Blackwater Ledger No. 72

**Blackwater Ledger No. 72** is one of the locations in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Exchange in Freefall

Economy on Edge

Traders and economists are reeling after the stock market continued to collapse this week. Those in banking circles say we are witnessing the largest evaporation in wealth ever recorded. Cries of anguish were heard on the streets of lower Manhattan as the stock exchange continued to erupt into a frenzy and bankers rushed to find some way to subdue the panic.

Some speculate the panic on Wall Street was made to order by big capitalists in order to depress values and allow them to reap a rich harvest when the rise returns. However, some have claimed it foolishness that a banker would will a panic, likening it to a farmer wishing for a drought or a sailor praying for a typhoon. The banker, despite being opulent in wealth, thrives from stability.

Bankruptcy claims are being filed by the dozens of large institutions, however, as New York banks are protecting the situation by holding money out of circulation. Congress has already promised to investigate these national banks and review their conduct, though no charges are expected.

### Pump Jacks Sit Silent

No Oil Found At Wapiti

Investors Allege Fraud

The oil reserves discovered on land near the Wapiti Indian Reservation in 1899 have turned up dry, and oil drilling operations have ceased and packed up. There were high hopes for the location following a detailed exploration by the Leland Oil Development Company on behalf of Cornwall Kerosene & Tar, and a number of petroleum outfits had sought to develop it into a well-paying field.

Workers flocked to the area in anticipation of jobs that would pay as much as 22 cents an hour. Companies sank well after well, coming up empty with only a minuscule amount of oil being found, not enough to keep operations running. The tribe at the reservation went on the run after a series of attacks on the army, culminating in a bloody battle at the Cornwall Kerosene & Tar factory around the time news of the oil discovery became known.

Many members of the tribe were gunned down in Wyoming but a few members are believed to have escaped into Canada. It is unknown what will happen to the Indian Reservation land moving forward as there are no Indians in the area to relocate there currently.

### Small Farms Disappearing

Swallowed by Large Cattle Interests

Laramie Corp Offering Buyouts

A sense of unease and uncertainty has arisen among landowners as a wave of real estate speculation is sweeping through cow country and large cattle outfits are offering large sums for small ranches. Headed by Abel Atherton, the Cattle Association seems intent on remaking the West, having recently acquired Hanging Dog Ranch and a considerable number of acres around Strawberry.

Property agents from The Laramie Corporation are visiting small farm owners offering large sums under their new economic model. While opponents say a way of life is perishing, others argue that America is a country of progress and those clinging to the homesteader ideal are firmly stuck in the past. Scale, they say, will always win out.

### President Waxman Hails Progress, Discusses Canal

Immigrants Flooding Ellis Island

1.1 Million Expected This Year

Also Discusses Building Panama Canal

Speaking to a packed crowd in New York, President Thaddeus Waxman announced that this year is set to see the largest number of immigrants ever recorded passing through Ellis Island. The promise of this great land is known far and wide, he said, and over a million immigrants are expected to arrive in New York in 1907, greatly eclipsing previous years. The President also announced that Col. William Thomas Kirchner would be the chief engineer of the Panama Canal project, one of the largest construction projects in memory.

The project was taken over by the United States from France three years ago amongst high worker mortality rates. It is thought that the American tradition of hard work and architecture superior to that of the French will allow the grand project to be completed on time and below budget.

It has been one of the President's main initiatives since he took office after President Macalister's assassination. When asked about the large number of people coming to America, Waxman said all immigrants should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.

### Romance Novel Proves Best Seller

Overnight Success

Author Leslie Duponts Fourth Tome Proving Very Successful

The thrilling romance novel "Lady of the Manor", published under the pen name Leslie Dupont, is difficult to find in bookshops, owing to its massive popularity, especially among young girls and the elderly. Her novels have arguably been read by more people than anything that has been produced by any contemporary writer, although critics dislike her work enormously.

