Blackwater Ledger No. 63

**Blackwater Ledger No. 63** is one of the newspapers in the game Red Dead Redemption 2.

## Articles

### Who Are Scarlett Meadows Bandits?

TRAIN ROBBERY CONFOUNDS LAWMEN.

WAGON BLOCKED TRAIN.

OFFICIALS CALL FOR ACTION.

Gertrude Bambach was knitting a hat for her niece when the train lurched to a stop and shouting commenced. "I fear for my life," she said. Passengers were subjected to a terrifying ordeal as the train was robbed near the Lemoyne border. Outlaws used an oil wagon on the tracks to cause the train to come to a stop. They then threatened the passengers to give up their belongings. It was then that lawmen, having been tipped off to to the robbery, arrived on the scene and confronted the outlaws.

Sheriff Thomkins was one of those lawmen who arrived on the scene. "There is very little to tell. We are searching for evidence at this time. The passengers are in great distress. The supply cars have been looted. Men are dead. This region's problems with lawlessness have returned."

Reports indicate the outlaws escaped after having engaged in a furious gun battle with the lawmen.

### President Congratulates America

SAYS U.S. IS UNSTOPPABLE.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR OUTCOME CELEBRATED.

VICTORY IN 100 DAYS.

President Alfred Macalister congratulated the American people and their response to the call to arms as North and South joined together to defeat Spain, saying that Spain is no longer a power, and the United States stands as the strongest nation in the western hemisphere. The"splendid little war" saw the U.S. Navy defeat the Spanish fleet in a mere few hours. Not one American life was lost in that skirmish, proving what Macalister says is "testament to the glory and perseverance of America."

Overall only 300 Americans lost their lives in the war, while the other side reported thousands of dead at the hands of our brave boys. He especially made mention of Colonel Thaddeus Waxman and his Rough Riders, the cavalry troop that took San Juan Hill in Guarma, becoming a national hero in the process.

### Evidence of Ancient Mystery Discovered

LOCAL MAN FINDS ROCK CARVINGS.

CHURCH OFFICIALS DENOUNCE CLAIM.

Ministers gathered last week to denounce the claims of eccentric resident Frank Sinclair of Big Valley, West Elizabeth, who asserts he has found evidence of ancient peoples in local rock formations. He has discovered several mysterious rock carvings around the country and claim they point to a great meaning, a mystery he intends to solve.

Religious leaders have grown concerned with his work, worrying that others will get caught up in his fervor and heretical beliefs, "There is only one meaning and message, and that is the message of the Good Book," Reverend Sterling Morton stated during the gathering.

### Mexican Desperados Bring Terror

GRIZZLIES UNDER SIEGE.

BOLDNESS OF FLACO'S GANG WORRIES LAW.

Some of the most desperate bandits in the region are imposing a reign of terror on the Grizzlies and surrounding country. Led by famous gunslinger, outlaw and robber, Flaco Hernandez, a gang of thieves has raided numerous local towns, including Strawberry and Valentine. In one daring but ultimately fruitless train robbery, the safe and strong boxes were blown to atoms.

Frightened passengers were held hostage though not, mercifully, molested. Reverend Eunice Garrand has called for the expulsion of what he calls "all men of Mexican ancestry as they bring villainy and wanton crime to our great country."

### Murderer on Loose

WAS HEADED TO PRISON.

AMBUSH FREES OUTLAW.

MEMBER OF VANDER LING.

HOT CHASE FOR FUGITIVES.

Sean Macguire, a member of the notorious Dutch van der Linde's gang, has escaped from custody. Macguire was captured and in the process of being transported from Blackwater to a federal prison in the west. he is a part of Van der Linde's gang who were responsible for the recent Blackwater boat robbery that left many dead.

