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Lies
and Iron
Ties
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The
Silver Rush
mystery series
novels are
available
from independent
bookstores,
which you
can find at
http://www.booksense.com
http://storesearch.booksense.com/booksense/storeSearch.do
Here
are my local
stores, those
close to my
Colorado haunts,
and a few
others:
Towne
Center Books,
Pleasanton
CA
Rakestraw
Books,
Danville CA
High
Crimes Mystery
Bookshop,
Boulder CO
The
Book Mine,
522 Harrison
Ave., Leadville
CO
Murder
by the Book,
Denver CO
The
Poisoned Pen,
Scottsdale
AZ
Mystery-specialist
booksellers
can be found
at http://www.cluelass.com/MystHome/Dealers.html
My
publisher
Poisoned
Pen Press
(Motto: Publishing
excellence
in mystery)
As
well as places
like …
Amazon
Barnes
& Noble
Borders
Organizations
for writing
and reading,
mysterious
and otherwise
Mystery
Writers of
America,
Northern California
Chapter
Mystery
Writers of
America
Sisters
in Crime
Women
Writing the
West
Western
Writers of
America
International
Thriller Writers
National
Association
of Science
Writers
(for writing
of a different
sort)
DorothyL
(Web site
for the discussion
and idea list
for lovers
of the mystery
genre)
ClueLass.com
(another site
for mystery
lovers)
Mystery
Lovers Corner
(yet more
mystery)
CrimeThruTime
(a site dedicated
to historical
mysteries)
The
Historical
Novel Society
(for all kinds
of historical
fiction
Historical
mysteries
with women
sleuths
Of
characters,
places, and
times in the
Silver Rush
mystery series
Leadville,
today and
yesterday
National
Mining Hall
of Fame and
Museum
(housed in
the high school
that my grandmother
attended in
early 1900s)
Stories
about Leadville,
as it was
A
first-hand
account of
Leadville
and the Roaring
Fork region
circa 1880
NEW
STUFF!
About
the railroads
. . . .
...
and more!
The
Ted Kierscey
Photo Collection
has amazing
early photos
of Leadville
and its railroads,
as well as
great capsule
histories.
A
great
site for
exploring
and learning
more about
the history
of the Denver
& Rio
Grande. Check
out the following
in particular:
The rivalry
(on the rails
and in the
courts) of
the D&RG
and the Santa
Fe to obtain
the right-of-way
to Leadville
and other
mineral-rich
areas of the
Rockies can
be found in
Part
7 and
Part
8
More
about the
great
railroad war
Some historical
photos, pulled
together by
C.L. Clamp
and C.T. Adams,
authors of
Road to Riches.
See the photo
of J.
A. McMurtrie,
chief engineer
of the D&RG
(who appears,
fictionally
speaking,
in Iron
Ties)
The
Colorado Railroad
Museum
where I finally
got to go
inside and
take photos
of a bunk
car. A wonderful
museum and
an awesome
reference
library!
A "how
to"
for railroad
construction
About
General William
Jackson Palmer
. . . .
A biography
of General
William Jackson
Palmer, the
founder of
the Denver
& Rio
Grande railroad
About
Ulysses S.
Grant . .
.
Really, where
does one start?
How about
the Library
of Congress
and follow
the links?
Grant's
favorite bourbon?
You'll find
it in this
little history
of Abraham
Lincoln in
Bourbon Country
Details of
the private
D&RG train
that brought
Grant to Leadville
in August
1880
A bit about
Grant's
world tour,
from 1877-1879
Information
on Grant after
about 1878
is scarce…
maybe
this will
help someday
About
the Civil
War
(as pertains
to Iron
Ties)
. . .
Again,
there's so
much out there.
Here's just
a few of the
sites I found
useful.
American
Civil War
General
Palmer's Civil
War exploits
Berdan's
Sharpshooters
(site of a
reenactment
group, with
detailed information,
i.e., a bio
of Hiram Berdan,
how to care
for your Sharps
rifle, etc.)
LOTS
of books on
Berdan's
Sharpshooters
Photos
and more photos
. . .
Western
History/Genealogy
Department
at Denver
Public Library.
Nearly 100,000
photos on-line.
Links to some
of my favorites
follow, newest
first.
When
the first
trains came
to town, it
was a very
very big deal.
First
Denver &
Rio Grande
trains
to Aspen in
1887.
And
some of the
crowd
waiting in
the railroad
yard
The
cover of Iron
Ties
is actually
a portion
of this photo,
which shows
a Denver &
Rio Grande
construction
train at Aspen.
This was the
first
locomotive
to reach Aspen,
hence all
the citizenry.
Taken in 1887.
Another
of the first
train to Aspen,
with even
more people.
Also wooden
ties in the
foreground.
I'll
admit, I became
a bit obsessed
about finding
photos of
railroad construction
camps.
