Sunday, October 11, 2020

Historical Erotica about the Transcontinental Railroad


Have you heard of Olive Oatman, also known as The Girl with the Blue Tattoo? She was a teenage heroine of frontier America who was captured by Indians after her Mormon family was slaughtered by them. She lived among them as a slave and they tattooed her chin. Years later, she was ransomed back to white society.

The main character in the erotic coming of age story Hell on Wheels: A Sexy Western is loosely based upon Olive Oatman, according to the book's writer. Although Olive was never a prostitute as the main character in the book is, both young women shared the same experiences in their teenage years. The main character in this book, however, is not marked by the disfiguring tattoo. Both teenagers were survivors despite all the challenges they faced in their young lives.

I love stories about the building of the transcontinental railroad, one of America's greatest engineering feats in the 19th century. I recently went to a ceremony honoring the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, which commemorated the meeting of the train coming from America’s east with the one coming from the west. This accomplishment may never have happened without the labor of the Chinese, soldiers home from the civil war, freed slaves, recent Irish immigrants, and various ne'er-do-wells who needed money in spite of the dangerous, back-breaking work it took to build the railroad. And let's not forget the women who entertained them and traveled along with the train as the railroad was being built. They all lived in squalor in make-shift towns nicknamed Hell on Wheels. It took a lot of grit and gumption on their parts. Hell on Wheels: A Sexy Western stars a feisty heroine who has a humorous way of looking at the world and the men and women with whom she comes in contact. She has sexual relationships with both men and women, sometimes 3 at a time. All are loving relationships.

The writer has tried to stick to history as much as possible in her erotic story where she follows the course of the railroad's construction starting from the Platte River Valley all the way to California. It is my hope that history buffs, railroad aficionados, lovers of coming of age stories meant for adults, and readers of erotic romances will take a look at this story.

Who knows? You might find yourself liking trains more than you ever have before. Keep on riding them, especially those long-distance ones such as the California Zephyr and Coast Starlight. I have traveled in a sleeper car on both train routes and it is the best way to see America. And don't forget to bring this sexy book along with you. All aboard!

Here are the stores where you can purchase this erotic western:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VkwTd9

Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/2LTJeSe

Apple: https://apple.co/3gmaG7L

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2p1XVts

Smashwords: https://bit.ly/2CTocOM

Kobo: https://bit.ly/30chL38


Sunday, August 23, 2020

Promoting the Transcontinental Railroad




In 1866, The Union Pacific Railroad arranged an all-expense paid trip for a group of influential citizens and government officials so they could witness firsthand the railroad’s construction progress “Out West”. This was known as the “Grand Excursion to the 100th Meridian”. The Meridian was a point in the Platte Valley of Nebraska where the railroad had so far reached in its progress towards its eventual meeting with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Point, Utah.



Congress had mandated that periodic monitoring be done to make sure sufficient progress was being made on the railroad and monies spent on building the railroad were not going to waste. This excursion was actually more of a boondoggle and a reason to spend more of the government’s own money. The Union Pacific’s director spared no expense to entertain his guests and demonstrate the success of their ventures and investment.

Nothing was spared in making this excursion a memorable one for the travelers aboard the Union Pacific trains. The railroad, intent on ensuring a steady supply of funds for its continued construction needs, made sure that the excursionists were suitably impressed. Ultimately the trip was a success as funding continued and enabled the Central Pacific to succeed. Never before had so much been spent on a rail trip for so few. 

It was a public relation's extravaganza that the railroad's organizers hoped would bring more money and investment into the transcontinental railroad. Politicians and dignitaries were wined and dined over a three-day period of unrivaled opulence out in the middle of the untamed West.

The Union Pacific had arranged a stop near the shelter of an outcropping of rock, rare out on the prairie. The organizers planned a dinner and entertainment under the stars for its excursion guests. Sparing no expense, this stop was hoped to further cement the continued flow of government money into the Union Pacific coffers. The transcontinental railroad was never hugely popular, especially during the war years. If not for the expected allegiance to the Union from the western states, the entire project may have never gotten off the ground. These little “excursions” helped to raise the spirit and patriotism of the railroad’s guests to continue funding the project. It didn’t hurt to line the pockets of many Congressmen either when it came to funding the votes it needed.

