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Sure as Shooting

Page 20

by Karen Mercury


  Hell. It was nice to be loved.

  End Note

  The chain of events in Sure as Shooting was inspired by the writings of Lafayette Bunnell, a surgeon who traveled with the Mariposa Battalion in 1851 as they tried to corral the marauding Indians. Bunnell rhapsodized so about the “discovery” of the Yosemite Valley that his messmates began to call him “Yosemity.” It was Bunnell who named many important features of the Deep Grassy Valley.

  The monolith the Indians named Tokoya (“The Basket”) is now known as North Dome.

  Huntley Ashbury was based upon Major James Savage, a trader who was elected to lead the battalion since he knew the area so well and spoke the languages. Galen Clark said that Savage “had been the leading figure in the war against the Indians, and perhaps their best friend while [the Indians were] in captivity.” He lost his life defending them in 1852 when a squatter named Harvey shot Savage four times for having the nerve to call an inquiry into the massacre of more Indians in the King’s River Reservation.

  Alas, a knave of Harvey brand

  (Ignoble was his aim)

  Laid poor Jim low in Tulare land

  There ended all his fame.

  —W.F.S., Jim Savage: A Frontier Clamper Man

  Tenaya, “Chief of the Grizzles,” was never happy on the reservation. The hot weather of the plains made him ill, and he begged to return home. He returned with a remnant of his band, but was killed in a dispute with some Mono Indians in 1853, crushed in the head with a rock. Galen Clark wrote, “It was fitting that he should meet his death in the valley which he loved, and which he had so long defended against his enemies.”

  THE END

  WWW.KARENMERCURY.COM

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Karen’s first three novels were historical fiction, involving pre-colonial African explorers. Since she was always either accused or praised (depending how you look at it) for writing overly steamy sex scenes, erotic romance was the natural next step.

  She is currently writing about the rough-and-tumble life of the California gold rush and lives in Northern California with her Newfoundland dog.

  Also by Karen Mercury

  Ménage Amour: Going for the Gold 1: Working the Lode

  Ménage Amour: Going for the Gold 2: Either Ore

  Ménage Amour: Going for the Gold 3: A Good Prospect

  Available at

  BOOKSTRAND.COM

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

 

 

 


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