Elizabeth

Going through the box now. First envelope I opened was dated from 1887; inside was a telegram addressed to Elizabeth Wells, reading,

BOOKS YOU REQUESTED NOW AVAILABLE STOP READY TO MAKE EXCHANGE STOP COME WITHIN THE WEEK STOP

ORNE LIBRARY
MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY
ARKHAM, MASS

No idea what books they’re talking about, or what they’re exchanging the books for, but it’s interesting that Elizabeth was in touch with staff from a prestigious campus like that. Not what I was expecting when I first learned that she was an old west outlaw.

Here’s the first entry from the journal…. Well, not exactly the first. The first and last few pages of the journal have all been burned or ripped out. This is the first surviving entry I was able to find.


Made it to a town. Small place called Los Valle; the sort of town which pops up when two roads happen to cross in the middle of the desert. A crossroads for travelers, on the way to the much larger city of Albuquerque. An inn which doubles as a saloon, shops, church, sheriff’s office, and a few small homes. And lots of sand. Dust and sand everywhere.

Definitely not the sort of place I’d want to stay in, but I have little choice. Went to the inn first; the money I’ve acquired should grant me room for a few nights. Past that, I’ll need to improvise. Bottom floor of the place was a bar, containing several seedy types lounging around their drinks. Didn’t like the looks I was getting from them. Perhaps I should have found a dress, or something else respectable to wear, but respectability and pragmatism rarely go hand in hand. I’ll stick with my riding clothes for now. At least it looked like the drinkers weren’t going to make any comments. Carrying a revolver on your hip tends to discourage most idiots from talking. Most.

Spoke with the owner behind the bar. Big, friendly man, which was not in line with my expectations. Very sociable as well, and the two of us got to talking. He goes by Samuel, and he was one of the original settlers in Los Valle; built the inn back when this place only had a church and a few shops. Even got married and had kids here.

Friendly as our talk had been, he didn’t seem that eager when I told him I was looking for a room. At first I thought it was a money issue, but even when I assured him I could pay, he didn’t seem happy. Finally he admitted that he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of a woman traveling on their own; according to him, it wasn’t safe for me to be moving about these places without a man to protect me. I had a bit of a laugh at that, and assured him I’d be fine. Still didn’t seem to convince him.

At that moment, the doors were thrown open and three men walked inside. Loud, boisterous men, shouting and swaggering their way to the bar. The lead one shouted to Samuel, “Hey, bartender, me and my friends just ‘found’ ourselves a big stack of money, and we’re fer some drinks!”

Samuel seemed to recognize the group, and wasn’t too happy about their appearance. Didn’t do anything beyond glare at them, as they were clearly armed. Their leader saw me, and whistled. “Why hello there, dolly….”
Then he put his hand on my shoulder, which was a terrible mistake for him to make. Grabbed his arm, shifted my weight, and flipped him over onto the ground. Before he could get back up, stomped my boot down onto his throat.

His two mates were surprised, but reacted quickly, reaching for their guns. I kicked the closest in the head, knocking him aside. The last was fast enough to have his gun drawn and aimed; I lunged at him, grabbed his gun arm so that the shot went flying through the roof, then kneed him in the groin. That brought the last of them down. When they got back to their feet, they seemed extremely eager to get out of the bar as fast as they could. I could feel the eyes of the other patrons on me as the trio ran off. Those eyes were suddenly more respectful than they had been moments ago.

After that incident, Samuel didn’t complain any more when I asked for my room.



I suppose it’s comforting to know that I will never be anywhere near as badass as my ancestor. I couldn’t even imagine fighting three men armed with guns like that. From what I’ve read ahead, this is only the start; I can’t wait to post the other crazy things she gets involved in later.

-Lisa