with writing fiction, I've also created this fun word search focusing on U.S. topics. It makes a great birthday or Christmas gift.

Enjoy hours of mentally stimulating word search fun! USA Word Find contains 75 easy-to-read large print word search puzzles. These engaging puzzles feature United States topics such as state capitals, state nicknames, animals and birds found in the U.S., actors born in the U.S., and much more. Educational benefits for all ages. Test your knowledge of the United States while enjoying hours of word-find fun.

Vickie McDonough is an award-winning author of over 50 books and novellas. Vickie’s books have won the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest, and she has been a multi-year finalist in ACFW’s BOTY/Carol Award contest. Vickie series include the Texas Boardinghouse Brides, Land Rush Dreams, and Pioneer Promises. Vickie and her husband live in Oklahoma. She is a wife of forty-eight years, mother of four grown sons, and grandma to a smart and pretty high school senior. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, gardening, watching movies, traveling, and card-making. To learn more about Vickie’s books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com 

The Almost Lost Art of Tatting by Vickie McDonough

 

I’ve always been interested in handcrafts, even when I was young. The first time I’d ever heard of tatting was when my sister brought home a note card with a multicolored tatted flower glued onto one corner. I fell in love with the tiny blossoms, so much so, that I ordered several dozen of the cards to use as thank-you notes for my wedding gifts. 

So what exactly is tatting? It’s a form of lace making, which involves wrapping thread around one or two shuttles and using the shuttles to guide the thread into patterns of knots to create rings and chains in delicate designs. To make the lace, the tatter wraps the thread around one hand and manipulates the shuttle with the other hand. No tools other than the thread, the hands, and the shuttle are used, though a crochet hook may be necessary if the shuttle does not have a point or hook.

Tatting consists entirely of small rings, or rings and arched chains. These rings and chains are usually embellished with picots (tiny loops of thread between stitches.) Some picots are purely decorative, but others are used for the important function of joining elements together. Surprisingly, only one simple knot is used throughout, the Lark's Head, which consists of 2 half hitches. 

Lace has always been popular, but back when it was all handmade, it was very expensive to buy. Tatting was a fairly quick way to create pretty lace, although the learning process can be difficult. Historically, tatting was used to create doilies, reticules, bonnets, lacy collars and cuffs, bookmarks, and designs to be framed and hung on the wall.

Tatted Bracelet

Needle tatting is another form of tatting. Instead of using a shuttle, you use a needle, which you wrap loops around. 

Needle tatting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtMR_XtTvTk

(There is no audio.)

Tatting Shuttles

Tatting is a fairly new craft, emerging in the first half of the 19th century. It gradually evolved from knotting, which was popular in the 18th century. The end product of knotting is embroidery, but the finished product of tatting is lace. However, they both involve making knots with a shuttle and thread. Knotting produced a thread with a raised texture, which could later be used for couched embroidery.

Tatted Doily

Tatting is a popular craft in Europe, although no one is certain of it origins. The German word for tatting is schiffchenarbeitm, which means 'the work of the little boat,' which refers to the boat-shaped shuttle. The Italians call it occhi, meaning 'eyes,’ which refers to the rings, which make up the lace. In France, it is called frivolite. In Finland, tatting is called sukkulapitsi, which combines two words: sukkula, which means shuttle, and pitsi meaning lace.

Doing handwork allowed the historical woman to sit and rest while being useful at the same time. It enabled her to show off her industriousness and creativity. Small pieces of work such as lace making, were acceptable items to occupy one’s time while visiting and could be brought to a friend’s house for a bit of work over tea and pleasant conversation.

Good video that shows you how to wind the shuttle and how to create a tatted circle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0cXQcr3w5o

If you want to learn via pictures, here's a good link: https://www.instructables.com/Tatting-101/

Pinterest site with lots of completed tatting projects, tutorials, and pictures illustrating how to tat: http://www.pinterest.com/huskerrhonda/needle-tatting

As a teen, I learned to do embroidery and quilting, but I failed at crocheting. I'm left-handed, and at the time, I only knew a right-handed person who crocheted. Trying to use a different hand proved too difficult. In my twenties, I learned counted cross-stitch, and that was my favorite craft for several decades. Today, I'm into card making. All of these crafts allowed me to be creative and to make something beautiful. How about you? Do you make anything by hand?

