Teton Splendor (27 page)

Dear Reader

I hope you enjoyed reading Book 2 in the Teton Romance Trilogy as much as I enjoyed writing it. The historical tidbits I find while researching my books often leads to new story ideas. For instance, while I researched fur trappers and their marriage to Indian women for Teton Sunrise, I came across a piece of information that would spark the idea for Book 3, Teton Sunset. But for now, here is a little historical information pertaining to Teton Splendor.

Steamboat travel was the most common and quickest way for people from the east to reach the “west” in the years prior to the Civil War. It was also one of the most dangerous modes of transportation. Boiler explosions were a common hazard, and caused many fatalities. I modeled the explosion that occurred in Teton Splendor after an incident that happened in 1838, to a riverboat named
Moselle
. Bound for Louisville and St. Louis from Cincinnati, it had just left a river town along the way and was about 30 feet from shore when the boiler exploded, destroying the boat completely. The boat immediately began to sink, parts of it floating in the strong current of the river. Passengers jumped into the river, and many drowned. Others may have been trapped in their cabins and were never found.

Jackson Hole was named for fur trapper Davey Jackson in 1829. He frequented the valley to trap beaver up until 1830. When the fur trade declined in the 1840’s, the Jackson Hole and Grand Teton area also saw a decline in white men. In the 1860’s, the army was sent to survey the area for possible railroad expansion after the exploration of the surrounding Yellowstone area, and to assess the natural resources and the number of Indians.

The Homestead Act of 1862 opened much of the area to farmers, but the Jackson Valley didn’t appeal to many people because of its isolation and high altitude, and the cold climate wasn’t right for most agriculture. By 1888, only 23 hardy individuals called the valley their home.

Grand Teton National Park was originally proposed as an extension of Yellowstone National Park in the late 1800’s. In 1929, Grand Teton National Park was established after much debate and controversy. The park included the Teton Mountains and the land surrounding their base. Controversy continued regarding the Jackson Hole area. Some people favored private ownership, while others wanted the land to be preserved as part of the park. John D. Rockefeller stepped in, formed a private company, bought up much of the land, and donated it to the government. Today, Grand Teton National Park encompasses 310,000 acres. (There is a lot more to this story, but that would require its own book)

~Peggy

Please scroll down for the Prologue to Teton Sunset

Teton Sunset Prologue

Missouri, 1850

The hinges on the old wooden door creaked ominously. Moonlight drifted in through the small window along the wall to his left. The small figure huddled on a bed of straw in the corner of the makeshift jail moved, shivering slightly. Jasper Williams glanced over his shoulder, his knife gripped firmly in his hand. Silently, he rushed to his target, who was partly obscured in shadow.

“What are you doing here, Papa?” a weak voice rasped. Jasper barely recognized the sound. He sank to his knees in front of the prisoner.

“I come to get ya outta here,” he whispered.

“What? You'll get caught. They'll hang you, too.” The slight figure stiffened, and scrambled to sit up straighter.

“Ain’t nobody gonna get hunged, not if I got somat to say ‘bout it,” Jasper scoffed. He shot another look over his shoulder, then hauled the prisoner up off the ground.

“Where are we gonna go? They’ll find us.”

“I’m takin’ ya far away from here.” Jasper sliced his knife through the ropes binding the prisoner's hands and legs.

“But, Papa-”

“Hush now, and be quick. Got horses waitin’ in the woods.” Jasper sheathed his knife, and turned.

“What about Mama?”

The question stopped him in his tracks. He squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, and tightened his lips. Expelling a deep breath, he shook his head.

“She don’t need ta know. It’s best she don’t know nothin’.”

“I can’t let you do that, Papa.” The soft voice nearly brought a tear to his eyes. A small hand reached up to touch his arm. “Everything you've worked for, your farm, Mama....”

“And you,” Jasper added gruffly.

Jasper wasn’t going to sit idly by and watch his only child hang. He refused to believe that Vic was guilty of any crime. The lynch mob would be here in the morning, but Vic would be far gone from here if he had anything to say about it.

He waited for Molly to drift off to sleep. It had taken a long time to get his wife to calm down. She hadn’t slept in days after the constable took Vic away. Molly wouldn’t find out. It was best that she didn’t know what he planned to do. He had made a promise to her a long time ago that he would never return to the mountains, that he was home to stay. She’d been faithful to him during all the years he went trapping in the wilderness, when he came home to see her once a year.

The life of a farmer was dull and uneventful, not like that of a mountain man. In the wilderness, he never knew whether he would survive to see another day. It was a place where a man could truly be alive. But Molly didn’t want to leave her home and kinfolk. And he loved her too much to give her up. So he gave up trapping and became a farmer instead. After the birth of their only child, his future was set.

Jasper smiled. Even from an early age, Vic had the same adventurous spirit as he did. There was only one thing he could do now. In order to save their child, Jasper had to leave Molly and head back into the wilderness. He knew his way around the mountains. No one would find them there.

Molly would understand one day. He gazed at her sleeping form and gently brushed his lips over hers. He left without another backward glance.

“Ain’t no kin o’ mine gonna hang for somat ya ain’t done. No more talk, now c’mon,” Jasper whispered loudly, sealing his resolve.

He led the way out the door, pulling his pistol from his belt. Darting quick glances in all directions, he motioned with his head. The guard lay on the ground where he had hit him with the butt end of his gun moments ago. An owl hooted in a nearby tree, but there was no other movement anywhere. The small village lay quiet in sleep.

Leading the way toward the nearby woods, Jasper and Vic ran for the trees, and disappeared into the darkness.