On This Day in the Old West November 13

On November 13, California elected its first governor and Seattle, Washington was first settled. Peter Hardeman Burnett was elected governor of California nearly a year before it became the 31^st state in the Union. Raised in a slave-owning family in Missouri, a heavily indebted Burnett headed westward, initially residing in Oregon Country.

As the Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon, Burnett pushed for the exclusion of African Americans from the territory. He authored “Burnett’s Lash Law,” which authorized the flogging of any Blacks who refused to leave Oregon. The law was deemed “unduly harsh,” and was largely ignored before it was rescinded in 1845.

When news of the discovery of gold in California reached him in 1848, Burnett moved his family to the territory. He reestablished his political career and was elected governor in 1849. Though he had owned slaves in Tennessee, Burnett opposed calls to make California a slave state, instead pushing for the total exclusion of Blacks. He also favored the elimination of California’s indigenous tribes and exclusion of the Chinese workers so prevalent in the territory. Similarly, Burnett also favored increased taxation of foreign immigrants. 

So, not what modern Americans would call a good man, or a good politician, but he is part of California’s history and your characters may have heard of him.

 

On November 13, 1851, the Denny party landed at Alki Point, not far from the site of current-day Seattle in Washington Territory. The party had traveled over the Oregon Trail from Illinois to Portland. However, they found the Willamette Valley already overly crowded for their taste. David Denny and John Low were sent out to scout Puget Sound and met Leander “Lee” Terry on the way. On September 5, they arrived at the mouth of the Duwamish River and Low and Terry staked claims along Alki Beach three days later, calling their settlement “New York.” Low then returned to Portland with a note from David Denny, urging his older brother Arthur to “come at once.” Arthur had been ill and was convalescing in Portland.

 

Arthur Denny, John Low, along with eight other adults and twelve children, set sail aboard the schooner Exact, arriving at Alki Beach on November 13. Today, a pylon marks the event at Alki Beach in West Seattle. The women of the party found the situation “most discouraging.” According to William Bell, another member of the party, 

“…our goods and chattles were sent ashore at near low tide on 13 of Nov 1851 near Noon. The Women and children of our party set to work to help get them above high tide then the ladys sat down on the logs and took A Big Cry.”

The women in question were Mary Ann Denny (wife of Arthur and mother to their three children), Lydia Low (wife of John, with four children), Mary Boren (wife of Carson with one child), Sarah Ann Bell (wife of William with four children), and Louisa Boren, single (she would later marry David Denny).

The names and ages of the Denny Party on November 13, 1851, were:

            Families:

• Arthur A Denny, 29
• Mary Ann Denny, 28
• Louisa Catherine (Kate) Denny, 7
• Margaret Lenora (Lenora) Denny, 4
• Rolland H. Denny, 6 weeks
• John N. Low, 31
• Lydia Low, 31
• Mary L. Low, 8
• Alonzo Low, 6
• John V. Low, 4
• Minerva Low, 2
• Carson D. Boren, 26
• Mary Boren, 20
• Livonia Gertrude Boren, 11 months
• William N. Bell, 34
• Sarah Ann Bell, 32
• Laura Keziah Bell, 8
• Olive Julia Bell, 5
• Mary Virginia (Virginia) Bell, 4
• Alvina Lavina (Lavina) Bell, 9 months

Single adults:

• Louisa Boren, 24 
• David T. Denny, 19 
• Charles C. Terry, 23 
• Leander (Lee) Terry, 33

The party’s passage from Portland to the new settlement was a difficult one, particularly for the still-ill Arthur Denny. When they arrived, his brother David greeted them with the words, “I wish you hadn’t come.”

Arthur was “bitterly disappointed” that Low and Lee Terry had already staked the relevant claims along the shore. However, in the midst of heavy rainfall, with no other shelter other than the makeshift cabin they’d started, Arthur had no choice but to pitch in, finish the cabin, and settle in for the winter. Once the worst of the weather cleared, Denny and other party members explored as far as Commencement Bay (now the site of Tacoma), Port Orchard, Smith Cove, and up the Duwamish River to the present site of Pullyallup, before they settled on an island in the mudflats near the east shore of Elliott Bay, now the site of Pioneer Square.

