Blackwater Ledger No. 69

**Blackwater Ledger No. 69** is one of the locations in Red Dead Redemption 2.

PRISON IS A CAGE OF WILD ANIMALS

CRACK OF RIFLES HEARD FOR MILES

ESCAPEES FLEE VIA BOAT

Sisika Penitentiary is a well-known cage, filled with men who resemble wild beasts; seething, taciturn and surly. In a premeditated action, some of the striped felons broke free of their cages. The precipitated panic that ensued resulted in a gun fight with the guards.

A man and woman assisted the escape of one felon as convicts wrenched the iron doors from their cells and a volley of bullets flew in every direction, killing convicts and guards in equal numbers. The interior was left a mass of ruins as the savages and animals were eventually rounded up and returned to their dungeons.

Prison Governor Heston Jameson said the prisoner escaped via a waiting boat that whisked him and his accomplices away. Jameson says several days prior to the panic a flying balloon was seen high overhead, now thought to have assisted in the breakout. Several of the men confined on the island believe their sentences to be unfair as they were given multiple years for desertion during times of war. It is unknown how many died during times of war. It is unknown how many died as prison officials are still putting together an official report and tally.

### O'Driscoll Captured

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REIGN OF TERROR OVER

QUICK JUSTICE EXPECTED

CONSIGNED TO HANGMAN'S NOOSE

For nearly ten years, citizens of numerous Western states have fallen victim to the savagery of Colm O'Driscoll and his gang of outlaws. They have robbed coaches, battered women and men alike, murdered, tortured, and committed sundry unmentionable atrocities. His wild, hot-headed and impulsive ways are the stuff of outlaw legend.

Bounties for his death or capture have long been posted far and wide. That reign of terror came to an end when the leader of the notorious gang, The O'Driscoll Boys, was captured during a routine coach inspection by a deputy. O'Driscoll was examined by Judge Taylor the next day. His sentencing was quick and concise. He will be hanged for murder in Saint Denis.

### Tensions High

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FEAR OF RETURN TO INDIAN WAR

ARMY IN AMBARINO ON EDGE

FORT WALLACE REQUESTS MORE TROOPS

The management of the reservation is a cumbersome business, and the fact that issues occasionally arise is not the fault of the administration of Congress. Money is appropriated quite liberally and honestly for the care of the Indian people. The children are taught something of hygiene, fed and clothed, and given shelter. Yet still the Indians contaminate their own water and end up spreading typhoid to all and sundry.

The Indiana Problem will not solve itself. The Crow, Shoshone, Cheyenne and even the Navajo have signed treaties and been moved to very generous reservations, taking to agricultural life and the tenets of Christianity. However, those contained at the Wapiti Indian Reservation remain warlike, spurred on by their chief and his son. Military officials stationed at nearby Fort Wallace warn that armed hostilities are a distinct possibility.

These Indians, acting in conjunction and harmony with government officials could prosper and become friends tot he Americans who have tamed the lands from New York to California. Instead, exhibiting savagery, ingratitude and surly behavior, the treacherous Indians falsely accuse mistreatment. In light of all the tensions reported in the region, Washiongton has sent another military delegation to try to reduce the tension.

### Blackwater Athletics Team Missing

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FRIENDS FEAR THEY HAVE BEEN FOULLY DEALT WITH.

Members of the Blackwater Athletic Club are still missing and their friends and family are excited by the gravest fears. They were last seen leaving the north edge of town for a group athletics run and, although the most thorough search has been made for them, they cannot be found. Certain facts around their disappearance have given cause for suspicion. The affair has created a sensation in Blackwater and the surrounding community. They had departed on a run and had intended to return the same evening.

Their friends are making a diligent search and police in neighboring areas have been notified. At first, there were rumors they had been kidnapped by Indians, however this appears to be false as no tribes have engaged in theft of livestock or kidnapping in some years. The Blackwater Athletics team were training for a competitive meet next month and were expected to take top honors in fencing, wrestling, and baseball.

