Elias Steelgrave

• Role

  Supporting Character

• Playby

  Powers Boothe

• Full Name

  Elias Braden Steelgrave

• Aliases / Nicknames

  N/A

• Goes By

  Elias

• Profession

  Businessman / Landowner

• Position

  Owner

• Birth Date

  06/01/1820

• Status

  Married

• Height

  6' 1"

• Hair Color

  Steel Gray

• Eye Color

  Dark Brown

• Physical Description

  

• Character Traits

  • Ruthless (-)
  • Deceptive (-)
  • Dangerous (-)
  • Controlling (-)

  General Personality
  Elias Steelgraves will do whatever is necessary for him to get what he wants, to advance his station in life, to increase his holdings.

  He often purports to one thing but will do the exact opposite. He can never be trusted to be truthful. At seventeen, he decided that Elinor Dressin was going to be his wife. And although she was being courted at the time, he began his own courtship, knowing that her other beau, Harlan Knowles, would confront him.

  When that happened, acting stunned and injured, Elias challenged Harlan to a duel, allowing Harlan to select the weapons. Dueling was pure sport to Elias, and Harlan was not a man of weapons.

  Although Elias knew he could defeat Harlan, he let on publicly like he was against the duel idea. So convincing, even those who knew him, believed him. So, in order to eliminate the competition, he lay in wait for Harlan. The secluded area was perfect. When the man crossed the bridge, Elias sprang from hiding and slammed him in the head with a rock and then shoved the lifeless body to the rocks below. The following day he went to Elinor complaining that he had waited an hour past the time Harlan was to show, he never did.  Though she did not believe him, she saw in him a man that would get what he was after, and as his wife, so would she. They were married and before the year was out Benjamin was born.

• Employment

  Evergreen Ranch

  Various Business Interests

  • Elias is a wealthy landowner and businessman. The Steelgrave empire rivals that of any of the robber barons in the east.

  Details: Duties, Elias now simply oversees his empire. He has sons to handle the family's affairs.

  Skills:  Still a ruthless and deceptive businessman, still capable of getting what he is after. 

  Responsibilities: The overseeing of his holdings and the care for his family.

• Expertise

  As ruthless as they come. Resorts to violence, mayhem, arson, and murder in his quest to obtain what he wants.

• Residence(s)

  Current Residence
  Evergreen Ranch, Whitefish, Montana Territory).

  Place of Birth

  St. Louis, Missouri

• Kith & Kin

  FAMILY

  Wife: Elinor Steelgrave

  Status: Living

  Age: 60s

  Elinor Steelgrave is a handsome woman in her sixties. She is very petite, almost delicate looking, but her appearance disguises a spine of steel. In demeanor, she is invariably polite in a condescending manner. She is highly intelligent. Like Elias, Elinor manages the family with an iron fist. This steel is applied in her business dealings as well.

  Children

  Benjamin Steelgrave (Late 30s)

  Benjamin Steelgrave is the eldest son and his father’s right-hand man when his mother allows him to be. Along with his wife, Nona, and two young sons, he has moved to the new ranch in Whitefish. Benjamin would be considered a gentleman rancher as he has no inclination to actually work the range. He is a rather handsome and elegant man who, like his mother, has a somewhat condescending air when he speaks. He is not unintelligent, but he is not the brains of the family.

  James Cassidy Steelgrave

  Nickname: Case

  Age: Mid to late 30s

  Case Steelgrave is the next in line of the Steelgrave brothers. He is probably the most intelligent of the siblings and the deadliest. Case is charming and cunning, and only comes truly alive when it is time to kill. However, he manages to goad his target into drawing first, therefore never facing murder charges. He is proud of his legend, but has one goal for the future, goad Shade Thornton into a gunfight.

  For several years, Case made his home base in Texas. He recently moved to Whitefish and is now the town marshal.

  Clayton Steelgrave (Mid 30s)
  Clayton is employed as the foreman of Evergreen Ranch, the Steelgraves’ ranch in Whitefish. He is the family member that is least interested in perpetuating the feud with the Thornton. He has longed for a ranch to work and, under other circumstances, would have likely gone on the drift. He is generally good with horses, cattle, and people. He enjoys working and playing hard. Clayton is also good-natured, usually quick to smile and laugh. Despite the fact that Shade Thornton killed his younger brother, he would like to see the feud ended.

