Anomaly Con and the Steampunk Genre

Anomaly con starts on March 23^rd at the Tivoli Student Union in Denver, CO. It will be a fun-filled event filled with Steampunk genre vendors and participants. This will be their 3^rd event here in Denver at a location that is sure to inspire the participants with its historic surroundings originally built in 1866 as a brewery. It can sometimes be difficult to describe exactly what it is and is not Steampunk.  My interest in it began long after my interest in the history of the American West as a re-enactor and living historian. Although Steampunk follows along the lines of the Victorian time period and the clothing and customs of the time, it holds on to a promise of what could have been if things in our collective past happened a little differently. It is a world of steam powered computers, high tech firearms and weapons, balloon air ships that are commanded by pirates and captains of the sky that do battle to the death, and just about anything else one can imagine. Stories such as Dracula and Frankenstein that were written in the Victorian Era have added greatly and had much influence on the dress and ideas that people involved in Steampunk have today. The latest Three Musketeers movie falls into the Steampunk genre, even though it is an earlier time period then the Victorian Era. The movie Wild Wild West with Will Smith and the Sherlock Homes movies with Robert Downey Jr. fall much more in line with the Steampunk ideas and were influenced greatly by events such as Anomaly Con. Ladies have found much more freedom in the Steampunk genre than in the western re-enacting community as they can dress in period costumes as a Steampunk participant, yet have much more freedom with the character she creates and items she adds to her wardrobe. Goggles, gears and brass also make up much of what is used to help add flare and design to costumes and weapons in Steampunk. The show Brisco County Jr. tended to walk a thin line when it came to Steampunk staying with the more authentic weapons of the American West such as the revolver and rifles, but would often wonder into the realm of Steampunk with new inventions, gadgets and dress that one would not have seen in the American West. Although we tend to still think of the American West as a time when people lived lives of hard work and drudger, we tend to often forget that it was a time of invention and discovery as the telephone and electricity were often available in many large cities as well as plumbing and all sorts of industrial machinery. Sometimes, I think that as a western re-enactor we often miss out talking about the many great inventions that were created during the Victorian Age.  Some think of the Steampunk genre as something not worthy to stand next to the history of the American West and tend to stare down their nose when a group show up to an event wearing the signature goggles and gears of a Steampunker. I however think that they fall right in line with today’s re-enactors of American West history. The imagination and skills of Steampunk participants is exactly what we need to help keep interest in what we do and to help keep history alive. After all, it may be closer to the reality of the American West then most of us would like to believe, but that is just the opinion of a frontier gambler.    

If you would like more info on the upcoming Anomaly Con and everything that will be happening at this event, be sure to visit the website at http://anomalycon.com/

A man named Santee

Hawkins sat on the porch of the hotel in Lordsburg sipping from a cup of coffee. They had been there almost a week now, and had no luck at finding someone to help them thru the Chiricahua Mountains and Apache pass.  He had spoken to Lieutenant Spear, who was camped out on the west end of town, but the Lt had no interest in trying to make his way back to Ft Benson until he got more men from Fort Stockton. The Calvary Soldiers had arrived the day after Hawkins and his men, and they had been attacked at Apache Pass and had lost six men, four others were wounded and being cared for by the town physician which left the Lieutenant and only three other military men. The Lieutenant was still shaken by his experience in Apache pass has he had only been in Arizona for a few months and was fresh from West Point. The Sargent that was with them, whom the Lieutenant had relied heavily upon, had been killed in the pass leaving the young Lieutenant waiting  for someone with more experience to help him out of his current situation, being camped outside of Lordsburg.