For the next three years, Alki Point and Elliott Bay competed as rival townsites. Terry and Low could not attract settlers to their smaller townsite, and people facetiously began calling it “New York Alki,” or “New York bye-and-bye” in the Chinook jargon. Seattle was now the townsite in the new territory.

Your characters may not have known the particulars of the establishment of Seattle, but who knows? Maybe they knew one or more of the settlers or ran into them in Portland before they relocated. Any little historical tidbit can add real life to your stories.

 

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Mancos Colorado and Surrounding Area

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

This is a repost from earlier.

How many have heard of Mancos? For those of us who live in Colorado, it is the name of the town and river in southwest Colorado.

The name, Rio de Los Mancos, first appears in the records of the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition. The story is that one of the writers fell and hurt his hand; thus the word 'mancos' which means left-handed or one-armed.

The Mancos River, originally called El Rio de San Lazaro,  begins Northeast of the town of Mancos. At that point, the West Mancos and East Mancos rivers join and continue South through that part of Colorado into northern New Mexico, near the Four Corners region.

Mancos and surrounding area
from Wikipedia 

For some of you, this may sound familiar. Why? It is also one of the entrances to Mesa Verde National Park. Along with the Ute Mountain Ute Mancos Canyon Historic District, a private park, it makes up one of the largest archaeological preserves in the United States. This region is important as a window into the culture of the Anasazi present in the area before the influx of the Spanish, English, and others.

The Mancos Valley, where the town of Mancos is situated, was described in an 1897 article as “lying along the eastern border of the county of Montezuma. It is about twelve miles long and two to three miles wide. It is the county's oldest farming section, first settled around 1877. Probably three thousand acres are under cultivation in this valley, which is famous for its immense yields of alfalfa, wheat, and oats.”  The article also says the town of Mancos is incorporated and has all the different branches of business and industry that make up a thriving western town. It is a supply point for the La Plata mines in Montezuma County. Ranching also took place in the general area.

During the recent devastating flooding in Southwestern Colorado, Mancos was less impacted than some other areas.

As I research my next book, I will continue my search in Montezuma County, Mancos, Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, and the stories this historically rich area has to offer.

Until next time:

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

On This Day in the Old West October 9

 October 9, 1855, was a good day if you were an inventor. Two famous inventions were patented on this date: the Singer sewing machine and the calliope.

Isaac Merritt Singer was granted U.S. Patent No. 13,661 for his “Improvement in Sewing Machines.” He was not the first to dream up a mechanical sewing device, but he was able to create a machine that “was truly practical, reliable, and suitable for everyday use.” Singer’s patent introduced two key enhancements: a spring thread-guide to control slack in the lower thread and an improved feed that ensured consistent stitch spacing and smoother operation.

The eighth child of poor German immigrants, Isaac Singer was born on October 27, 1811, in Pittstown, New York. As a young man he worked as a mechanic and cabinetmaker. For a time, Singer worked for a plant in Fredericksburg, Ohio, that manufactured wooden type for printers. “Seeing the need for a better type-carving machine, he invented an improved one.”

 

In June 1850, Singer and a partner took the machine to Boston looking for financial support. He rented display space in the workshop of Orson C. Phelps. Here Singer became intrigued with the sewing machine that Phelps was building for John A. Lerow and Sherburne C. Blodgett. Analyzing the flaws of the Lerow and Blodgett sewing machine, Singer devised a machine that used a shuttle that moved in a straight path—as opposed to theirs, which moved around in a complete circle. He visualized replacing their curved horizontal needle with a straight, vertically moving needle. Phelps approved of Singer’s ideas and Isaac worked on perfecting his machine.

Singer’s patent depicted a table or bench with a shuttle race below. His drawings (included in the patent) show how his shuttle carrier, driver arms, and thread guide all “worked in concert, keeping tension stable and minimizing thread snags.” Unlike many earlier machines, Singer’s design let you sew continuously, even over curves or irregular fabric edges.