  He is married to Janet Redmond and they have four children (two boys, two girls).

  Zeke Steelgrave (30s)
  Zeke has taken over the management of most of the Steelgrave’s non-ranching business interests. Of course, he answers to Elinor when it comes to business decisions, but as he has a very keen business sense, she does not interfere often. Zeke, like his elder sibling and mother, loathes everything Thornton and does not bother to disguise it. He is also cunning enough to interfere with the Thorntons’ various business interests without being overt or having it easily traced to him.

  Calvin Steelgrave (deceased, a. 22 at TOD)
  Calvin “Cal” Steelgrave was spoiled, arrogant, and truly psychotic. He was the family hellion and used to getting what he wanted or taking it if there was resistance, women included. He also considered himself as good a gunfighter as any that’d ever been born. While carousing with his brothers in Missoula, he spotted Regina Cantrell being escorted by her future brother-in-law, seventeen-year-old Shade Thornton. He caught her coming out of a store and tried to drag her into an alley and assault her. Shade heard the struggle and beat Calvin severely, even though he was younger and less experienced. A few hours later, Calvin lay in wait, intending to shoot Regina. Instead, Shade killed him.

  Much to the fury of the Steelgraves, the shooting was ruled self-defense and Shade was not charged. The Steelgraves vowed vengeance leading to Shade leaving home.

  Leah Steelgrave

  Status: Living

  Age: Mid-to-late 20s

  Leah is a lovely and pampered young woman with a nasty streak where men are concerned. She seems to enjoy luring them into her web and then crying foul, forcing her brothers to send them packing, usually not very gently. Most men call her bewitching. Those that have been caught in her trap, call her a witch.

  NON-FAMILIAL CONNECTIONS

  Friends

  Very few. He does trust his legal henchman to a certain extent (Carson Tyndall).

  Others To be determined during gameplay.

  Foes
  Anything Thornton, friends and associates as well.

  Others To be determined during gameplay.

• Timeline

  1837
  Elias’ banner year. He kills his first man, marries Elinor Trench and greets his first child, a boy, Benjamin.

  He grew up living off of his Grandfathers' investments and holdings. Now, as a father, he began his quest for more property, power, and prestige.

  1847
  By the age of 27 and In a short ten years, Elias Steelgrave doubled the family holdings in the Northeast and he began looking to the west as the next step in his climb to the top. So he packed up his family that now included four sons and a wife that matched his tenacity in the pursuit of wealth and headed west in one of the family’s wagon trains. They settled in a couple of different areas, but Elias' urge for dominance and power drove them further westward.

  1860
  Elias finally settled his family in the growing town of Missoula Mills. Missoula was founded in 1860 as “Hellgate Trading Post” while still part of Washington Territory. By 1866, the settlement had moved east, 5 miles (8 km) upstream, and was renamed Missoula Mills, later shortened to Missoula.

  Elias built an elaborate mansion overlooking the Bitterroot River, making the eventual city of Missoula the Steelgrave family’s western headquarters.

  1861
  The war in the east offered a new business opportunity for the Steelgraves. Importing rifles by the boatload, they supplied the Confederacy, so long as they could pay. When the ports of the south were blockaded by the Union Navy, Elias attempted to send his cargo overland by the wagon load. However, that became too risky with the Plains Indians attacking his trains. Even hs routes into Texas became too perilous. So, he organized a network of purveyors who dealt with several Indian tribes dealing in all manner of goods including whiskey. So guns, powder, and lead were a natural addition.

  1862-1864
  In 1862, the youngest Steelgrave son, Calvin, was shot and killed in Missoula by Shade Thornton. The shooting was ruled self-defense which sent the grief-stricken Steelgraves into a rage. Vowing revenge, Elias set out to ruin the Thorntons. Simply buying the Thorntons out was not an option. Besides, the family was very entrenched in the Kalispell region. So, Elias began acquiring neighboring parcels of land north of the Thorntons' Lost Lake Ranch. Those he could not buy, he acquired by hook or crook. Soon, he had a rival ranch that he named Evergreen and he moved his family north.

  The hostilities between the Thorntons and Steelgraves continued escalating.

  The Evergreen ranch continued expanding as the SGR added another parcel of range after the sixth farmer or small rancher was burned out with the act being blamed on Indians, expertly portrayed by SGR riders.