In the early years of train travel in the United States, passenger cars consisted of little more than transferring bodies from one place to another. There was little regard for the comforts of those aboard. Sleeper cars were unheard of and sanitary facilities were usually no more than a curtain and a bucket at one end of the car. Bad luck to the passengers who were seated near that end of the car. Air conditioning was an open window and heating was sometimes a wood stove that either over-heated some passengers or gave little comfort to those on the other end of the car. Dining onboard was what you personally brought or if you were lucky, a dinner stop at a dining hall. The excursion participants, because of their exalted positions, were the lucky recipients of dinner by campfire on tables bedecked with white tablecloths and gleaming silver.

The Union Pacific was not taking any chances in their efforts to influence and impress the excursionists. The organizers of the excursion had pre-erected several tents near the rail stop and filled them with all the creature comforts one could ever hope to have out in the wild west. Soft beds and carpets were laid out. Sufficient water was provided, carried aboard in a special car directly from Omaha. During the day, several intrepid riders went foraging for game to provide the night’s repast. Three elk and four deer were shot and brought back to camp.

In its attempt to entertain its guests, the excursion planners had arranged several scenarios that didn’t quite work out as planned. They thought that the guests would appreciate a mock Indian raid, so without notifying guests beforehand, the attack they arranged occurred early in the morning and scared several people who were jarred awake, fearing that they may be murdered by the “savages.” A buffalo hunt was arranged by the railroad. It was not a success because several of the guests came back to the camp empty-handed.

The railroad also thought that it would be entertaining for the passengers to see a “genuine prairie fire” so one was lit.  As the train pulled away on its journey, the fire burned out of control and spread, upsetting the Indians whose lands were charred in the aftermath. No wonder the Native Americans grew to hate the Iron Horse.



Wednesday, July 8, 2020

How True to History is the TV Series Hell on Wheels? Were the Show's Characters Based Upon Real People?



The series Hell on Wheels for the most part did an accurate job depicting the people who worked in Hell on Wheels camps and the prostitutes who traveled along with them. These traveling camps sprang up along the route of the transcontinental railroad. Those who followed the train’s progress were saloon keepers, professional gamblers, prostitutes, and doctors. Wherever the line of railroad construction was apparent, the towns sprang up. Merchants, with information gleaned from the railroad, then moved in to establish a community that they hoped would be permanent but was usually temporary. When the railroad moved on, so did the temporary towns as well.

In the Hell on Wheels makeshift towns, the sheer number of canvas tents resembled refugee camps. Some had wooden frontispieces attached to give them the impression of permanence. The streets were no more than dirt with an array of rough-hewn boards laid out in random patterns to allow walking without getting too much dirt and mud on shoes and clothing. They were very muddy after downpours, and the ladies had to walk slowly on the wooden paths, doing their best to navigate the tent city.

In the TV series, the feisty prostitute Eva Toole cautions a female surveyor who sets up residence in a tent to lay down boards on the floor of her tent, so she does not get trench foot. It shows how these camps were muddy, gritty, and wet.

A typical camp had a church tent and a bathing tent that advertised hot soap and water for 5 cents. A saloon tent abutted a large gambling hall giving visitors access to all things vice. A dry goods store sold everything from tools to canned goods. Medical care was dispensed from a tent that looked like something from a Mathew Brady Civil War photograph. Dirty and bandaged men lined up to see the doctor for various ailments.

Were the characters who worked on the railroad realistically portrayed in the Hell on Wheels series?

For the most part, yes. The transcontinental railroad was built by Civil War veterans from both the North and the South who worked together, along with Mormon settlers, African Americans, Native Americans, and Chinese laborers. The railroads in the west were built mostly by the Chinese. They were the best employees the railroads had.  Unlike some of the other workers, they were healthy for the most part.  They ate well-balanced diets of fish, fruit, and tea. How and where did they get food like that out in the middle of nowhere? They planned ahead.  And knew how to keep the food fresh.

In the series, Bohannon labored alongside the Chinese in the west who were laying down tracks for the transcontinental railroad. Together, they used black powder and nitroglycerin to dynamite the solid granite of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to open a path so that the railroad tracks could be laid, and the train would be able to travel east. It was dangerous work and many workers did not survive. Bohannon barely made it himself.

The actors in the TV series Hell on Wheels played characters who were loosely based upon real people. Let us start with the ladies and one of my favorite people from the show.


The prostitute Eva Toole’s character was partially based upon Olive Oatman, later known as The Girl with The Blue Tattoo. Like Eva, Olive was marked with a chin tattoo by the Indians. Olive's was blue, whereas Eva’s was black.