Over time, Isaac Singer’s machines became renowned for “their durability, utility, and adaptability to both industrial and home use.” His company, I.M. Singer & Company, merged with Edward Clark in the mid-1850s. They pioneered marketing strategies like installment plans and aggressive door-to-door sales. These helped make sewing machines not only affordable, but ubiquitous. The October 9, 1855 patent “represents a turning point: not the first sewing machine in history, but the one that pushed the technology into mainstream use.”

Joshua C. Stoddard of Worcester. Massachusetts also received a patent on October 9, 1855, for a calliope. The calliope is an American musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas (originally steam or, more recently, compressed air) through large whistles (originally locomotive whistles). In 1851, William Hoyt of Dupont, Indiana claimed to have conceived of a device like Stoddard's calliope, but he never patented it.

Joshua C. Stoddard was born in 1814 in Pawlet, Vermont. He gained his education in the public schools and went to work for his father on the family farm, becoming an expert beekeeper. For most of this life, including on his own farm in Worcester, honey seems to have been a substantial part of his income. Stoddard was, by all accounts, a religious man who felt the end of the world was nigh, but he was also described as “something of a poet” and a music-lover. 

Stoddard had “the curiosity and craftsmanship of an inventor” and he earned sixteen patents during his life. Most of these were for farm equipment, like the horse-rake and hay tedder, both used for drying and preventing decay in newly cut hay. He also invented a fruit paring machine. Among his non-agricultural patents were two improvements to fire escapes.

“We can assume that he knew about church organs, and we know he was fascinated by the whistles on steam trains.”

Stoddard called his invention the American patented steam piano and started the American Steam Music Company that same year to produce and market his instruments. 

Stoddard originally intended the steam piano to serve as a signaling device for railroads and coastal & river steamboats. A myth popularized in the 1950s claims that he invented it to replace carillons to call worshipers to church services! Calliopes are typically very loud—even a small calliope can be heard for miles because there is no way to vary tone or volume. 

The whistles of a calliope are tuned to a chromatic scale, although this process is difficult and must be repeated often to maintain quality sound. Since the pitch of each note is largely affected by the temperature of the steam, accurate tuning is nearly impossible; however, the off-pitch notes (particularly in the upper register) have become something of a trademark of the steam calliope. A calliope may have anywhere from 25 to 67 whistles, but 32 is traditional for a steam calliope.

Stoddard’s original steam piano was attached “to a metal roller set with pins,” a setup familiar to Stoddard from the contemporary clockwork music box. The pins on his roller opened valves, which then admitted steam into the whistles. Later, the inventor replaced the cylinder with a keyboard, so the instrument could be played like an organ.

One of Stoddard’s five brothers was supposedly a steamship captain, and one source claims it was this brother’s idea to install a steam piano on his ship, The Armenia. The fact is, the first use of a calliope on a steamship was on The Armenia, so this source may have been on the right track with the tale. Soon, every steamboat had its own steam piano.

Around fifteen years after Stoddard patented his invention, P.T. Barnum was crossing the Ohio River on a ferry and heard the steam piano for the first time. He thought the attention-grabbing instrument would be an excellent addition to his extravaganza, but he didn’t like the name. He did a little research and found the seventh Greek muse. Her name came from the Greek words “kallos,” meaning beautiful, and “ops,” meaning voice. So Barnum called the “beautiful-voiced” machine after Calliope. That’s the name we know it by today.

Barnum was a better marketer than Stoddard.

Your character may have come in contact with a Singer sewing machine, either in someone’s home or in an industrial setting, but they would have been almost guaranteed to have heard a calliope in a circus or on a steamboat. Little details like these can add a lot of flavor to your Western stories, which readers love to spot.

J.E.S.. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Sources:

https://amac.us/history/isaac-singer-patented-the-sewing-machine-motor-this-day-in-history

https://www.si.edu/object/1851-isaac-singers-sewing-machine-patent-model%3Anmah_1071133

https://tnocs.com/musical-inventors-11-the-calliope-joshua-c-stoddard/

Some thoughts on writing the Western novel

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image property of Doris McCraw

I have been thinking about writing historical novels, specifically Westerns.  When I look at the judging rubrics, how should I use them in my writing? (Please note, this post has nothing to do with the current judging for the Peacemaker Awards)