The Tall Texan walked out of the hotel and sat next to Hawkins on the porch. A young bar boy ran across the dirt street and up the steps handing the Tall Texan a glass of beer. Rooster stood in the doorway of the Saloon across the street and hoisted his beer to the Tall Texan who hoisted his in return. Rooster then turned and walked back into the Saloon. “Where’s Caed at?”  “He’s in the saloon playing cards, he said I was a terrible bore currently and he needed to find some entertainment.” Hawkins replied. The Tall Texan nodded and continued to sip the beer. “Well, at least we can still head north or south from here and aren’t held up in between some rocks surrounded by Apache Warriors in the Chiricahua Mountains” The Tall Texan said as he got up from his chair and headed across the street to the Saloon. Hawkins was sure he had made the right choice, all the signs had been there and the trip had been good so far. He wasn’t sure where he had gone wrong or maybe he just needed to be patent and wait as his answer was on the way. A man walked from the Saloon from across the street and stopped at the bottom of the steps. He had a mustache, and wore a long white duster, gray stripped pants, black vest, black Stetson hat, and white shirt. He stood there for a moment and pulled a Cigar from his vest pocket lighting it. He continued to stand at the bottom of the stairs puffing on the cigar and then took a long drag from it blowing the smoke out in one long breath. Without looking at Hawkins he said “I hear tell you fellas need a guide thru the Chiricahua Mountains”.  “Why you know an Indian that can get us thru those mountains?” Hawkins replied.  “Well, let’s just say I have some goods that I need to get to Tucson and I need a wagon. Now you and your friends got a wagon and are going my way to Tucson. So I figured it would be a good match, and we all get what we want out of the deal.” Hawkins sat in the chair silent for few moments while he thought about it. “Mister, I think we got ourselves a deal, when can we leave for Tucson?” Hawkins asked. “Tomorrow morning” the stranger replied, “Meet me down on the west end of town at the Mercantile with your wagon, and we will leave from there”. The stranger then turned and walked back across the street and into the Saloon. Hawkins continued to sit on the porch and wondered if he was making a good decision or if this was a trap of some kind to steal their supplies in the desert. He didn’t have the luxury of waiting to find a dependable and known guide to lead them thru the mountains, and he was confident that if they did find trouble the men he was with could handle it as they were all dependable men.

The next morning the Tall Texan and Hawkins rode down to the Mercantile followed by Caed driving the small wagon. The stranger was standing on the steeps talking with the store owner as the men dismounted and walked up the steps. “Good morning Hawkins” The man said smiling with an unlit Cigar in his mouth. He then looked over to the wagon, “Morning Caed”. “Good morning Santee” Caed replied looking down toward his boots. “Yea know Hawkins, Caed there is pretty good at Cards, But I wouldn’t let him play with dice. He just ain’t as good with them as he is with those cards” Santee said with a grin on his face.  Santee lit the cigar and began to smoke it. “Mr. Tailor, can you please have your boys load my supplies into these good Gentlemen’s wagon, so we can be on our way?” he asked the store owner. The store owner’s sons quickly brought out five sealed boxes that were two feet wide, two feet long and two feet high and loaded them onto the wagon followed by two bags about the size of flour sacks and a large wooden barrel. “Well, that’s everything Gentlemen, shell we head to Tucson?” he asked as Santee mounted his horse and headed out of town.

 The three men rode west out of Lordsburg followed closely by Caed in the wagon, and Rooster far enough back as to stay out of sight of Santee and the group. “Hey Hawkins, what happened to your Mexican friend Rooster?” asked Santee. “He headed south down into Mexico, as he didn’t like the idea of going thru Apache country after seeing what they did to those Solders back in Lordsburg”. “Hawkins, I didn’t figure you to ride with men that would turn tale and run at the first sign of trouble, so I figured you had him following us just in case I wasn’t as friendly a fellow as you hopped I was, and if he is following us and your lying to me. Well, then your exactly the kind of man I think you are, and I respect you being cautious.” The group continued to ride west until they reached the small town of Doubtful Canyon where they ate dinner and spent the night. The next morning the group continued west and into the Chiricahua Mountains following the wagon trail thru the mountain pass. A couple miles out of town a loan rider was stopped in the middle of the trail, he appeared to be an old Apache Indian dressed in a white cotton tunic shirt and pants like the Mexicans wore with a red sash belt and breechcloth, and he had on hide moccasins. The Tall Texan didn’t hesitate putting the reins in his mouth and pulling his pistols, he started to spur his horse toward the Indian when Santee grabbed him by the shoulder. “Now hold on their partner, that’s Cactus Jack up ahead and we will need him to get thru these parts. So you may just want to hold off shooting him for now” Santee told him. The Tall Texan put his pistols back in his sash and took the reins back in his hands as Santee rode forward to meet the old Indian. The two appeared to be speaking, but the group could not hear the conversation, then Santee yelled back to the group. “Jack says the rode is clear up ahead and he talked with a group of Braves a while back to let them know we had paid to travel thru here. We should be able to get thru Apache pass without any difficulties”. The group rode forward with Cactus Jack and Santee leading the way. The group traveled thru the pass without seeing a single Apache warrior. “Hey Santee, where are these terrible Apache Warriors at, I haven’t seen one of them”, Santee tapped Jack on the shoulder and made some hand gestures to him and Jack began to laugh. Santee yelled back over his shoulder, “Oh they have been watching us, and if they wanted you to see them you would”.  All of a sudden gun fire erupted from behind the group. Several shots rang out as Rooster charged forward on his horse firing his pistol behind him, in pursuit were a dozen or more Apache warriors on horseback and several more on the hills above firing on him with Rifles. Rooster lay low in the saddle firing from his right side riding hard.  Jack spurred his horse toward Rooster as the men in the group pulled their pistols. Rooster looked up to see the Old Apache riding toward him and almost fell off his horse as he passed him making signs with his hands to the Apache Warriors who were in pursuit. “So I guess Rooster was following us all this time wasn’t he Hawkins?” Santee asked. Hawkins looked at Santee “Hell yes he was, I don’t take nothing to chance”. “I respect that Hawkins, but you almost got him killed. Guess I should have known you would have had someone following us”.  Jack rejoined the group and made hand signs to Santee, than headed west down the trail. “Jack says we should head west to Tucson, just in case Rooster actually hit one of the warriors he was shooting at, they may want payment for that as well” Santee told the group, then turned and followed Jack as the rest of the group all followed closely behind.