The shootout was fierce and several men were killed as a result. Bounty hunters had caught Macguire but were ambushed on a stretch of the Upper Montana River by confederates of the accused. Upon relating the circumstances of the escape, one lawmen on the scene said that Macguire repeatedly expressed the idea of jail as no terror to him, nor the idea of death by hangman's noose.

Macguire even once suggested to a sheriff that his rope wasn't stout enough and may break under his weight. Officials have called for action, saying the escape is yet another example of the inability of police to keep criminals incarcerated.

### Cornwall Expansion Continues

FROM COMMODITIES TO THE CARIBBEAN.

REQUESTS GOVERNMENT PROTECTION.

CITES ROBBERIES.

Leviticus Cornwall is a well-known expansionist. "A railroad into every expanse of this country is only a matter of time," he declared when launching the Cornwall Southern & Eastern Railways. He builds the trains, and uses them to ship goods for Cornwall Freight & Commodities, Cornwall Kerosene & Tar and his other business concerns. His sugar business reaches into the Caribbean, and not a week goes by without a ship ferrying Cornwall Sugar calling into America.

He is now calling for government support to bring protection to industries working to improve conditions in the west, after a string of robberies. Mr. Cornwall, who has been known to speak glibly about the evil effects of education upon certain kinds of lesser intellects, is one of the wealthiest men in the region, and requires numerous private guards to protect his person and multiple concerns.

Despite questionable accounts of poor conditions at plantations run by Cornwall employees, his goods flow throughout much of the United States, and Congress has so far shown little appetite for breaking up what many people call a regional monopoly of services. Alongside his private militia, he is believed to be one of the principal clients of the Pinkerton Agency in the region.

### Cigarette Cards Give Fame to Murderers

NEW EDITION FROM FALCON CLAW DRAWS PROTEST.

ANTICIGARETTE LEAGUE WARNS CARD SPREADS HABIT TO YOUTH.

For many a year, man and boy alike have delighted in all manner of collectable cards included in pouches, packets and tins of tobacco. But a new set from Falcon Claw tobacco that celebrates famous gunslingers and outlaws have drawn the ire of Puritan groups. The cards honor gunslingers such as Black Belle, Jim "Boy" Calloway and even Emmet Granger, a known sadistic killer who has in recent years turned to hog fancying.

The Butcher Brothers, who ran afoul of legendary gunslinger Landon Ricketts, are also featured. Mexican desperado Flaco Hernandez graces one card. "When the likes of Frank Heck, The Otis Miller Boys, or the coward Billy Midnight who shot many men in the back are celebrated in this way, it spreads the contaminating influences and effects of the cigarette habit," said Miss Hattie Beardsley of the Anticigarette League. Stores report that the tobacco has been selling well.

### Death Lurks in the Dust

SCARLET FEVER RAGES IN ARMADILLO.

SHOCKING CONDITIONS IN THE CITY.

Scarlet fever exists in this town to an extent that has never been seen before, believed to be due to bad sanitation, though one health official claims it is exacerbated by the high winds and dust storms plaguing the country. The spread of zymotic diseases has raised great fears. Many households are under quarantine and those who can are fleeing in droves.

Sanitary conditions in the town are deplorable and the mortality rate is so high that residents have taken to burning bodies. Between the dust storms killing crops and causing starvation and the scarlet fever epidemic, some say Armadillo feels like a cursed town. Travelers are advised to avoid the area.

### Exclusion Act Upheld

IMMIGRANTS MUST STAY OUT, SAYS PRESIDENT.

ASKS TO MAKE LAW EVICTING IMMIGRANTS PERMANENT.

FOREIGN WORKERS HARMFUL TO WAGES, ECONOMY.

The Chinese Exclusion act, passed into Federal Law in 1882, has been renewed. The law prohibits all further immigration of Chinese laborers, saying they have a detrimental effect on the US economy and are being used by industrialists to undercut labor and keep wages low for everybody. Proponents of the regulation also argue that the Chinese have committed acts of violence upon Americans and will never integrate properly into our society.