1.     Historical Authenticity & Research

o   Accurately portrays time period, geography, technology, language, and social norms

o   Real events, policies, or conflicts are woven in without info-dumping

o   Anachronisms are absent or extremely rare

2.     Sense of Place & Atmosphere

o   Making the landscape of the West vivid and integral to the story

o   Weather, terrain, and isolation: how it influences character choices and plot

o   Setting feels lived-in, realistic

3.     Character Depth & Transformation

o   Protagonists fit the moral, cultural, and emotional tensions of the era

o   Characters evolve in response to hardship, conflict, or love

o   Secondary characters are distinct and support the plot

4.     Conflict, Stakes & Plot Momentum

o   Central conflicts arise realistically from historical and personal pressures

o   Stakes feel real with consequences

o   Action, quiet moments, and reflection are balanced while keeping engagement

5.     Thematic Resonance & Emotional Impact

o   Explores Western themes like survival, land use, justice, identity, or change

o   Avoids clichés while still honoring the myth of the West

o   Leaves a lasting emotional or intellectual impression

Would you add or change anything above? I appreciate the feedback.

Image property of Doris McCraw

Until next time.

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

 

On This Day in the Old West September 11

 I’m certain we’re all preoccupied with the anniversary of a much later September 11^th, but for this blog, I’d like to focus on something a bit lighter. On September 11, 1875, “Professor Tidwissel’s (possibly Tigwissel’s) Burglar Alarm,” a seventeen-panel comic strip, appeared in The New York Daily Graphic. This was the first multi-panel comic strip to ever appear in an American newspaper.

The strip shows an eccentric professor who designs an overly complicated contraption to catch burglars, only for the invention to (inevitably) backfire on himself. It was a satire on the growing, overly complicated home security business. The artist, Livingston “Hop” Hopkins, later emigrated to Australia, where he became one of the country’s most influential political cartoonists.

While political cartoons and single-panel illustrations were common in the mid 19^th century, this comic “pioneered sequential storytelling in newsprint, paving the way for the golden age of newspaper comic strips like The Yellow Kid and The Katzenjammer Kids decades later.” In the 1870s, American newspaper illustrations were almost entirely single-panel political cartoons or isolated satirical sketches with heavy text underneath. By combining seventeen successive pictures across a full page, Hopkins introduced Americans to “sequential art:” the process of reading a narrative that unfolds across a grid of images over time.

The comic strip introduced the physical structure that modern readers take for granted: “a structured grid of individual cells (‘panels’) separated by blank spaces (‘the gutters’).” This established a “visual language” where the reader’s eye naturally tracks action from left to right and top to bottom, “training the American public how to consume a visual narrative layout.” Instead of using static characters, Professor Tidwissel’s Burglar Alarm relied heavily on “physical comedy, motion, and chronological progression:” showing a character setting an alarm, the alarm malfunctioning, and the immediate comedic consequences. This greatly influenced later “screwball” slapstick strips like Mutt and Jeff.

The character of the eccentric professor “obsessing over an overly engineered, counter-productive technological contraption” became a staple of early comics—and later, movies and tv shows. This “directly anticipated” the “Rube Goldberg machines” and comic characters like Gus Mager’s Professor Bughouse, “demonstrating that technology and modern domestic frustration were fertile ground for newspaper satire.”

Later famous comics like Richard F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid (1895) popularized speech balloons and mass market syndication, but they built “upon the real estate” that Professor Tidwissel’s Burglar Alarm originally carved out. Hopkins proved that a whole page of a daily newspaper could be “dedicated exclusively to a fictional cartoon sequence, prompting editors to realize that visual humor could be a powerful tool for driving newspaper circulation.”

Your characters could have easily picked up a copy of The New York Daily Graphic at their local saloon or men’s club—or, if they had the money, might even have had a subscription themselves. Readers at the time probably had no idea they were seeing something brand new, something that would begin a trend toward the modern graphic novel. However, the comic strip would have evoked a chuckle, and that’s all “Hop” Hopkins was after.

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Zebulon Pike - The Rest of the Story?

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

An early photo of Pikes Peak

I've been talking about Colorado becoming a state. In this post, I'll be looking back to before Colorado was even conceived.