Central
Pacific railroad
construction
camp circa
1865 (Nevada
area).
Possible
railroad or
survey camp
(preparing
a meal?),
South Park,
between 1875-1900.
Old
Judge Camp
in the Royal
Gorge at the
time of the
construction
of the railroad
in 1878 and
1879
Union
Pacific railroad
survey crew
members pose
in their camp,
possibly near
Glenwood Springs.
A
Denver and
Rio Grande
Railroad
survey team
by the Arkansas
River, between
1880 and 1890.
A
railroad
construction
camp with
tents and
men and D&RG
tracks near
the Colorado
River in Glenwood
Canyon, circa
1880s.
D&RG
construction
camp in
Crane Park
north of Leadville.
Shows domed
and banded
structures,
possibly coke
(or charcoal?)
ovens, and
piles of railroad
ties. Mount
Massive is
in the distance,
circa 1880s.
Possible
D&RG camp
by the Colorado
River in Glenwood
Canyon, circa
1880s.
Men
working on
D&RG
railroad tracks,
circa 1880s.
Images
of Leadville,
inside and
out, people
and places
A
great lithograph
of Leadville's
Chestnut Street,
1879. Appeared
in Leslie's
Illustrated.
Lithograph
of the Clarendon
Hotel
saloon in
Leadville
around 1890.
Very high-class
place.
Another
rendering
of the Clarendon
Hotel Lobby.
Ink
rendering
of Harrison
Avenue,
spring of
1880. I love
this one!
Harrison
Avenue
in Leadville,
all gussied
up with small
evergreens,
garlands,
bunting and
an arch. Much
the way it's
described
for General
U.S. Grant's
visit in 1880.
Decoration
Day parade
along Harrison,
1884.
Another
favorite view
of Harrison
Avenue,
sans snow.
View
east along
7th Street
to Mosquito
Range in distance.
Boardwalks,
and look at
that mud!
Chestnut
Street
about 1880.
Saloon
in Leadville,
circa 1880s
or so.
View
of (possibly)
Hyman's
Saloon
in Leadville.
Note the taxidermy
on the back
wall. Circa
1880s.
Saloon
and games
of chance
in action.
Note the picture
hangings.
Circa 1880.
Hyman's
Club circa
1900, from
the outside.
Complete with
dog, loungers,
hitching post,
and boardwalk.
Interesting
interior shot
taken in Leadville
circa 1880.
Title is "Probably
an early Leadville
Palace."
("Palace"
was sometimes
a euphemism
for brothel.)
Women
of a different
stripe:
Schoolteachers
and principal
from 9th Street
School, Leadville,
1880.
Interior
shot of a
photography
studio
in Leadville,
between 1880
and 1900.
Silver
bullion
(lots of it!)
and workers
at a Leadville
smelter in
1880.
More
Photos! (From
earlier incarnations
of this page)
More
photos from
the Western
History/Genealogy
Department
at Denver
Public Library.
Sketch
of Leadville
in August
1878
"Birds
eye"
view of Leadville
about one
year later.
(This is my
favorite map.
I have a reproduction
hanging in
my office.)
Three
miners working
at the end
of a tunnel
using a spike,
sledgehammer,
and pickaxe.
Their work
area is lighted
by candles
and an ore
cart track
leads away
from the worksite.
Harrison
Avenue,
1879, with
the opera
house under
construction
and the post
office visible
State
Street
in 1880
A
photo of a
horse-drawn
sleigh
in Leadville,
circa 1880,
complete with
a dog holding
the reins
in its teeth
Another
view of State
Street,
during the
1880s
Looking
over Leadville
rooftops
to Carbonate
Hill, 1881
Fryer
Hill,
1882-ish
California
Gulch
Leadville
showing Helen,
Sellers, Mover,
& Minnie
shaft houses,
about 1885
The
telephone
exchange building
on Harrison
Avenue, looking
up Main Street,
photo taken
between 1879
and 1884.
(Yes, Leadville
did indeed
have a local
telephone
system in
place in 1879.)
Another
interesting
site for historical
Colorado photos
Madam
Silks . .
.
Mattie
Silks
(What's fact
and what's
fiction? It's
hard to know
for certain.)
Mattie's
House of Mirrors
(Mattie's
last parlor
house, now
a banquet
hall and nightclub
in lower downtown
Denver)
A
History
of Mining
in Eagle County,
Colorado by
Bruce Strasinger.
This is a
down-loadable
pdf file.
Not exactly
Leadville,
but gives
a nice overview
of a nearby
mining area.
Includes info
on prospecting,
hard-rock
mining, and
a very interesting
chapter on
financing.
Great pictures
and a mining
glossary.
Penny
Dreadfuls
and Dime Novels
(what character
Susan Carothers
loves to read)
Looking
for non-fiction
books about
the times,
places, and
characters
from the Silver
Rush series?