The group arrived in Tucson four days later and unpacked the goods that Santee had loaded onto the wagon at a Merchant near the downtown area. Santee stood talking with the store owner and he was paid an unknown amount of money. He then walked down the steps and rejoined the group. Jack stood near Hawkins, and he looked at the Old Apache, “Jack, I am not sure that you understand me, but thank you for helping us to get thru the pass and into Tucson”.  Jack stood there for a moment, “Your Welcome” he replied, “And tell your friend not to follow so far behind next time or I may not be able to help him”.  The group all looked at each other with amazement, as it was the first time Jack had spoken during the entire trip. Santee walked beside the Old Apache handing him a wade of Bills, then yelled over his should “If you boys need to head back east from here, just asked for Santee and Cactus Jack” as the two men walked away and down the street. Hawkins just shook his head looking at the ground. The rest of the group stood there wondering what had just happened. Hawkins looked at the group, “Let’s find a place to sleep and get some food, my head hurts.”  

From Texas to New Mexico

It was nearly midnight as the four men sat at the small dining room table on the first floor of the boarding house in Corpus Christi Texas. An overhead lamp illuminated the room as a map of the western part of North America was rolled out on the table in front of them. A candle holder kept one end of the map from rolling up and a pistol lay across the opposite end of the map. The four men sat and studied the map carefully in silence. “I still think we should head across Mexico and then north into Arizona”, said Rooster. The Tall Texan shook his head in disagreement, “The only way into Arizona is north thru Albuquerque and then west thru Flagpole and down south to Prescott”. Caed had a double edged knife in his right hand and the knife point was in the table and he was turning it with his fingers. “I still don’t see why we just can’t head directly thru southern Arizona passed Fort Bowie and then thru Tucson and north to Prescott” Caed replied. “The Tall Texan shook his head once again, “Rooster and I waited three days at Fort Bowie and traveled from there to Lordsburg with a company of Cavalry Soldiers and a group of about forty men thru the Chiricahua Mountains and the Apache were still brave enough to attack us and take shots at us all the way thru the Apache Pass. There is no way that the four of us and half a dozen horses will ever make it alone thru there.” He Replied. Caed sat back in response replacing the knife back into its sheath. Hawkins sat back in the chair looking at the map. “Well gentleman, we need to get there one way or another, and I prefer the quickest way. One way or another we need to leave here in two days and head west. I suggest we meet here in the morning and make a final decision then”. Rooster, and the Tall Texan got up from the chairs around the table and walked upstairs. Caed lined back in the chair looking at Hawkins. “Well, you ever fought an Apache before?” Hawkins shook his head slowly looking down at the table, deep in thought. “I need to take a walk” Hawkins replied. He picked the pistol up from the table that was laying on the map and stuck it into the holster on his rig. He then got up from the table and walked out the back door leaving Caed sitting in the dining room alone.