Zebulon Montgomery Pike: Born in January of 1779 in Lamington, New Jersey. His father, Zebulon Pike Sr., was an Army officer who began his career in 1775 during the Revolutionary War. Pike Senior achieved the rank of Major and moved from New Jersey to Illinois, Pennsylvania, and other western areas. He died in Indiana in 1834 at the age of 82.

Pike Jr. enlisted at the age of 15. In 1805, he was sent out on an expedition to find the source of the Mississippi River. He erroneously said the river began at Leech Lake. The actual source was Lake Itasca, twenty-five miles further.

Of course, 1806 was his journey into the 'Southwest' and the failed attempt to climb the mountain that now bears his name. He was arrested in 1807 by the Spanish for entering their territory, in what is now Southern Colorado, and taken to Santa Fe.

He continued his military service through the southern portion of the United States, and when the War of 1812 started, then-Brigadier General Pike led a successful attack on York (Toronto) but was killed in 1813 in the same area when a powder magazine exploded.

He also eloped with his cousin Clarissa Brown in 1801. Of their five children, only one child, a daughter, lived to adulthood.

When he was captured by the Spanish in 1807,  they confiscated his journals and other papers. They were returned by the Mexican government in 1907.

I had the privilege of viewing and photographing Pike's saber and journal. Enjoy.

All images property of Doris McCraw

Until next time:

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

On This Day in the Old West August 14

 On August 14, 1848, the United States Congress approved the formation of the Oregon Territory. At that time, the territory included the present-day states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. Its southern border was the 42^nd parallel north, (the boundary of the Adams-Onis Treaty of  1819) and it extended north to the 49^thparallel. The capital city was Oregon City, not far from Portland. This was moved to Salem, then briefly to Corvalis, then back to Salem again. Despite its size, Oregon Territory had a sparse population. The 1850 census recorded only 13,294 residents.

This was a time of rapid expansion under the James Knox Polk administration, with its emphasis on Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion. The Oregon Territory quickly became a magnet for diverse groups of immigrants and settlers. The deep wagon wheel ruts created by the massive migration can still be seen, marking the Oregon Trail. Two years previously, the United States and Great Britain had signed the Oregon Border Treaty, which guaranteed the U.S. claims to the Oregon Territory. In December 1848, President Polk announced the discovery of gold in the newly conquered territory of California. 90,000 immigrants raced from their homes around the world to the newly discovered goldfields. These provided residents of Oregon Territory with an important and valuable market for agricultural and timber products.

Initially, Oregon Territory suffered population losses due to California gold, but the long-term population gains and prosperous markets created by the gold rush brought additional settlement to the Pacific Northwest. It also led to firmer federal control of the newly conquered lands and the violent displacement of Native American settlements. 

In 1853, Washington Territory was carved out of the original Oregon Territory, with the southern boundaries being the lower Columbia River and the 46^th parallel east of that river. The Oregon Constitutional Convention was held in 1857 “to draft a constitution in preparation for becoming a state.” Delegates approved this document in September, and the populace voted “yea” in November. The territory entered the Union on February 14, 1859 as the U.S. state of Oregon, with its current boundaries. The rest of the eastern portion of the territory (the portions of present-day southern Idaho and western Wyoming) were added to Washington Territory.

Your characters might have come down the Oregon Trail to settle in the new territory, or they might have been born and raised in Oregon. At any rate, Oregon Territory and Oregon state make great settings for your stories.

 

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Sources:

https://www.nps.gov/places/formation-of-the-oregon-territory.htm

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/oregon-territory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Territory

https://www.nwyc.com/article/this_week_in_history_oregon_territory

Women and Colorado Statehood

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

As Colorado made its journey to statehood, the women's suffrage movement took note. They noted that they might get suffrage into the constitution of a new state.

Dr. Alida Avery

The Colorado Woman Suffrage Association was formed in early 1876. One of the early presidents of the association was Dr. Alida C. Avery, who moved to Denver in 1874, leaving her nine-year teaching job at Vassar. The goal of the association prior to 1876 was to have universal voting rights included in the state constitution.

Dr. Avery was the second woman medical school graduate to practice medicine in Colorado. The first was Dr. Eliza Gillette by a few months. 