Here is a bit more about Olive Oatman's fascinating life. She was born in 1851 and when she was thirteen years old, her family left their home in Illinois with a group of fellow Mormons and formed a wagon train headed to California.  Her father hoped to take advantage of the gold rush and find suitable work at the mills. Through hardships and privations, many of their fellow travelers got sick and died; they left the wagon train behind and traveled by themselves to present-day Arizona, where they were attacked by nineteen Yavapai Indians who bludgeoned to death most of her family, including her parents.  She witnessed her brother being dragged by the heels and thrown over a cliff.  The Indians ripped the cover off her family’s prairie schooner, removed part of the wheels, and then took most of the food her parents stored to stave off starvation on their treacherous journey.

She and her eight-year-old sister were kidnapped by the savages and forced to walk barefoot so that a search party would not be able to follow their tracks.  They walked sixty miles for four days until they made it to their camp.  When her sister died from the rigors of our journey, Olive never felt so alone.

She truly thought that her life was over, and she would never be able to endure what these cruel savages had inflicted upon her family until she found herself being traded to another tribe of Indians, the Mohave.  She was treated kindly by them and they raised her as one of their own until they traded her back to the whites in exchange for blankets, horses, and beads when she was eighteen.

Eva Toole in Hell on Wheels also was kidnapped by the Indians when she was young, and they taught her and raised her as one of their own. Olive Oatman, unlike Eva, was never a prostitute in Hell on Wheels camps or anywhere else. After joining the world of the white people, she spent the rest of her life on the lecture circuit.


The character Cullen Bohannon was loosely modeled on Union Major Gen. Grenville M. Dodge and, more precisely, Union Brigadier Gen. John S. Casement, who was Chief Engineer and lead foreman of the construction crews.  Bohannon, like Dodge and Casement personified the spirit and dedication when it came to completing the railroad.

Casement and his entourage did not have to deal with the hardships experienced by the others who lived in the Hell on Wheels camps. As the railroad’s chief engineer and head of construction, General Jack Casement spent his time in a work train consisting of eighty cars, which included bunkhouses for the workers, a bakery, a kitchen and dining room, and a telegraph car. There was a herd of cattle which had been driven along-side the work train, and they were kept in pens until the railroad needed to go to the next Hell on Wheels town.


A colorful character in the TV series was Thomas Durant, one of the earliest financiers of the railroad. He was in charge of money raising and corruptly lined his own pockets along the way. His main objective was to make money, whether the railroad was completed or not. Since the government provided bonds for each mile laid, Durant made sure that the tracts were not laid in a straight line, but instead, they were arranged in large circular oxbows.  He sold the land along the railroad tracks and made himself rich.

Here are a few interesting stories about Thomas Durant. The railroad workers had not received their wages for some time and an armed mob of workers surrounded his private car and chained the wheels to the rails until he acquiesced and had their wages transferred from the headquarters in New York.

More problems ensued for Mr. Durant. Traveling with dignitaries to the ceremony that commemorated the Golden Spike, where the railroad from the east met that of the west in Promontory Point, Utah, heavy rains washed out part of the Union Pacific’s tracks, and Thomas Durant and other dignitaries were stuck in their train car while the tracks were repaired, almost missing the celebration. Once at the ceremony, Durant had brought along golden spikes and a silver-headed sledgehammer to pound in the commemorative last spike, signifying that this grand engineering feat of building a transcontinental railroad was a success. Durant tried to hammer the golden spikes, but missed, to the amusement of many of the track layers who had labored so long.  Finally, the spikes were hammered down, only to be taken off later.

In the TV series, after the railroad was built, Bohannon sailed off to China in the hopes of building a new life with a Chinese woman he loved, and there the series ended. In real life, after the two trains met in Promontory Point, the nation would never be the same. Within three years of its completion, trains could travel from New York City to San Francisco in just one week.  Prior to that, travelers endured up to 6 months or more of dangerous travel by ship or covered wagon to cross the continent.
Word of abundant opportunities, high wages, and the temperate and healthful California climate spread, and over the years to come many emigrated to California and the landscape was forever transformed by the many towns, farms, and citrus groves.

Who was Thomas Durant?


Who was Thomas Durant?

No discussion of the building of the transcontinental railroad should omit the mention of Thomas Durant and his contribution to getting that monumental project completed. Not without controversy, he stirred up both friends and foes along the way while pursuing his dream of joining both coasts by rail. 