### Pinkertons Find Missing Man

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ORIGINALLY BELIEVED TO BE MURDERED

OFFICIALS PRAISE THE AGENCY

The Pinkerton National Detective Agency has concluded a thorough investigation into the case of a merchant who went missing last month. Conditions at the time of his disappearance led immediately to the theory of murder. However Pinkerton agents studying his accounts made some startling discoveries. John O'Neil, one of the most popular and widely known merchants in ST. Louis, disappeared without a trace last month.

Initially thought to have been murdered, certain facts tied to his disappearance have given cause for suspicion. Officials hired the Pinkerton Agency to investigate. The Agents report that Mr. O'Neil was short in his accounts.

Through his shop, Mr. O'Neil handled several large sums of money and according to his friends fulfilled his trust honorably. After it was disclosed he was up to $5,000 short on his accounts and had taken to playing cards regularly, the suspicion of his friends was that he had taken his own life. After a thorough search of the hills and surrounding countryside O'Neil was found in a ravine, half-mad and wishing to die, saying he had brought shame on his name and family.

Officials and family members praised the agency for solving the mystery and finding O'Neil, who is recuperating from his injuries and exposure. Founded in the 1850s, The Pinkerton Agency has been instrumental in solving several disturbances, including labor disputes, and was even known to have foiled an assassination plot on the president.

### Love Letter to Wall Street

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25 MILLION IN TEAX DOLLARS GIVEN

PUBLIC IS INDIGNANT

Wall Street banks are expressing worry that the public is displaying misplaced outrage and indignation over the pouring of $25,000,000 in tax dollars into the stock exchange to protect asset values. They say it is needed because of the inelastic rules of the national banking system; however, many say that is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

Wall Street has been fighting against government regulation for many years now. Senior bankers argue the claim that the only way the system can work is for them to get handouts of tax dollars is a ludicrous assertion, and that the system works as intended.

### Refrigerating Machine Invented

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REPLACES LARDER AND ROOT CELLAR IN HOMES

The need for a constant replenishment of blocks of ice in order to keep the icebox well stacked and cool might be a thing of the past. A patent has been filed for a mechanical refrigerator that does not require replenishment of ice, no matter how hot the weather outside. A regulator automatically controls the flow of refrigerating medium in the pipes of the apparatus through use of thermostatic pressure and a compressor.

The device would allow the grocer or butcher to preserve meats and fish at a constant temperature and no longer worry about spoilage due to inclement weather.

### Mark Johnson Captured

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WANTED BY LAW FOR YEARS

Stagecoach and train robber Mark Johnson had settled down in the bayou, built a house, courted and married a woman, and had a son. But that bucolic life was shattered when his criminal past finally caught up with him. The Sheriff's Department in Rhodes reissued his bounty recently, which had languished for years. Rumors have persisted about Johnson going back well over a decade.

The Rhodes Sheriff received a tip that Johnson had settled down and was hiding in plain sight. A bounty hunter captured and turned him in. Johnson is in the Rhodes jail awaiting trial.

### Mayor Lemieux Resigns

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PLAGUED BY SCANDAL

The Mayor of Saint Denis has abruptly resigned as questions began to surface in regards to his ties to organized crime. Mayor Lemieux's recent programs of cultural enrichment and democratization involved the collection at the Saint Denis gallery, which is beginning to gain national recognition after a surprise endorsement from Professor Shiftacre of Yale University. He also worked to secure a huge endowment from newspaper owner Hector Fellowes for construction of a library.

The Mayor's assistant Jean Marc Mercier has assumed the post and vowed to press on with the programs with a new spirit of transparency and principle in honor of the work begun by Lemeiux.

### The Art of Angling by Jeremy Gill

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MUSKIE

Any wise angler knows that a day on the water seeking muskellunge is a pleasant pastime indeed. A man can be excused for suspending brotherly love at the moment the serene calm is broken by the throbbing tug on his pole, threatening at any second to lose control.

he shrieks with pleasure, moaning as he fights the slimy beast, finally claiming victory, dripping, holding a writhing fish to his manly bosom. Glory and relief are his. The Muskie is a predatory fish that favors a lake lure, likes overcast conditions and fights hard. My fans have begged me to come claim a monster Muskie off the coast of Roanoke Ridge. I may go someday. If I see you, don't be shy. I won't bite. I'm not a Muskie, after all.