Hawkins walked down the back steps of the two story house and across the small yard to the street, he then headed north to where the shops, restaurants and saloons were located. As he approached a small saloon he could hear the music from a guitar travel thru the night air filling it with the sounds of Spanish music. He walked into the saloon and could see the guitar player in the far corner looking down and playing his instrument. He had heard this type of music in New Orleans, but the man in the saloon was a much better musician. Several men sat around the saloon and stood at the bar as two women served drinks and talked with customers. Two men were playing cards at a table near the middle of the room and Hawkins walked to the table placing a small leather bag down on it with a metallic clang. One of the men looked up smiling “Have a seat gringo” he said, as Hawkins pulled out a chair and joined the men at the table. He ordered a cup of coffee and put down two silver dollars on the middle of the table as they dealt his cards. Hawkins picked up the cards; he had a pair of twos a five and a Queen.  Hawkins placed two more silver dollars in the middle of the table and discarded the five and the Queen. The dealer took the cards and gave him two new ones; another two and an Ace. Hawkins smiled three of a kind Ace High, just like the men he would be riding with in a few days, it was a good sign and he called the deal winning the pot. It was going to be a good night of cards, he could feel it.

Hawkins walked out of the Saloon as the sun was rising in the Eastern sky. The three men had played cards till dawn and although he didn’t win more than eighty dollars, he felt more clear headed then he did the night before, and he knew where he wanted to go and where the four men were headed next. Walking back to the boarding house he could smell food being prepared up and down the street and it made him realize how hungry he was. He walked thru the front door of the boarding house and saw the other three men sitting down to breakfast in the small dining room. Hawkins took off his hat and joined them at the table as Mrs. Shelby, the wife of the boarding house owner, brought them each a plate with eggs, biscuits, sausage and gravy. She then brought in a pot of coffee and four cups pouring them each a cup. The three men sat in silence looking at him as Hawkins began to eat. “Well?” Caed finally said to him. Hawkins continued to hungrily eat the food in front of him. “We head north thru San Antonio, then east To Fort Stockton and on to Lordsburg.”, “And from there Gringo” Replied Rooster. “We look for someone to take us thru Apache country” Caed replied.  Rooster and the Tall Texan shook their heads in disbelief and then began to eat the food in front of them. Hawkins finished his plate of food, drank the last of the coffee in his cup and wiped his face. He then got up from the chair and began to leave the room. “Hey Hawkins, what are we supposed to do?” asked the Tall Texan. Hawkins turned around to face the Tall Texas “get the horses and pack, I’m going to bed” he then walked out of the room and up the stairs. The Tall Texan just shook his head in disbelief and continued to eat the food from his plate.  

The next morning Caed, Rooster and the Tall Texan were completing packing the gear onto the three pack mules in the stables on the north end of town, when Hawkins walked up followed up a cowboy in a red bib shirt, blue pants, black and red boots and a big Blue sombrero style hat. “Good Morning Gentlemen”.  “Were just about ready to go Hawkins, but I hear we may have to pay a small toll north of here to pass thru the King Ranch” Caed said. Hawkins smiled, “Meet Henry Jesop, seems he lost some money to me the other night and wanted to know how to earn it back.  Come to find out he works for the King Ranch and can help us get thru for the cost of the money he lost to me the other night.” Caed shook his head, “I just don’t know how you do it sometimes Hawkins, I just don’t know he replied". The five men mounted up and headed north toward San Antonio, Henry did as he promised and led the group thru the King Ranch and Hawkins paid him with two twenty dollar gold pieces which were more than Henry had lost to him at cards. Henry thanked the men as the four headed on thru San Antonio and onto Fort Stockton, a United States Army post, where they stayed three days to rest the horses and bought a small wagon for the mules to pull. The wagon would carry the supplies, and three barrels of water thru the desert ahead. The four men continued west thru El Paso, Las Cruces and onto Lordsburg thru the Desert following the wagon and stage trails heading to the Arizona Territory. The hot desert sun baked the men during the day and the cold desert nights made it hard to sleep.  Even though it was fall the Desert heat was relentless reaching into the mid-nineties during the mid-day. The men reached Lordsburg and found a hotel to stay in while they made plans to cross the Chiracaua Mountains.    

