Blackwater Ledger No. 64

**Blackwater Ledger No. 64** is one of the locations in Red Dead Redemption 2.

LAWMEN, DUTCH'S GANG, CORNWALL GUARDS FACE OFF.

DEAD EVERYWHERE - FAMILIES GRIEVING.

CORONER OVERWHELMED.

Valentine - Residents say it sounded like the Indian Wars had resumed on their streets. At first, shots rang out as women and the feeble ran for cover. It soon turned into an unrelenting cacophony of gunfire. Lawmen traded shots with members of the notorious Van der Linde gang who had come to town to rob and steal. A few agents known to be working for Leviticus Cornwall joined in the fray, quickly creating a scene of unmitigated chaos.

Valentine is well known in the region as a rough around the edges livestock town with some insalubrious visitors, and altercations are not uncommon. The recent spite of violence is however, unprecedented. Bar fights in the Smithfield's Saloon are too frequent. Many are still in shock at the recent violence including a brutal massacre at Six Point Cabin. Local officials are calling in state and federal authorities for assistance in restoring order.

### Civil War Soldiers Turn Criminals

LEMOYNE RAIDERS TURNED "FREE STATERS".

QUEST FOR INDEPENDENCE.

NOW CONTROL AREA NEAR OLD SHADY BELLE MANSION

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF RUNNING RAMPANT.

The war for Southern independence took many casualties. Almost every family in the country knew of a loved one who perished in that war. While many have put the conflict behind them, and tried to bring our proud nation back together, that very struggle continues to beguile members of the Lemoyne Raiders gang.

Initially looked upon as patriotic heroes fighting against tyranny during that conflict, they have failed to let the war between the states pass to history. Instead, using it as a rally point to wage war on law abiding citizens. And, some say, they have become the tyranny themselves.

Structured as a militia unit, they continue to recruit young disaffected men and engage in robberies and arms deals, even declaring that they are immune from tax and other regulation.

They speak frequently of freedom and independence, yet there have been numerous reports of robberies from government institutions and citizens themselves.

Current dispatches indicate they have taken up refuge in locations in the swamps and bayous in the lowland country, and many lawmen and bounty hunters are apprehensive to approach the area. Some have said it will take a massive amount of force to bring this murderous gang to heel.

### Pneumatic Wonder!

INVENTOR PATENTS MOTORIZED CARPET SWEEPER

Bulky hand-cranked carpet sweepers may soon be relics when Thomas Rivington's invention becomes available. While in his study one afternoon, he overheard his wife and mother-in-law lament on the hardships of cleaning floors by working bellows on a carpet sweeper device. He came upon an idea and began tinkering. The result is his pneumatic carpet renovator which creates a vacuum like suction that pulls dust into a receptacle.

It features the ease and convenience of a large gasoline powered combustion engine. Rivington showed the device at a state fairground in California to the delight of many mothers in attendance, who tried the invention for themselves. Safe and easy to use, he said the sound of the gasoline engine becomes relaxing, and even be used to lean the baby's room while she sleeps soundly in her crib.

### A Second Gold Rush

ALCHEMIST CLAIMS GOLD CREATED FROM TIN.

While prospectors seek untold millions in gold lying in streams and hills of the West, word has spread of a man who is close to making gold. Residents in the area on the border between Cholla Springs and Gaptooth Ridge in New Austin say rumors are running rampant of a reclusive alchemist, Anthony, who lives in a small cabin and is close to perfecting the ability to change any base metal such as copper or tin into gold.

If such a discovery were announced, the gold markets would surely collapse, says one economist.

### Treasure Hunter Disappears

WAS SEEKING FAMED EMERALD FROM GUARMA.

FAMILY FEARS THE WORST.

Treasure Hunter and Gemologist Louis T. Abresson has amassed a collection of gems from around the world, and is particularly fond of emeralds, having given his betrothed an emerald engagement ring from a stone he procured from Egypt to match her green eyes. Six months ago, he bid farewell to his wife and newborn daughter and headed on a frigate to the island Guarma in the Spanish West Indies, near Cuba, in search of what has been rumored to be the largest emerald ever discovered.

His wife, Mrs. Henrietta Abresson, reports that she received one or two letters brimming with excitement as Louis claimed to be closer to finder the object of his quarry. Then communication ceased, and weeks passed without a letter or cable. She fears the worst and has asked parishioners at her local church and treasure hunters everywhere to pray daily for his safe return.

### Royal Kidnap

REWARD OFFERED FOR PRINCESS ISABEAU.

LUXEMBOURG ROYAL

15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SUSPECTED KIDNAPPING.

Luxembourg - In a royal proclamation, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has issued a decree offering a reward of $1,000 for information resulting in the whereabouts of Princess Isabeau. The princess disappeared from a remote hunting lodge while on a hunting trip during a private family visit to the United States. She was five years old at the time.

Some believe she was murdered, some that she was abducted and kidnapped, although no ransom note was ever received, others posit that she was eaten by wild animals. Her disappearance has been a source of never-ending trauma and embarrassment to the Royal Family, and especially her brother, who has frequently implored the American people to assist in finding information regarding her whereabouts, and himself denies any wrongdoing in her disappearance.