Dr. Avery spearheaded the collection of petitions for the Constitutional Convention to ensure women wouldn't be excluded. 

Eliza P. Routt

Eliza Pickerell Routt was the wife of John Routt, Colorado Territory's last governor and the state of Colorado's first governor.

The Routts had moved to Colorado Territory in March of 1875 after John's appointment as governor by President Grant.

Eliza, like John, was a proponent of women's suffrage and involved in the above-mentioned Association. 

Although women did not get universal voting rights in the 1876 constitution, they were granted the right to vote in school board elections. In 1877, the fight continued, and in 1893 Colorado became the first state to guarantee women the right to vote in its constitution.

For further reading on these two women:

Dr. Alida Avery: Colorado's Women's Hall of Fame

Eliza P. Routt: Colorado Women's Hall of Fame

Until next time

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

 

Colorado 150 - It Became a Reality

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

With July 4th fast approaching and the 250th anniversary of the United States, and with August 1st following shortly thereafter, we have the 150th anniversary of the State of Colorado. With these two dates in mind, and the journey I've been taking on Colorado becoming the 38th state, I thought I would see if there were any correlations between Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson, and the men who brought about Colorado's admittance to the Union.

John Evans 

These are personal observations. So, let's start with Benjamin Franklin. In looking at the life of Benjamin Franklin, his accomplishments, and his history with the declaration and what came before. Franklin was an inventor, scientist, printer, and businessman. Perhaps the closest person to  Franklin would be John Evans, the second territorial governor. Appointed by Abraham Lincoln, Evans is considered to have spearheaded the statehood movement. He was also involved in promoting the transcontinental railroad and the founding of the University of Denver.

Jerome Chaffee

Perhaps the closest to John Adams would be Jerome Chaffee. Before coming to Colorado in 1860, Chaffee had been a schoolteacher, was involved in banking and real estate, was one of the founders of Denver, and, perhaps most importantly, was the delegate from the Colorado Territory who ushered the bill creating the state of Colorado through the legislature. Once Colorado became a state, Chafee served in the U.S. Senate.

Thomas Patterson

Thomas Jefferson is a bit difficult, but perhaps the closest resemblance is Thomas Patterson. He was an immigrant who arrived in the United States, served in the Civil War, and became an attorney; in fact, he was the city attorney of Denver in 1873- 74. He served as a delegate in the House of Representatives until August 1st, 1876, when Colorado became a State. He later purchased the Rocky Mountain News and then the Denver Times.

These are really simple comparisons, but they gave me something to think about as we prepare for the sesquisemiquincentennial. I will continue posting about Colorado's journey to statehood and the events that delayed its admittance to the Union.

Stay tuned.

Until next time

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

Western Fictioneers Announces the Peacemaker Award Winners

Western Fictioneers is proud to announce the winners of the 16th Annual Peacemaker Awards, presented for the finest in Western fiction published in 2025. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists, and special thanks to the judges who make the Peacemaker Awards possible.

BEST WESTERN NOVEL

Winner: WHERE THE LONG TRAIL ENDS, Rod Miller (Speaking Volumes)

Finalists

SNOWBOUND, Harlan Hague (Wolfpack Publishing)
CRY FLINT, Scott McCrea (Dusty Saddle Publishing)
RIVEN, Lincoln Valentine Mears (Lincoln Valentine Mears)
LOST CANYON, John D. Nesbitt (Wolfpack Publishing)
DISMAL TRAIL, Ron Schwab (Uplands Press)

BEST SHORT FICTION

Winner: “Shadrach”, Vicky J. Rose, RIDIN’ WITH THE PACK, VOLUME 3 (Wolfpack Publishing)

Finalists

“Goddess of War”, Kelli Fitzpatrick, SILVERADO PRESS PRESENTS (Silverado Press)
“Leaving Deadwood Behind”, Bruce Hartman, SADDLEBAG DISPATCHES ANTHOLOGY (Saddlebag Dispatches)
“Of Emerald Hue”, John D. Nesbitt, PLAYING A LONE HAND (Thorndike Press)
“River of Retribution”, Vicky J. Rose, SHE RODE WEST (Saddlebag Dispatches)