A trip to Texas

Caed, Cole Dakota, Mrs. Lilly and Hawkins sat in the second floor Bar of the paddle wheel steamboat Julius C. Wilkie talking until the sun began to rise on the eastern horizon discussing Cole and Mrs Lilly’s visit back east to a Congressman friend from Connecticut, the troubles in the Arizona Territory, and how Caed and Hawkins could be of use in helping to resolve their troubles back home. Cole removed a small leather pouch from his vest pocket and laid it on the table in front of Caed and Hawkins, it made a metallic clang as it hit the table . “Now I expect to see you two fellers just as we planned, you do this right and there will be twice as much in the next bag, Come on Lilly let’s leave these two gentlemen alone as I need to catch up on my rest to start the trip home to Arizona tomorrow. The four said their goodbyes and agreed upon a place and time to meet again in Arizona. Cole and Mrs. Lilly were in a rush to return home to Arizona, and would be getting off of the boat the next day. It would take Caed and Hawkins almost another four weeks to complete the contract they had signed, to work on the boat dealing Faro, before they could head west. They would depart when the boat returned to New Orleans and then head west from there. Hawkins made his way to his cabin located on the third floor and then undressed and climbed into bed setting the small brass pistol on the table next to him and the ivory handled knife under his pillow. It had been a long evening and he needed the rest. As he lay there in bed Hawkins thought about the conversation he had with Cole and Mrs. Lilly. He was sure that Cole was a good man, and Caed had never got the sense that he was lying to them. He closed his eyes and rolled over on his side as his mind drifted into a state of sleep as he dreamed about places he had never seen, but only heard about.   

The next four weeks went quickly as Caed and Hawkins dealt Faro and discussed the trip west and how to best arrive unseen once they made it to Arizona. All of their gear was stored by the steamboat company in New Orleans and they would gather all of it and make plans from there. The Juliius C. Wilkie arrived in New Orleans as scheduled and Cade and Hawkins collected the fifteen hundred dollars each from the steam line company as payment, and found a hotel to stay in until they were able to locate a ship heading to Galveston, Texas. The steam line delivered three trunks to the hotel, and a letter asking the two men to sign on for another six month contract for nearly three thousand dollars each. It was a great offer, but the men had made an agreement with Cole and Mrs. Lilly and they had never gone back on their word. Caed left to go and find a ship traveling west as Hawkins opened the trunks and stared to sort thru the clothing, hats and other gear. He pulled a leather rifle case from the trunk and removed his 1866 Henry Carbine. It felt good to hold the rifle back in his hands again and the action was still smooth. He also took out a seven inch revolver still in its holster and wrapped in the belt. It was hard to believe it had been over a year since he had held the firearms in his hands again. After what had happened in Virginia, he was glad to have Cade to watch his back this time around. It seemed that Caed had only been gone a few minutes, as Hawkins went thru the rest of the gear separating out what they would not need when he walked back thru the door. “Looks like we have a ride to Galveston on new ship that just arrived today called the Elissa”. “Good work Caed, we should be ready by tomorrow, and everything is here. We just need some more ammo and we should be set”. The two men sat of the floor side by side cleaning the pistols and rifles they removed from the trunks and sorting clothes; they worked till late in the night and then went to bed in preparation to board the ship the next day.

Caed was already down stairs in the dining area eating breakfast as Hawkins walked down the stairs followed by six men carrying the three trunks. Hawkins was dressed in black boots, black pants, white shirt, black and white striped vest, a bowler hat, and his Burgundy Jacket with black velvet cuffs and collar. Most everyone in the dining area watched Hawkins walking down the stairs as Caed just shook his head. As Hawkins approached the table, Caed spoke without looking up at him, “You know, you do that in Arizona and everyone in town will know who you are.”  “I know Caed, that is why I pulled it out this morning, it has been over a year since I wore this Jacket” Hawkins replied as he stood their taking in all the attention he could from those looking in his direction.  Turning to the men with the trunks, “Gentlemen, please take the green one back to the steam boat company and the two blue ones to the sailing ship Elissa down at the Docks". Hawkins then joined Caed at the table removing his hat and the two men ate breakfast together before heading down to the docks.