While there have been rewards offered in the past, the most recent offering is the highest ever considered. It follows recent rumors that she had been taken to a small town in the United States. Princess Isabeau has a characteristic birthmark on her face and right hand. Anyone who suspects her whereabouts is encouraged to visit local law enforcement.

### Woman Suffrage Debate

MOVEMENT GROWS.

MANY IN OPPOSITION.

Lemoyne lawmaker Abbot Bachmeier spoke at a meeting here addressing "The Woman Problem" as concerns grow over the emergent suffrage movement. "States in the North have passed laws allowing women's suffrage, to their detriment and arguably to their damnation. We cannot allow the scourge of the North and Europe to spread here. Women are the evidently weaker sex and unable to think things out coolly and calmly.

Giving them the vote would lead to great damage to the republic and to this state, " he said, to a standing ovation. Well-known activist Dorothea Wicklow has held meetings in St. Denis and other towns in recent months promoting voting rights for women. The movement is spreading to smaller towns such as Rhodes, but traditionalists are confident that common sense will prevail.

### Kidnappers At Large

LAWMEN ON THE HUNT.

RANSOMED AND TORTURED.

A statewide manhunt is under way in Lemoyne for the Anderson Boys, the brutal and bloodthirsty gang who have taken to kidnapping and ransoming locals. Led by Anders Anderson, the outlaws are responsible for a spate of violent attacks and kidnapping in the region over the past five years. Fear has run rampant as word spread that ransoms were paid in the sum of over $2,000, and yet two of the three men kidnapped were badly tortured and maimed for life.

### Aerial Amazement

TIGHTROPE WALKER ATTEMPTS GREATEST FEAT YET.

Tightrope daredevil Bessie Adair is preparing for her greatest feat yet - walking across Pike's Basin in New Austin. Known for her death-defying feats in the St. Denis circus, she has spent the past few weeks meticulously training for her bold attempt. Adair plans a grand event next month to celebrate the tightrope walk, with a precise date to be determined.

### Peck's Flying Machine Crashes

THE IMPROVED APPARATUS LESS SUCCESSFUL THAN ORIGINAL.

Professor Cecil H. Peck, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has worked tirelessly for several years on a steam-powered flying machine to be used for war purposes. The Aerodrome, as he named it, is unmanned and launches from the top of a houseboat by catapult. His earlier experiments met with a certain degree of success, flying briefly before crashing. His newer model buckled upon launch and fell into the river.

He was given $25,000 for the project. His experiments have inspired many science minded lads. Professor Peck says the Smithsonian recently received a detailed letter from the Wright Cycle Company, a bicycle manufacturing outfit from Ohio that requested publications about aeronautics, planning experiments of their own.

### President's Acts Further Isolate America

COUNTRY PLUNGES INTO THE BLACKEST GLOOM.

TARIFF ACTS HURT TRADES, RAISES PRICES.

President Alfred Macalister signed the Tariff Act last week, raising custom duties by an average of 60 per cent. Shopkeepers and traders said the tariffs will surely cause business to close and prices to skyrocket. Imported woolen products now face a 90 per cent rate. The President asserted at the signing that tariffs result in national prosperity.

"We must keep foreign products from our shares. They strip our workers of labor, food from the tables of our families, and only seek to benefit rich titans of industry abroad." he said at the signing. The President's popularity has been waning during his campaign for American isolationism, and especially after a typhoid epidemic ravaged and killed 2,500 troops in military bases across the country under his administration.

### The World's Grandest

CIRCUS DELIGHTS YOUNG AND OLD.

By all accounts, Margaret, Mistress of Danger brings the grandest circus show. All the surrounding country comes to enjoy the spectacle and splendor that causes wonder and joy. Margaret, Mistress of Danger: The World's Greatest Female Animal Trainer is the most superior form of canvas=covered entertainment. Hailing from England, Margaret delights the crowd as she wrangles exotic beasts; including zebras, fierce tigers and ferocious lions.

While other traveling circuses have taken to exhibiting the latest fashion in freaks, Margaret delights with feats of animal entertainment. Having held multiple shows in the area, they are packing up the tents and heading to Rhodes.

### The Art of Angling by Jeremy Gill

CHAIN PICKEREL.

It is well known that anglers go mad at times. Like hares in March, the sight of an annual salmon run or Steelhead Trout snapping at flies in spring is a topic of considerable froth and forecast for the best of us. However there exist fish that are available year round and bring great joy. When in Italy, I once took the Pope fishing for chain pickerel, and he delighted at the fantastic action and fight of this toothy fish.

I'm no Catholic, but even I was impressed by His Holiness's wisdom and insight and we remain firm friends to his day. Often he writes to me about spiritual matters. Which brings me pack to pickerel. While drawn by spinning lures in sunny weather, pickerel are a bony fish and often overlooked. But fight with this predatory fish in Big Valley for an afternoon and upon relaxing with an aperitif you will marvel at the deadness of your arm from reeling, with or without a prominent Catholic cleric at your side.