Post by Shane Lawson on Mar 13, 2008 15:34:13 GMT -5
Thursday, March 11th, 1880
A large plume of dust was kicked up in the wake of the four horses pulling along a custom stagecoach behind them. It was obvious that this coach was ordinary stage coach, given its elaborate ornamental designs on its exterior and the logo on the side door that belonged to that of the Excelsior Mining Company. Yes, the passenger on this coach was special and well protected with two armed men riding in the coach and of course a man riding shotgun. It'd been a long eight hour ride from Phoenix Arizona but they were nearing their destination, The Town of Lost Haven. Within the coach Cornelius Barton the fourth let out a long yawn as he checked his pocket watch for what seemed the hundredth time the last hour, It was almost noon, almost time for lunch but the most appealing thing to Barton right now was a nice warm bed. The ride had been utterly exhausting, the shaking and bumps along the way had prevented him from sleeping at all during this whole trip! Oh if only the railroad ran to Lost Haven, then this would've been a much more delightful trip. But that was one reason Barton was here, he wanted to turn Lost Haven from the wild boomtown that it was into an efficient mining machine that would boost revenues through the roof! Since his father had died Cornelius had taken a hands on approach to the company his father had left him, he'd already visited a number of their operations between here and Boston and he saw much room for improvement, but he believed the most potential was out here in Arizona.
The mining operations in Lost Haven and the surrounding mountains was currently a bit wild, with a few companys and a even more individuals trying to drain the mountains of valuable minerals and get rich quick, but he was sure there was much possibility being wasted in this lose environment. The possibility that Barton saw was a net-work of mining camps, an industrial railroad that'd transport the goods from Lost Haven to Phoenix and then beyond, all faster, cheaper and more effective. Though he could've probably done much of this work through his bussiness advisor Lucas Burke whom was traveling with him, he'd used it as an excuse to go west. To explore the wild frontier he'd read and heard so much about and since he'd left Boston he'd seen most of it from his custom train car or this coach. Dodge City had been interesting, though he hadn't witnessed any gunfights unfortunately but he hoped Lost Haven would be different. "We're almost there.." Burke spoke as he pointed out the window towards the first sign of civilization they'd seen for miles. Barton peered out through the window at the vast empty space before him, dotted with mining camps here and there as well as a few houses. As they grew closer he saw more and more buildings, and was actually quite surprised at how crude the majority of them were! 'And this is suppose to be the next San Francisco?'[/b] he thought to himself, a little disapointed as they rolled down Fremont Street and past quite a few saloons and gambling houses. "They tell me this is the motherlode for gambling houses and saloons in this area." Burke explained to his boss, gesturing to some of the buildings as they passed by. If anything Barton was a bit awestruck by the diversity of the people he was seeing, It was quite the farcry from Boston!
And one thing that really shocked him? It was how dirty some of the people were! He knew mining was a dirty business, but not all of these people were miners and it was just so far removed from the life he'd known in Boston. There were 'cowboys' riding down the street on horseback, blue sashes tied around their waist and six-shooters hanging on their hip for all to see. He also saw Chinese workers doing some civil work, and what really seemed out of place here.. A woman in a dress marching down the street with a banner that read 'Equal rights for women!' and here he thought such movements were only popular on the east coast! Though some of the people seemed quite dirty and downright nasty, he was surprised by the lack of 'ladies of the evening' hanging from the balconies as he'd heard about and seen in a few other towns. If anything? It seemed this town might not be the haven of Outlaws he'd heard so much about, It seemed kind of wholesome. Gently pulling back on the reigns, the horses began to slow and eventually the stagecoat came to a stop. The first order of business was getting a place to stay, a tour of the mining operations could always come later or tomorrow evening. There was a greeting party lead by the Mine foreman there to meet them, and within moments of the coach stopping he had the door open for Barton. "Welcome Mister Barton! Welcome to Lost Haven!" The man greeted, his clothes a little bit dirty. "Oh, Thank you." Barton nodded, climbing out of the coach and hopping down to the ground. It was immediately apparent that Barton a local with his thick Boston accent and his clothes.. Custom tailored coat, vest and pants were probably worth more then what most miners here made in six months! His boots were quite 'fancy' as well, as was the gunbelt with custom leather work he wore around his waist, The Nickel Plated Smith & Wesson Revolver which he carried like some sort of gunfighter had probably not been fired in at least a year but he carried it just to keep the 'look' right anyway. The real protection came in the form of the two men wearing derby hats that had accompanied on their long journey. They were well dressed as well, with Colt Peacemakers hanging on their hips.
