Here is the next installment. Hope you like it. I’d love to hear your observations.

The road leading to Deadwood was jammed for miles with wagons of every shape and size. Families, merchants but mostly lone men, all of them were seeking their fortunes in the gold fields.

The last part of the journey took almost the entire day to go just the final two miles distance to get from the top of the hill overlooking the settlement to Deadwood itself. The town had sprung up practically overnight after word of the gold strike reached the outside world.

Structures of every size lined the main street. Tents were thrown up in front of the buildings. The largest of the buildings were The Gem Theater, the Grand Hotel and The Bella Union. Weary miners could spend their hard earned gold on liquor, women and games of chance in the saloons and whorehouses of The Gem and The Bella Union. Places where they could remember easier, happier times when they were farmers, ranchers, lawyers and sailors. The people came from all walks of life, having given up or lost everything in the Panic of 1873.

Jake watched from atop his horse as he rode behind Liam’s wagon. He and Zach had taken turns riding point in front of the wagon and now it was Zach’s turn. After more than five months of traveling, he began to wonder if they’d ever get to Deadwood. Constantly looking over their shoulders, waiting to see if the Army was going to find them before they could get out of the State of Missouri, had them all on edge for the first half of the 1000 mile trip.

Deadwood was on Indian land and, therefore, not subject to the laws of any government. That little fact could keep them safe, at least for a while. He hoped their luck held and he and Zach could fade into obscurity there.

When they finally reached the main street they immediately went to the mercantile. Liam said the owner of the claim he’d bought ran the store. Jake went in with Liam and Zach stayed with the kids and the wagon.

The store was owned and run by Lily Sutter. Her brother, Horace, had died on the claim and she didn’t want anything to do with it, so she placed an ad in the newspapers and sold the mine to the first person who responded with the money. That was Liam.