THE MARSHAL NEXT DOOR

Vickie McDonough

In hopes of making his twin sisters more genteel, Marshal Justin Yates asks his neighbor, Marta, for help. At first, Marta is stunned, but then she realizes the motherless teens could benefit from learning to cook and sew better. 

Justin’s deputy claims he’s seen Justin’s twin sisters snooping around businesses where there have been recent thefts. Justin can’t believe his sisters might be involved, but when evidence is found in his house, will he have to arrest the twins at Christmastime?

To make matters worse, he is starting to fall for his deputy's sister. He can only imagine what the cranky man will say about that.

Available on Amazon / Free KU

Vickie McDonough is an award-winning author of over 50 books and novellas. Vickie’s books have won the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest, and she has been a multi-year finalist in ACFW’s BOTY/Carol Award contest, and she was voted Third Favorite Author in the Heartsong Presents Annual Readers Contest in 2009. She is the author of the fun and feisty Texas Boardinghouse Brides series.

Vickie and her husband live in Oklahoma. She is a wife of forty-seven years, mother of four grown sons and grandma to a smart and pretty high school senior. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, gardening, watching movies, traveling, and card making. To learn more about Vickie’s books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A little-known American Hero

You’ve probably never heard of May Lillie unless you’re from Oklahoma or study Old West history, but she was quite an inspiring woman.

Mary Manning was born on March 12, 1869, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents, physician William R. and Mary Manning were Quakers. May had two sisters, Elmira, and Elizabeth Manning and a younger brother, William B. Manning. She also had three half-brothers. May most likely lead a happy life in a nice home, helping her mother and caring for her siblings like most girls her age, but all that was about to change.

During her sophomore year at Smith College, May ventured to see the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show when it came to town. As the parade of arriving performers filled the streets, May caught the eye of a man as he rode by on horseback. Throwing a smile in his direction is how she met her future husband Gordon Lillie, nicknamed “Pawnee Bill” for his role as the Pawnee interpreter in Buffalo Bill’s crew. May later commented: “...she knew right then that ‘she could change the course of her life with a well-directed smile.’ Pawnee Bill said for the rest of his life, that the first time he saw May, he was instantly in love,”

Though Gordon was a decade older than May, they enjoyed a quick courtship and married at her parents’ home in Philadelphia later in 1886. Gordon Lillie's wedding gift to his bride was a pony and a Marlin .22 target rifle.

May must have been a quick study on the rifle and in learning to ride her horse, because the very next year, May1887, she debuted as a sharpshooter for Pawnee Bill's Great Wild West Show and was billed as 'the greatest Lady Horseback Rifle-shot of the World'. May traveled the country with her husband's show and was one of the first women to perform as an equestrian and shooter in American Wild West shows.

In 1899, May suffered a shooting injury during an act and required two of her fingers to be amputated. While on tour in 1907, May gave a speech to women in Chicago, where she said: "Let any normally healthy woman who is ordinarily strong screw up her courage and tackle a bucking bronco, and she will find the most fascinating pastime in the field of feminine athletic endeavor. There is nothing to compare, to increase the joy of living, and once accomplished, she’ll have more real fun than any pink tea or theater party or ballroom ever yielded."

Eventually, May and Gordon settled in Pawnee, Oklahoma, on Blue Hawk Peak. They built a cabin, established a buffalo herd, and, in 1910, completed work on their Arts and Crafts style home. In 1917, May and Gordon adopted a son whom they named Billy. He died in an accident at the ranch in 1925.

While her husband was on tour, May was the hands-on manager of the Lillie buffalo ranch. She believed in the buffalos’ importance to the heritage of the American West and to Plains Indian culture. May was also active in the Woman's Relief Corps. 