Born in 1820 to a wealthy family in Massachusetts, he entered medical school at 20 where he graduated magna cum laude and became a surgeon. He went on to work for his uncle in the grain business where he first became acquainted with railroads as a means to improve the transport of grain. His love for the railroad propelled him into forming the Mississippi and Missouri railroad. The chief achievement of the new company was the building of the first bridge over the Mississippi River. This accomplishment came with its own problems. After a riverboat hit the bridge, Durant's company was sued to tear down the structure. Durant hired no other than one Abraham Lincoln to represent him in the legal proceedings which turned in his favor. This new relationship had other benefits when in 1862 then President Lincoln selected Durant's Union Pacific company to begin the construction of the transcontinental railroad in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Durant was on his way.

A savvy businessman, he was very creative in raising capital for the transcontinental railroad through various stock schemes, Congressional funding, and many other questionable dealings. Despite or perhaps in spite of his financial machinations, he managed the Union Pacific's part of the transcontinental railroad from its beginnings in Iowa through to Promontory Point, Utah where it met the Central Pacific and the historic golden spike. 

His later years were not so kind to Thomas Durant. He lost vast sums of money in the Great Panic of 1873 and spent his last years until his death in 1885 fighting lawsuits from disgruntled investors.  

Friday, July 3, 2020

Do You Like Trains? Do You Like History?


Read in the left-hand margin:
Union Pacific Railroad
Excursion to the 100th Meridian 1866
That is Thomas Durant in the Picture 

The Excursion provides a vital backdrop for the story Travelers in Time Aboard the California Zephyr

Travelers in Time Aboard the California Zephyr
By Louise Hathaway 


Come along with us in this time travel tale about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and the amazing real-life excursion train that several lucky 21st-century passengers were able to travel aboard and meet Rutherford B. Hayes, George Pullman, and Robert Todd Lincoln who are all promoting Western expansion and train travel. How will our time travelers cope with their new surroundings? Will they ever come back to the 21st Century?  Will they want to come back?  Find out aboard this trip into history.

Available for $2.99 at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords and Scribd

Also available in paperback from Amazon

Here is a universal book link that you can use to buy this book at your favorite online bookstore:
https://books2read.com/travelersintime



150th Anniversary of the Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad

Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah 

On May 10th 2019, my husband and I were two of 20,000 people who celebrated at Promontory Summit, Utah the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, marking the achievement of the railroads and railroad workers who risked everything to make the Transcontinental Railroad a reality.

The parking tickets sold out quickly and we bought ours online immediately when we heard that we couldn't join in on the festivities unless we showed the permit on our dashboards.  Traffic signs warned of delays because of this "Major Event", as the city officials called it.  The traffic was heavy, but once we pulled in to the dusty "parking lot", which was, in reality, a dusty field, I felt a lump in my throat when we saw the train from the west and the one from the east facing each other, with men recreating the famous picture of two men celebrating with champagne and toasting each other. 


My husband and I brought along folding chairs to listen to the speeches by the dignitaries, including the governor of Utah, the Heads of the US Departments of Transportation and Interior, Mitt Romney, an actor from the series, Hell on Wheels, the ambassador of Ireland, and descendants of those who worked on the railroad. My favorite part of the day was listening to the keynote speaker, Jon Meacham, a historian, and author.  His eloquence brought tears to my eyes: “We should not sentimentalize the American experience,” Meacham said. “The nation has been morally flawed, often egregiously so, from the beginning. We must be honest about that.”

He went on to say, “If the men and women of the past, with all of their flaws and limitations and ambitions and appetites, could press on through ignorance and superstition and racism and sexism, through selfishness and greed, to form a more perfect union, then perhaps we too can right wrongs and leave things better than we found them.” 

Elaine L. Chao was my second favorite speaker of the day.  She reminded us that within three years of its completion, trains could travel from New York City to San Francisco in just one week.  Prior to that, travelers endured up to 6 months or more of dangerous travel by ship or covered wagon to cross the continent.

The transcontinental railroad was built by Civil war veterans from both the North and the South who worked together, along with Mormon settlers, African-Americans, Native Americans, and, Chinese laborers. Building from the West, the Central Pacific Railroad hired 15,000 workers, of whom 12,000 or more were Chinese immigrants. These are the men whose jobs were to blast through the granite of the imposing Sierra Nevada mountains. It was dangerous work using explosives and many lost their lives.

The governor, wearing a top hat, joined a few other men to recreate the pounding of the "golden" spike, which was actually a copper spike, made especially for the anniversary.  After the speeches and recreations were over, fireworks lit up the afternoon sky and a flyover of four planes in formation, saluted this grand achievement--the most important engineering feat of the 19th century and the symbol of the east and west joining together making the United States one connected nation, filled with many ethnicities who worked with each other to get the job done.