The ship Elissa was a three-masted, iron-hulled sailing ship that had been built in Aberdeen, Scotland and it was a beautiful sailing ship. The Elissa was in a class of Tall Sailing ships classified by the configuration of the sailing rig called a barque. It was well equipped and a fast sailing ship. The two men were amazed by the cabins on board and the professional manor of the Captain and crew. As always Caed had done a great job at finding them transportation. It would take only three days for the ship to sail from New Orleans to Galveston and another two days from Galveston to Corpus Christi, where Caed and Hawkins would disembark. Corpus Christi was a small coastal town, but had everything the two men would need for the journey to Arizona. The town was filled with Vaqueros, cowboys, sailors, and towns’ people as cattle were driven on and off ships and thru the city. The two men fit in as they had put away their fancy clothing from back east and dressed as Texas cowboys. Caed was dressed in black pants a tan shirt and black vest with a tan Stetson hat, Hawkins was in tan pants, Moccasin boots, green shirt and had a large Texas style straw hat on. The two men both wore their pistol belts and were fully armed, as most Texans were, and no one seemed to notice them. The two trunks were delivered to a small boarding house on the eastern edge of Corpus Christi as Caed and Hawkins went about purchasing food, horses, ammo and other supplies they would need. They planned to purchase the equipment and hopefully find a guild to take them most of the way to Arizona in a day or so. After purchasing five horses Caed and Hawkins went and ate lunch at a small restaurant. While the two men sat and ate, Caed saw a man over six feet tall wearing gray pants, two ivory handled pistols in a red sash, a red vest, white shirt, yellow silk scarf and tan hat with long hair down past his shoulders looking thru the window of the restaurant. He stopped looking when he saw Caed and Hawkins and turned and yelled something inaudible to an unseen individual as he walked away. Caed spoke without looking up, “Hey, I think someone found us”, “Dame, I had hoped to have been here longer than this, Maybe I should have worn my Jacket” Caed, just chuckled in response.  After eating, they checked their pistols under the table and headed out to the street unafraid of what may await them. “Now Caed, if they start shooting just stay low and keep firing”, Caed nodded as the two walked up the street. Caed spotted the tall man following them as they walked toward the boarding house where they were staying. The two men walked around the corner of a small barn and Caed ran around to the other side of the building as Hawkins stood in place with pistol drawn. The man ran around the corner of the barn and saw Hawkins pistol pointed straight in his face only inches away. The man thru up both hands and shouted “Whoa there Hawkins, don’t shoot me, dame the Boss said you were good” He then heard a click behind him as Caed cocked his pistol behind the tall man. “I was sent by Cole to help you get to Arizona” the tall man exclaimed. Then Caed heard a click behind him as the hammer of a single action shotgun cocked. “Looks like what we have here is a Mexican standoff amigos, and since I am the only Mexican I win” , “Rooster, knock it off before you get me shot dame it” The Tall man replied. “I’m the Tall Texan, and this is Rooster, Cole sent us here and said you would be arriving sometime this week and that we were supposed to guide you back to Arizona”. “Alright Texan, what is it that Cole told me never to ask him to do?” “Ah, that would be to play cards with him” replied the tall man. Hawkins lowered his pistol and un-cocked it as did Caed. Rooster put the shot gun back over his shoulder and the four men walked together to the boarding house. They had much to talk about and plans to make for the trip into Arizona and Hawkins didn’t want to leave anything to chance.  

A new Pistol

For those of you that may have seen the show American Guns on the Discovery Channel, it is filmed here in Wheat Ridge Colorado. I visited the Gunsmoke store today and had the opportunity to meet Rich Wyatt and his daughter Paige. The staff, Rich, and Paige were extremely friendly and very helpful. The store was full of customers, but I did not get the feeling that anyone was being ignored even with the amount of people in the store. Rich was posing for pictures and signing his autograph for customers as well as chating about the firearms in the store and what people were looking for. I found a great new Pistol just in time for Christmas and look forward to the chance to fire it. Thanks Rich and the crew at Gunsmoke for helping me find a great new Pistol and be sure to catch their show American Guns on the Discovery Channel.     

