Stories of the West
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) North American (US Western)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
the cost of supplies had gone up fivefold at the general store, and Fritz Swartz had come to town and opened the Mother Lode Saloon to cater to the miners. Schwartz was a crook and a killer, and Cole was worried about bass being in the saloon alone. The horses were fine and their supplies were still in the sleeping tent. The temperature was falling fast now, so Cole took off his gun belt, hat and boots and crawled under the blankets. The music from the piano at the saloon still filled the air. Cole took his bag of gold dust out of his pocket and put it under his bed roll. Then he lifted his Colt 44 out of its holster and put it under his bedroll. He tried to fall asleep, but his thoughts drifted back to his family in Texas. His wife, Sally, had been raised on a form. Cole knew their form, and stock was being taken care off. But he sure missed Sally and their three year old son, Joe. But times have been hard in taxes after the war, and until the railroad laid tracks to that area, there was no good market for their Texas Longhorn cattle. Most ranchers in Texas were cattle rich and cash poor. When the news of the gold strike in Colorado reached taxes, Cole and Bess sold the opportunity to make some cash. Sally thought they just had gold fever. Lots of men in Texas had caught gold fever. But panning for gold sure wasn't what Cole had thought it would be. Cole and Bass didn't mind the long days of back breaking work. They were used to hard work. It was the constant danger that weighed on Cole's mind. There were cling jumpers, killers, renegade Indians and thieves of all kinds waiting to steal the gold. The miners had worked so hard to get out of the ground. Cole and Best had accumulated $500 each worth of gold. Dust, and cold was ready to head back to Texas. Bass was sure he was going to find the mother lode any day, and Cole wasn't going to leave Bess alone in this hellhole pass. And Cole had made it through the war together, and they would get through this together to Cole was almost asleep when two gunshots rang out in the night. He jumped up and grabbed his pistol and pulled on his boots and stuffed his bag of gold dust into his pocket. Before he rushed toward the saloon, two miners lay dead in the street. Bess was standing in the crowd of men that were staring at the two dead miners. What happened? Bess asked. Cold. That minor over there, said Thies. To minors, jumped his claim. They got in an argument, and that minor shot these two miners dead. I don't think those two miners even had a gun, said Bass. Where a share of peasants Why isn't he out here? Asked Cold. Nobody knows. He's probably passed out drunk again, said Bears.