States such as California have set up their own restrictions and some are calling for mandatory repatriation of all Chinese workers already here. Many Chinese are faced with the decision to stay in the United States or return to China to be with their families, whom they may never again see in their lifetime due to the ban on immigration.

Upon its renewal, Senator Lancing from New York called the act "nothing less than the legalization of racial discrimination." He was shouted down by a majority of senators, who support the ban.

### Machine Kills Man

FIRST RECORDED DEATH BY PETROL DRIVEN VEHICLE.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Eberhardt were heading from Boston to San Francisco by vehicle Thursday and met a terrible accident as hundreds waited hours in the streets for their arrival in Stamford, Connecticut, to see an automobile for the first time. The couple was taking a much celebrated drive across the United States, seldom accomplished, as onlookers in each town stopped to see a horseless carriage with their very own eyes.

According to officials,the roads have been in a terrible state since the rains, and the wheel and its spokes abruptly shattered, causing the automobile to fly into a ravine, flinging Mr. Eberhardt out and in front of the vehicle and breaking his neck.

### Come See Strawberry!

NEW MAYOR LAUNCHES TOURISM EFFORT.

This quiet, pretty logging town nestled in the mountains is seeing a lot of change recently. Since the arrival of its new mayor Nicholas Timmins, talk is all about his efforts to turn Strawberry into a first class tourist destination for well-heeled travelers from across the country.

Originally from the east coast, Timmins says the timber town is poised to become a cultural beacon, an 'Adirondacks of the West,' drawing pleasure seekers to come enjoy the local sights and sounds, and bask in nature's infinite glory. Some locals have been lukewarm to his plans, saying that tourism is a highly seasonal endeavor that results in low-paying jobs, expensive housing for locals, and rude, demanding tourists.

### A Tale of Two Robberies

HIGHWAYMEN CLASH AT COACH HOLDUP

Two separate bands of highwaymen had their sights on the same banking stagecoach north of Strawberry in Big Valley. The driver called out "it's a hold up!" and the guard could see four masked men outside. During the encounter, a separate band of highwaymen arrived and exchanged gunfire. Sheriff deputies arrived on the scene several hours later and found looted bodies in a stretch of the Dakota River.

The dead are believed to be members of the notorious O'Driscoll Boys, who have been lying around the area in recent weeks and responsible for robberies of banking and mail shipments.

### Allbright Captured

SNAKE OIL SALESMAN POISONED MANY.

When Fannie Crenshaw suffered from rheumatism, she looked to Benedict Allbright to ease her suffering. He told her that the fatty streak of flesh around the vertebrae of reptiles will cure any case of rheumatic issue. Showing her a long list of certificates from happy patients he had cured, she borrowed money from the bank and purchased several bottles.

Miss Crenshaw is now one of many people who have been poisoned by Allbright's so called miracle cures. Tales have poured in after each town he visited - with purchasers feeling sickly and, usually, far worse than their original condition they sought to cure.

Allbright was finally captured and brought into the Office of Valentine's Sheriff by a bounty hunter who is rumored to be a family member or friend of someone poisoned by Allbright's hideous concoctions.

### The Art of Angling by Jeremy Gill

BULLHEAD CATFISH

My writings on angling continue to attract fresh young neophytes, eager to begin life's journey of standing in solitude, holding a pole in silence, free from the berating of the fairer sex. Indeed, I have even taught more than one U.S President to fish, especially catfish, for luring bottom feeders into a precious situation that benefits the well-heeled is a prerequisite for successful politicians, almost as much as it is a prerequisite for any wise husband.

Catfish respond to handmade lures,crayfish and worms. Try all three when attempting to land this simply wonderful and much maligned fish. They also need to be coaxed, not bullied. There are fantastic Bullhead Catfish near Sisika Island. If you see me angling for Bullhead, please do com say hello and ask for an autograph. Unlike the fish, I promise I won't bite.