Miss Dupont's books are lurid and steamy and weave tales of licentiousness and thievery, love and deceit, murder and mayhem, lust and despair. It is claimed many of her tales are from the author's torrid past, although Miss Dupont has never herself commented. It has been alleged that she once consorted with outlaws and gunslingers on the frontier. She has always been unwilling to corroborate these rumors.

### Bounties Beware

Langton Is Hot On The Trail

From the words of those he's chased down, James Langton is relentless, cunning and fearless. Known for his sizeable frame and ten gallon hat, the bounty hunter from New Austin is the best in the country, running down outlaws and flushing out bandits. With a small army now working for him, law enforcement are happy to hand over their dirty work to Langton and his crew.

He captured the Dillard Brothers with the help of a pair of twin prostitutes. He killed Cecile Montgomery while he sat trapped on the commode. Sheriffs say "Crooks beware, Langton is coming after you."

### Man's Tropical Enemy

Germs Of Laziness

Hookworm Plagues Warmer Climates

For many years,the lethargy of residents in the South was thought to be due to the "germ of laziness." It is now known that the anemia that plagues warmer climes of the United States is the direct result of a parasite that lives in the gut known as hookworm. A major outbreak occurred in 1902 in Cornish mines, and in the coal mines of France, Germany, and Belgium the affliction is quite common. The worm is half an inch long and its mouth armed with teeth.

They attach by the thousands to the inside of the intestines, sucking blood, moving from place to place and leaving bleeding wounds subject to infection. As to how the affliction takes place, there is by no means unanimity of opinion by medical men. Some think it to occur by penetration of the skin on dirt floors or fouled drinking water. The malady is especially a scourge to residents of the Philippines and Puerto Rico whose residents' health and welfare we are now responsible for.

### Radio Miracle

Music Transmitted through The Air

Ships Receive Broadcast

Written dispatches from the coast of Massachusetts report a novel experiment transpired recently. Using an experimental alternator-transmitter at Brant Rock, technicians broadcast radio signals carrying the music from a phonograph record of Handel.

The transmission was intended for shipboard radio operators at sea, especially the Navy, who have taken to the new technology for daily transmissions of time signals and weather reports via Morse Code. The scientists working on the radio experiment hail it as a new dawn in entertainment and foresee a day where bible devotionals and hymns are transmitted into the home for families to enjoy.

### A Town of Ghosts

Rathskeller Fork Lies Empty

The piano is covered in dust and is decaying. The streets are desolate. The larders filled with vermin. Windows broken. Families gone. Rathskeller Fork, a remote settlement in the desert of Gaptooth Ridge, New Austin, was once a bustling place where goods were traded. Travelers would stop for refreshment and ropes,and dances, and suppers brought merriment and cheer. It's now deserted.

Some have blamed the exodus on the cantankerous caretaker who lives there and seems hell-bent on driving everyone away. It is hoped someone else will take the place over and return Rathskeller Fork to the days of old.

### New Railroad Completed

A Grand Project

Our Manifest Destiny

The final ties were laid and spikes driven through to complete the Central Union rail line stretching through New Hanover. Passengers will be able to bypass the Grizzlies, Rhodes, and Scarlett Meadows, drastically reducing travel time. Now with a direct line connecting Cornwall Kerosene and Tar and Saint Denis, freight and commuters will flow fast and freely.

The project came with complications, including controversy over missing workers' wages and a land dispute. Representatives from towns such as Van Horn Trading Post and Annesburg say the new line will result in the decline of their towns. Civic planners hail the railroad as a new dawning day in American progress and history.

### The Art of Angling by Jeremy Gill

Redfin Pickerel

When not entertaining heads of state with the joyful pastime of fishing. I traipse into backwoods"cricks" and "hollers" where I meet the most delightful, simple folk who imbibe strong local spirits and gush about Redfin Pickerel. These uncouth semi-savages claim it to be the best eating fish you can find, and for that matter, the easiest to catch. They are feisty little predators that will attack a piece of cheese, and as one old-timer showed me, a piece of red cloth.

He'd dip it into the crick, the fish would bite and he'd sling it up onto the bank with a toothless laugh. Happy fishing, for those of you with and without a full compliment of teeth.