"Marshal Stevens, I'm the foreman." The strange man introduced himself, speaking with a raspy voice. "Ah, Pleasure to meet you.. What are you the Marshal of exactly?" he asked curiously, surely one of his men wasn't also the town marshal! Stevens gave him a puzzled look, before he realized just what he was talking about. "Oh! No no.. My name IS Marshal.. Marshal Stevens.." That fact made Barton seem a bit foolish, but he laughed it off as best he could as he slipped his hat on his head. The weather was actually pretty cool, given spring hadn't set in just yet and most men were wearing their frock coats. "Oh! I see, I do apologizer.. So this is Lost Haven eh?" Marshal nodded in response. "Yes Sir, For better or worse.. This here is Fremont, Gambling, Saloons and hotels are all the best down this street."
"So I'm told..." he trailed off, turning his head as he surveyed his new surroundings. "I also heard it was a bit wilder around here.. It seems a bit qui..." No sooner had he began to say 'quiet then did a couple gunshots break out from the next street south, followed by the sound of a twelve gauge shotgun going off and a lot of commotion following that! The sudden loud noise made Barton flinch and duck down for a moment, before he realized the gunfire was still some distance away while Stevens didn't even blink! The man just laughed it off and waved a dismissive hand. "You'll get used to it I promise! The Mayor wanted to be here to meet you, but he had some pressing business so he told me.. But I thought we'd get you checked into a hotel.. What do you say?"
Barton mumured a few ungentlemanly words under his breath as he cautiously stood up again. "Yeah.. That'd be nice.. What hotel do you suggest?" All the while he continuously scanned his surroundings for more possible 'shooters' that might be anywhere. "The Five graces is pretty damn nice, clean beds, good supper.. I'd recommend that." Stevens said while jabbing his thumb over his shoulder towards the Hotel just a short ways down the street. "well, Let's go there then." Barton nodded, "Come on then.." Stevens turned and took the lead while Barton nervously hesitated before following man, making sure his body guards were right there with him. Yes, This place was everything he'd heard about but it was a new begining for him for certain...
A large plume of dust was kicked up in the wake of the four horses pulling along a custom stagecoach behind them. It was obvious that this coach was ordinary stage coach, given its elaborate ornamental designs on its exterior and the logo on the side door that belonged to that of the Excelsior Mining Company. Yes, the passenger on this coach was special and well protected with two armed men riding in the coach and of course a man riding shotgun. It'd been a long eight hour ride from Phoenix Arizona but they were nearing their destination, The Town of Lost Haven. Within the coach Cornelius Barton the fourth let out a long yawn as he checked his pocket watch for what seemed the hundredth time the last hour, It was almost noon, almost time for lunch but the most appealing thing to Barton right now was a nice warm bed. The ride had been utterly exhausting, the shaking and bumps along the way had prevented him from sleeping at all during this whole trip! Oh if only the railroad ran to Lost Haven, then this would've been a much more delightful trip. But that was one reason Barton was here, he wanted to turn Lost Haven from the wild boomtown that it was into an efficient mining machine that would boost revenues through the roof! Since his father had died Cornelius had taken a hands on approach to the company his father had left him, he'd already visited a number of their operations between here and Boston and he saw much room for improvement, but he believed the most potential was out here in Arizona.
The mining operations in Lost Haven and the surrounding mountains was currently a bit wild, with a few companys and a even more individuals trying to drain the mountains of valuable minerals and get rich quick, but he was sure there was much possibility being wasted in this lose environment. The possibility that Barton saw was a net-work of mining camps, an industrial railroad that'd transport the goods from Lost Haven to Phoenix and then beyond, all faster, cheaper and more effective. Though he could've probably done much of this work through his bussiness advisor Lucas Burke whom was traveling with him, he'd used it as an excuse to go west. To explore the wild frontier he'd read and heard so much about and since he'd left Boston he'd seen most of it from his custom train car or this coach. Dodge City had been interesting, though he hadn't witnessed any gunfights unfortunately but he hoped Lost Haven would be different. "We're almost there.." Burke spoke as he pointed out the window towards the first sign of civilization they'd seen for miles. Barton peered out through the window at the vast empty space before him, dotted with mining camps here and there as well as a few houses. As they grew closer he saw more and more buildings, and was actually quite surprised at how crude the majority of them were! 'And this is suppose to be the next San Francisco?'[/b] he thought to himself, a little disapointed as they rolled down Fremont Street and past quite a few saloons and gambling houses. "They tell me this is the motherlode for gambling houses and saloons in this area." Burke explained to his boss, gesturing to some of the buildings as they passed by. If anything Barton was a bit awestruck by the diversity of the people he was seeing, It was quite the farcry from Boston!