For
Iron Ties,
I became obsessed
with the Civil
War and railroads.
Here are some
books I found
interesting
reading.
The
Civil War
and after
Confederates
in the Attic
by Tony Horwitz
Shook
over Hell:
Post-traumatic
Stress, Vietnam,
and the Civil
War by
Eric T. Dean,
Jr.
Shades
of Blue and
Gray
by Herman
Hattaway
The
Devil Knows
How to Ride:
The True Story
of William
Clarke Quantrill
and His Confederate
Raiders
by Edward
E. Leslie
The
Life of Johnny
Reb and the
Life of Billy
Yank
by Bell I.
Wiley
The
Most Fearful
Ordeal: Original
Coverage of
the Civil
War by Writers
and Reporters
of The New
York Times
with introduction
by James.
M. McPherson
Jesse
James: Last
Rebel of the
Civil War
by T. J. Stiles
The
Louisiana
Native Guards:
The Black
Military Experience
During the
Civil War
by James.
G. Hollandsworth,
Jr.
Melting
Pot Soldiers:
The Union's
Ethnic Regiments
by William
L. Burton
Civil
War Chief
of Sharpshooters
Hiram Berdan:
Miliary Commander
and Firearms
Inventor
by Roy Marcot
The
Confederate
Withworth
Sharpshooters
by John Anderson
Morrow
Bushwhackers
by William
R. Trotter
All
the Daring
of the Soldier:
Women of the
Civil War
Armies
by Elizabeth
D. Leonard
Grant
and Lee
by Major General
J.F.C. Fuller
Grant
by William
S. McFeely
Railroads
and the men
who built
them
The
Denver and
Rio Grande
Western Railroad
by Robert
Athern
Nothing
Like It in
the World
by Stephen
E. Ambrose
Empire
Express
by David Hayward
Bain
Goin'
Railroading
by Margaret
Coel
A
Builder of
the West
by John Fisher
Leadville
and Colorado
Leadville:
Colorado's
Magic City
by Edward
Blair
Leadville
in Rare Photographs
and Drawings
by Christian
J. Buys
Leadville:
A Miner's
Epic
by Stephen
M. Voynick
Leadville
Architecture.
A Legacy of
Silver: 1860–1899
by Lawrence
Von Bamford
and Kenneth
R. Tremblay,
Jr.
History
of Leadville
& Lake
County, Colorado,
by Don and
Jean Griswold
(warning:
over 2000
pages.)
Colorado
on Glass:
Colorado's
First Half
Century As
Seen by the
Camera
by Terry Wm.
Mangan
Victorian
West: Class
and Culture
in Kansas
Cattle Towns
by C. Robert
Haywood
(not exactly
Leadville,
but a fascinating
and thorough
look at how
"boom
towns in boom
times"
mixed it up
with American
Victorian
mores and
ways of life)
Saloons,
red-light
districts
and ways of
the West
The
Saloon on
the Rocky
Mountain Frontier
by Elliott
West
Hell's
Belles: Denver's
Brides of
the Multitudes
by Clark Secrest
(there's quite
a bit on Mattie
Silks in this)
Bat
Masterson:
The Man and
the Legend
by Robert
K. DeArment
Whiskey,
Six-guns &
Red-light
Ladies: George
Hand's Saloon
Diary, Tucson,
1875–1878
Edited by
Neil Carmony
(what was
it REALLY
like to be
a saloon-owner
in the 1870s?
This day-by-day
diary lays
it all out.)
Gold
Diggers &
Silver Miners:
Prostitution
and Social
Life on the
Comstock Lode
by Marion
S. Goldman
The
Wicked West:
Boozers, Cruisers,
Gamblers and
More
by Sherry
Monahan
Want
to know more
about what
life was like
for women
in the West?
Try these.
A
Victorian
Gentlewoman
in the Far
West
by Mary Hallock
Foote
Cripple
Creek Days
by Mabel Barbee
Lee
Tomboy
Bride
by Harriet
Fish Backus
Doc
Susie. The
True Story
of a Country
Physician
in the Colorado
Rockies
by Virginia
Cornell
Father
Struck It
Rich
by Evalyn
Walsh McLean
The
Life of An
Ordinary Woman
by Anne Ellis
Gambler's
Wife. The
Life of Malinda
Jenkins
by Malinda
Jenkins
No
Life for a
Lady
by Agnes Morley
Cleaveland
On
Sidesaddles
to Heaven:
The Women
of the Rocky
Mountain Mission
by Laurie
Winn Carlson
First
Governor,
First Lady
by Joyce B.
Lohse
Keeping
Hearth &
Home in Old
Colorado:
A Practical
Primer for
Daily Living
compiled and
edited by
Carol Padgett,
Ph.D.
If you have
other suggestions
for sites
or books,
please email
me.
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