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/american-guns/

A man named Cole Dakota

The sulfur grey smoke filled the air and blocked the view of anything you could see that was more than a few feet in front of him. Hawkins laid flat on the ground next to the 1861 Parrott Rifled Cannon on top of the trampled grass, the cannon ramrod held firm in his left hand next to him on the ground. He could still feel the ringing in his ears, that he had become so accustomed to, as only moments before the four gun battery hand been firing again and again, sending round after round across the field against the oncoming Confederate army. The pistol he wore on his side, in the black leather military holster, dug uncomfortably into his hip causing him to adjust his position in the grass. Hawkins could see Private Rodgers lying in the grass on the opposite side of the cannon, pistol in one hand and ramrod in the other. He could sense Sgt. Hampton kneeling near the back of the cannon behind him. They could all hear the sounds of combat and rifles firing at some distance away and all awaited the next command from Capt. Vander Maten who was somewhere behind them, most likely trying to see thru the smoke, that had been caused by the repeated firing of the cannons, with his binoculars. Suddenly a lone rider on a horse burst thru the smoke rearing back and pointing his pistol at the men around the cannon and pulled the trigger. Hawkins could see the burst of smoke and flame from the end of the pistol, as he awoke suddenly siting up from the bed he was lying in and reaching for where his holstered pistol would have been.

The room was pitched black and he could smell the sulfur smoke in the air from the engines of the paddle wheeler. The sound of gun fire could be heard just outside of his room. He rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to what little light there was in the room. He still awoke from dreams of battle, even though the war had ended almost ten years ago. “Some dame fools standing out on deck shooting at something” he thought to himself. Hawkins got out of bed and opened the window slats on the small window of the cabin. There was a stand in the corner of the room with a bowl and water pitcher on it. A mirror was attached to the wall above the stand. He poured water into the bowl and splashed water onto his face and head. He picked up a small towel from the chair next to the stand and dried his face and head. He looked out the window and could see the sky alight with red and yellow streaks as the sun was setting. His vest hung from the back of the chair and he removed the watch in the pocket to see what time it was, almost eight pm, “Time to get dressed for work and go meet Caed” he thought to himself. Hawkins got dressed in his white cotton shirt with alabaster buttons, red silk vest, black pants and black lace shoes. He tied the black string tie around the collar of his shirt and then put a small brass double barrel ivory handle pistol into his pocket and a pearl handled double edged knife into the sheath located on his right side. He left his small cabin on the second floor of the paddle wheel steamboat Julius C. Wilkie and started walking down to the game room on the first floor. Passengers and crew were active all over the ship as dinner was finished being served, and people made their way down to the game room on the first floor of the five deck paddle wheel steamboat. The passengers were dressed in their very best as they walked about the ship. There were ladies in European style dresses wearing fancy ear rings and necklaces, some had their hair up in a bun held in place with long Pins topped by Ivory or other gem stones while others wore fancy feather covered hats. The men all wore jackets and hats mostly dressed in black. Hawkins would node his head and say good evening as he walked past the many passengers in the corridors. He stopped in the small bar located mid ship on the second floor, as It was where you could usually find him, if he wasn’t working in the game room or sleeping. Tim, the African American bar tender was wiping glasses and preparing the bar for a busy evening. “Hey Tim, can you get me some coffee and a bowl of soup?”, Tim nodded his head, “Sure Hawkins”. Tim went thru a door behind the bar leading into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of soup and coffee. Both were hot and tasted good. Hawkins chatted with Tim for a short while as a few customers entered the small bar and ordered drinks then sat down to visit with friends. Tim was a good bartender and a friendly fellow; he had worked as a bartender in one of the many bars in New Orleans before joining the crew on the Paddle Wheeler and always seemed to know what was going on aboard ship. “Hey, what was all that shooting about earlier that woke me up out of a sound sleep?” He asked Tim. “Oh, that was the big Russian Latimer, He challenged some fellow to a shooting match to see who would pay the bill for drinks, they spent most the day over there in the corner drinking and looking at a bunch of papers”.  

Hawkins finished the soup and got another cup of coffee from Tim, then headed to the game room. He walked the short distance along the ship and down the stairs to the first floor deck and entered the large double doors into the game room. The band was already playing music on the large elevated stage toward the bow of the ship. Some couples danced on the dance floor at the foot of the stage while others sat at tables. The room was well light by Kerosene lamps located on the walls and on the tables. The room was bustling with people looking for open tables to sit or a place on the dance floor where waiters were serving passengers. Hawkins walked toward the rear of the game room where the poker and Faro tables were located. Caed was sitting at one of the three Faro Tables with the Case keeper in front of him with a nervous look on his face, he looked liked he was saying something to the people seated at the table. Three men and two women sitting at the table, but Hawkins could not hear what Caed was saying to them over the music and noise in the room. The Case Keeper was a small wooden box that folded in half on a brass hinge. On the inside of the box were miniature cards that marked Ace thru king with a metal bar and four beads on each bar. In the card game Faro, a card was played and one of the four markers for each card would be moved to mark that the particular card had been played and it was Caed’s job to keep track of all the cards and when they were played.   