And one thing that really shocked him? It was how dirty some of the people were! He knew mining was a dirty business, but not all of these people were miners and it was just so far removed from the life he'd known in Boston. There were 'cowboys' riding down the street on horseback, blue sashes tied around their waist and six-shooters hanging on their hip for all to see. He also saw Chinese workers doing some civil work, and what really seemed out of place here.. A woman in a dress marching down the street with a banner that read 'Equal rights for women!' and here he thought such movements were only popular on the east coast! Though some of the people seemed quite dirty and downright nasty, he was surprised by the lack of 'ladies of the evening' hanging from the balconies as he'd heard about and seen in a few other towns. If anything? It seemed this town might not be the haven of Outlaws he'd heard so much about, It seemed kind of wholesome. Gently pulling back on the reigns, the horses began to slow and eventually the stagecoat came to a stop. The first order of business was getting a place to stay, a tour of the mining operations could always come later or tomorrow evening. There was a greeting party lead by the Mine foreman there to meet them, and within moments of the coach stopping he had the door open for Barton. "Welcome Mister Barton! Welcome to Lost Haven!" The man greeted, his clothes a little bit dirty. "Oh, Thank you." Barton nodded, climbing out of the coach and hopping down to the ground. It was immediately apparent that Barton a local with his thick Boston accent and his clothes.. Custom tailored coat, vest and pants were probably worth more then what most miners here made in six months! His boots were quite 'fancy' as well, as was the gunbelt with custom leather work he wore around his waist, The Nickel Plated Smith & Wesson Revolver which he carried like some sort of gunfighter had probably not been fired in at least a year but he carried it just to keep the 'look' right anyway. The real protection came in the form of the two men wearing derby hats that had accompanied on their long journey. They were well dressed as well, with Colt Peacemakers hanging on their hips.
"Marshal Stevens, I'm the foreman." The strange man introduced himself, speaking with a raspy voice. "Ah, Pleasure to meet you.. What are you the Marshal of exactly?" he asked curiously, surely one of his men wasn't also the town marshal! Stevens gave him a puzzled look, before he realized just what he was talking about. "Oh! No no.. My name IS Marshal.. Marshal Stevens.." That fact made Barton seem a bit foolish, but he laughed it off as best he could as he slipped his hat on his head. The weather was actually pretty cool, given spring hadn't set in just yet and most men were wearing their frock coats. "Oh! I see, I do apologizer.. So this is Lost Haven eh?" Marshal nodded in response. "Yes Sir, For better or worse.. This here is Fremont, Gambling, Saloons and hotels are all the best down this street."
"So I'm told..." he trailed off, turning his head as he surveyed his new surroundings. "I also heard it was a bit wilder around here.. It seems a bit qui..." No sooner had he began to say 'quiet then did a couple gunshots break out from the next street south, followed by the sound of a twelve gauge shotgun going off and a lot of commotion following that! The sudden loud noise made Barton flinch and duck down for a moment, before he realized the gunfire was still some distance away while Stevens didn't even blink! The man just laughed it off and waved a dismissive hand. "You'll get used to it I promise! The Mayor wanted to be here to meet you, but he had some pressing business so he told me.. But I thought we'd get you checked into a hotel.. What do you say?"
Barton mumured a few ungentlemanly words under his breath as he cautiously stood up again. "Yeah.. That'd be nice.. What hotel do you suggest?" All the while he continuously scanned his surroundings for more possible 'shooters' that might be anywhere. "The Five graces is pretty damn nice, clean beds, good supper.. I'd recommend that." Stevens said while jabbing his thumb over his shoulder towards the Hotel just a short ways down the street. "well, Let's go there then." Barton nodded, "Come on then.." Stevens turned and took the lead while Barton nervously hesitated before following man, making sure his body guards were right there with him. Yes, This place was everything he'd heard about but it was a new begining for him for certain...