Another distinguished citizen; well-known, well-liked, equally respected in both Spanish and Anglo communities.
ANTONIO BACA: One of Alvarado's men but one with no liking for Tyrel Sackett, and jealous of his relationship with Drusilla.
The Sacketts brought their mother west and found a home for her in the new lands where life would be easier and where her family would not be far away. Somewhere in those southern Rockies was where her beloved husband had disappeared, and she felt closer to him in Mora (New Mexico--see page 111).
In most western communities, whether in mining or cattle country, there was a beginning when the country and the towns themselves were rough and wild, but not long after the first saloon and general store a church would be built, and then a school. The shootings, when they took place, were usually on the wrong side of town and interfered but little in the daily life of its most reputable citizens. And the shootings were a passing phase, a time of growing up, of shaking down, of getting the country settled, and the wild bunch either reformed or found their places on Boot Hill.
*
*
SACKETT
First publication: Bantam Books paperback, May 1961 Narrator: William Tell Sackett Time Period: c. 1874--1875
In which William Tell Sackett finds a trail unlike any trail he had ever seen before, and he follows it to gold and a girl, in that order. Other'men come to claim the gold but not to mine it. They come to cheat and steal, to reap the benefits without enduring the hard labor and the sweat needed to bring it from the ground.
If one rides the Durango to Silverton Railroad, as many do these days, he will find himself winding through a narrow and picturesque gorge with towering peaks above the rushing waters of the Animas River below or alongside. Waterfalls will tumble over the rocks beside the train and occasionally deer will be seen. Every bend of the track will offer some new insight into the West as it was, for the gorge can only be reached by the narrow-gauge train or a helicopter. Unless, of course, one wishes to hike in.
When nearing the end of the trip through the canyon one comes to Needleton. There some will leave the train to back-pack through the Chicago Basin and over Columbine Pass into Vallecito Canyon. The scene of most of the events of this story take place in the upper Vallecito, above Johnson Creek.
Today that train is loaded with tourists seeing the canyon and visiting Silverton at the end of the run. Many years ago, when I first made the trip, it was aboard a mixed train carrying a few passengers, a couple of cars of freight, and I believe at least one flatcar, but of that I cannot be sure. It was long ago and I had no particular reason to notice. I was riding the train to Silverton with the idea that I might obtain a job >>n one of the mines. I had no such luck, but on the return trip we left the train at Needleton, and back-packed through Uiicago Basin and over Columbine Pass. If I recall correctly there were several prospects in the Basin being worked at the time.
Only a week or ten days before I'd been paid off at the mme where my friend and I had worked together. He was a machineman, I was a mucker and trammer, and I had some money, I believe something over two hundred dollars, so there was no pressing need that I go back to work.
Once arrived at his claim I helped a little with the assessment work but most of the time was spent in hiking around the country. My friend was in no hurry, either, working a little and loafing about enjoying the warm afternoon sun, the fishing and the mountains.
If memory serves there were two or three men holed up at Logtown but we saw little of them. Most of the time I hiked the mountains, climbing into some relatively inaccessible places, spots I would eventually write about in SACKETT.
Aside from Vallecito Canyon I prowled around Mt. Oso, Irving Peak, Half Moon, and Hidden Lakes. Much of it was rugged travel but I'd always liked
ANTONIO BACA: One of Alvarado's men but one with no liking for Tyrel Sackett, and jealous of his relationship with Drusilla.
The Sacketts brought their mother west and found a home for her in the new lands where life would be easier and where her family would not be far away. Somewhere in those southern Rockies was where her beloved husband had disappeared, and she felt closer to him in Mora (New Mexico--see page 111).
In most western communities, whether in mining or cattle country, there was a beginning when the country and the towns themselves were rough and wild, but not long after the first saloon and general store a church would be built, and then a school. The shootings, when they took place, were usually on the wrong side of town and interfered but little in the daily life of its most reputable citizens. And the shootings were a passing phase, a time of growing up, of shaking down, of getting the country settled, and the wild bunch either reformed or found their places on Boot Hill.
*
*
SACKETT
First publication: Bantam Books paperback, May 1961 Narrator: William Tell Sackett Time Period: c. 1874--1875
In which William Tell Sackett finds a trail unlike any trail he had ever seen before, and he follows it to gold and a girl, in that order. Other'men come to claim the gold but not to mine it. They come to cheat and steal, to reap the benefits without enduring the hard labor and the sweat needed to bring it from the ground.
If one rides the Durango to Silverton Railroad, as many do these days, he will find himself winding through a narrow and picturesque gorge with towering peaks above the rushing waters of the Animas River below or alongside. Waterfalls will tumble over the rocks beside the train and occasionally deer will be seen. Every bend of the track will offer some new insight into the West as it was, for the gorge can only be reached by the narrow-gauge train or a helicopter. Unless, of course, one wishes to hike in.
When nearing the end of the trip through the canyon one comes to Needleton. There some will leave the train to back-pack through the Chicago Basin and over Columbine Pass into Vallecito Canyon. The scene of most of the events of this story take place in the upper Vallecito, above Johnson Creek.
Today that train is loaded with tourists seeing the canyon and visiting Silverton at the end of the run. Many years ago, when I first made the trip, it was aboard a mixed train carrying a few passengers, a couple of cars of freight, and I believe at least one flatcar, but of that I cannot be sure. It was long ago and I had no particular reason to notice. I was riding the train to Silverton with the idea that I might obtain a job >>n one of the mines. I had no such luck, but on the return trip we left the train at Needleton, and back-packed through Uiicago Basin and over Columbine Pass. If I recall correctly there were several prospects in the Basin being worked at the time.
Only a week or ten days before I'd been paid off at the mme where my friend and I had worked together. He was a machineman, I was a mucker and trammer, and I had some money, I believe something over two hundred dollars, so there was no pressing need that I go back to work.
Once arrived at his claim I helped a little with the assessment work but most of the time was spent in hiking around the country. My friend was in no hurry, either, working a little and loafing about enjoying the warm afternoon sun, the fishing and the mountains.
If memory serves there were two or three men holed up at Logtown but we saw little of them. Most of the time I hiked the mountains, climbing into some relatively inaccessible places, spots I would eventually write about in SACKETT.
Aside from Vallecito Canyon I prowled around Mt. Oso, Irving Peak, Half Moon, and Hidden Lakes. Much of it was rugged travel but I'd always liked
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