Hawkins walked the thirty feet or so to the table and when Caed caught sight of him he smiled with a look of relief. Caed was a good Case Keeper and although he had not been playing the game very long. However playing Faro just about every night on the ship, for the last year or so, had taught him quite a bit about the game. Hawkins sat down at the table and apologized for being tardy, and explained that his delay was unavoidable. The players didn’t seem to care as Hawkins cut the soda card from the deck and Caed marked it in the Case Keeper. The players placed their bets on the table and Hawkins turned the first card over called the dealers Card, a two of Harts and Caed marked it in the Case Keeper. Next Hawkins turned the next card in the deck over called the players card, a five of Spades and Cade marked it in the Case Keeper. Hawkins collected a chip that had been placed on the two, and no one had bet on the five. He continued to deal cards this same way for the next few hours drinking coffee and talking a short break to stand when the cards had to be reshuffled. Around one o’clock that morning a cowboy dressed in black slacks, a blue shirt and black vest with a black Stetson hat made his way over to the table. He had a woman with him dressed in a long blue dress that looked like it had been made in France. The couple held hands as they approached and the cowboy took a seat at the Faro table while the woman stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders. Hawkins dealt the last two cards from the deck and collected chips from the losers and paid the winners. The other players left the table as Hawkins began to shuffle the cards to start a new Faro game. The Cowboy had a serious look on his face and looked Hawkins up and down as he shuffled the cards. Hawkins took the deck and placed the cards on the table in front of him.  “Welcome friend, I haven’t seen you and your lady before tonight, you just get on board earlier today?” The Cowboy nodded in response. “You here to player Faro” Hawkins asked him. The Cowboy slowly shook his head then replied “I’ve heard lots about you Hawkins, mostly good that is”, “Well that is nice to know”, Hawkins replied. “Do you mind if we talk in private for a moment?” the Cowboy asked. Hawkins looked at Caed, “Hey, why don’t you go and stretch a bit and get us some coffee Caed”. Caed got up from the table and walked away. “Please sir, you may proceed”. “Hawkins, my name is Cole Dakota and I got a Ranch out in Arizona Territory, and if you’re as good as they say you are I could use some assistance from you” Hawkins picked up the card deck in front of him and began to shuffle them again then placed the deck of cards in front of Cole, Cole cut the cards and pushed them back to Hawkins. Hawkins then turned the top four cards over from the top of the Deck, all four Aces. Cole sat back in the chair and smiled, “Son, it looks like you and I can do business together, just don’t ask me to play cards with you” The two men shook hands across the table and Caed came back with the coffee cups for him and Hawkins. “Caed here is my back up and I trust him, let’s go upstairs and talk” The two men got up and all four walked to the second floor Bar to discuss the business Cole Dakota needed assistance with in the Arizona Territory.

Back at the Buckhorn Exchange Resturant in Denver on Sunday Dec 4th

Hawkins and Caed Aldwych will be back at the Buckhorn Exchange Restaurant and Saloon in Denver hosting our Faro game in the upstairs Saloon area. The Buckhorn Exchange is the oldest Restaurant and Bar in Denver established in 1893and a great place to have dinner and learn about the history of Colorado. Many famous people have dinned in this amazing location on some of the great food they serve such as Prime grade beef steaks, buffalo prime rib, elk, salmon, quail, game hen, and succulent baby-back pork ribs, these are just some of the marvelous offerings on the Buckhorn menu. They also have some amazing exotic appetizers such as alligator tail, rattlesnake and buffalo sausage available, and no dinner is complete without the house specialty, Rocky Mountain Oysters. So be sure to make plans to come visit the Buckhorn Exchange this Sunday to have an amazing dinner and try your luck at a game of Faro in the upstairs Saloon.

http://www.buckhornexchange.com/

1000 Osage Str. 

Denver, CO 80204 

303-534-9505