In 1936, May and her husband celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in Taos, New Mexico. In September of that year, they attended a local celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While driving back to their ranch that night Gordon lost control of their vehicle. May died on September 17, 1936, as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

In 2011, May Lillie was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame for her tireless work during her Wild West show career as well as her role in the preservation of the American bison.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. The home Gordon and May built is still standing and was available for tours at the time I was there. We also enjoyed watching a wild west show, which I loved. You can catch the show yourself if you’re in Pawnee, OK, next June.

MUTINY OF THE HEART

CBA, EPCA, and Amazon best-selling author, Vickie McDonough, spins a swashbuckling tale in Mutiny of the Heart.

Heather Hawthorne has no reason to like Lucas Reed, the man who deserted her cousin Deborah when he learned she was carrying his child. Lucas Reed is an American whose fight for liberty ruined her father's wealth and led to his death. Deborah's dying wish is that Heather take little Jamie to his father in Charleston. But how can she leave the child she's come to love as her own with a man who never wanted him?

Available on Amazon

Crush, Texas -- a City For Just One Day by Vickie McDonough

 

One of my favorite tasks as a writer is going on research trips and discovering interesting tidbits of history. While researching End of the Trail, the final book in the Texas Trails series, I learned about a unique historical event. It’s called “The Crash at Crush” and is the brainchild of George William Crush, a passenger agent of  the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas Railroad, also known as “the Katy.”

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In an effort to better promote their railroad, Katy officials agreed to Crush’s unusual suggestion of crashing two retired train engines. The locomotives, Old No. 999, painted bright green, and Old No. 1001, painted a vibrant red, were displayed prominently during tours throughout the state and the “Monster Crash” was advertised all the summer of 1896. The event was free, with the exception of the train fare to deliver attendees to Crush, which cost $2 for a ticket from anywhere within the state.

George Crush chose a shallow valley fifteen miles north of Waco for the location, and in early September, five hundred workmen laid four miles of track for the collision run, built a grandstand for attendees, three speaker's stands, two telegraph offices, a stand for reporters, and a bandstand. A restaurant was set up in a borrowed Ringling Brothers circus tent, and a huge carnival midway with dozens of medicine shows, game booths, and lemonade and soft-drink stands were built. Lastly, a special depot with a platform 2,100 feet long was constructed along with a painted sign, informing passengers that they had arrived at Crush, Texas.

Twenty thousand people were expected, but by early afternoon on September 15, somewhere between 40-50,000 had arrived. At 5:00 P.M., engines No. 999 and 1001 backed off to opposite ends of the four-mile track. George Crush trotted a white horse to the center of the track and raised his white hat. After a long pause, he whipped it sharply down. A huge cheer rose from the crowd, and the locomotives lunged forward, whistles shrieking as they barreled toward each other at a speed of 45 mph. In a thunderous, grinding crash, the trains collided. The two locomotives reared up like wild stallions as they rammed together. Contrary to predictions, both boilers shattered, filling the air with hot steam, smoke, and pieces of flying metal. Spectators turned and ran in a blind panic. In the end, several people were killed and at least six others were injured seriously by the flying debris.

The wreckage was toted away, with souvenir hunters claiming pieces of the debris, booths and tent were removed, and by nightfall, Crush, Texas ceased to exist. The Katy railroad settled all claims against it, and George Crush was fired that same day, but he was rehired the next day and worked for the Katy Railroad until he retired. Here’s a link to a YouTube tale of the crash and some cool historic photos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL5i_ZBzYk0  

I hope you enjoyed the story of the Crash at Crush. What’s the most interesting historical event you’ve read about?

Gambler Gabe Coulter is confronted by a drunken cowboy who wants his money back. Gabe refuses and a gunfight ensues. The dying man tells Gabe the money was for his wife and son. Though the shooting was self-defense, Gabe wrestles with guilt. The only way he knows to get rid of it is to return the money he fairly won to the man’s widow. Lara Talbot sees Gabe as derelict like her husband and refuses his help. But as she struggles to feed her family, she wonders if God might have sent him to help. 

Available on Amazon / Free KU

Vickie McDonough is the CBA, EPCA and Amazon best-selling author of 54 books and novellas. Vickie grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie’s books have won numerous awards including the Booksellers Best, OWFI Best Fiction Novel Award, and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice awards. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, making cards, gardening, reading, and traveling.