  1867

  Frustrated by his lack of influence in the town of Kalispell, not to mention the fact that its founding was accredited to Ishmael Thornton, Elias set about creating the town of Whitefish. 

  1865-1875
  The ten-year span of bloodletting, rustling began to ease up as serious law was being developed in response to not only the lawlessness of the Steelgraves but other factions as well. Elias called off his riders, mostly hired guns who would only be used to secure new lands, hold water holes if and when they were found and ride the property line. But bad blood was far from over between the two, it bubbled just below the surface.

  The Steelgrave clan had grown in both wealth and power but the plan to take the Chogun Valley from the Thorntons had stalled and seemed more difficult than ever.

• Character Notes

  Added as story develops

• Player Notes

  Added as story develops

Recent Posts

1. 

   Four Good Men

   16 hours ago

   Once they had all eaten, the four sat where there was cover, to the right, up against an outcropping of rock. There were stones so they set a ring and built a fair sized fire and even though there was whiskey, the set a pot to boil, that way they would have coffee, it could get chilly for whoever was on watch, and even if the others decided on a cup, there would still be  coffee for the men on watch.
    
   Maybe the Lost Lake hands had found the body and hauled him off the mountain, it didn't seem like they were looking for any blood trail, and if Carson had managed to control his blood loss, and kept it off of the ground, then maybe they lost interest and just brought the man in. Chances Carson was able to that, were not real good, but he may had been able to manage the bleeding enough that there was no blood trail for quite a ways, and they lost interest.
    
   That could have happened ad it seemed to be a good reason that the Lost Lake riders had not shown up at the fence line. The Evergreen riders would be happy to have that wire down, but until the framer was gone, and Lost Lake was taken, it would remain. It was just the way of it. Evergreen cattle would just keep heading in a southerly direction destroying crops as the moseyed along. but they'd not be looking for grass in the rocky terrain beyond, they would turn back and do more damage.
    
   It didn't seem like Steelgrave was ready to wipe out the sod buster, so the fence needed to be watched and mended when necessary. All four believed their time on the fence would be short lived.
    
    
   
2. 

   Carson Tyndall

   Monday at 03:03 PM

   Having a second thought, to bolster the findings he sent for Fairchild before he could leave for New Orleans, and in the vicinity of Elinor Steelgrave, that could be done at another time after this meeting with Elias himself.
    
   It was like hedging his bet on the situation. He wanted Elias to meet the man who could explain what was in the file in detail, much better than he himself.  might be able to. Nothing like being prepared. Elias could be unpredictable when upset, if a man like Fairchild explaining what he had found could manage to keep Steelgrave manage-ably clam then the expense was worth it to all concerned.
    
   He had to congratulate himself on the idea. It just might work!
   
   
3. 

   Four Good Men

   Monday at 01:43 PM

   Elias finished his supper and thought to check on Carson, but another thought filled his consciousness. One he had actually not had before and it gave him pause. Yes Carson Tyndall would respond to whatever was sent by Latham, but he was an attorney, and his influence would not go that far in Kalispell, if at all. But he could muddy up the watrers for whatever the Town Council, such as it was, had done.
    
   No, what he needed was some real authority in town, he needed to get Robertson back into the fold, if he could be found, which would not be all that difficult, and then he needed to defeat Guyer in the upcoming election. But who could he run? He fully understood Case may not have all that good of a chance to get elected, after all, it seemed Guyer was popular enough to carry it. He needed a man who could carry the vote, and that was the problem. Who?
    
   If he had Robertson back in the fold, it wouldn't matter who he found to run against Guyer, and perhaps his choice would not beat out Guyer, but with the Judge, a man could be appointed as County Sheriff and that would provide enough problems to effectively tie Guyer's hands on almost anything. Now the two Marshals from Helena, the county Sheriff could send them packing, and as he had thought before, have Guyer, Pike, and Wentworth fired. Running them out of town might be a bit more problematic, but that too could be done.
    
   This was what seemed on the surface, the way to proceed. Now, to find Robertson and get him back on the payroll where he belonged, and then he could get this plan underway. And the hospital project? That would pretty much take care of itself.
   
4. 

   Carson Tyndall

   Thursday at 04:06 PM

   Tyndall had his secretary take a message to telegraph to Elias Steelgrave, it would read:
    
   "Elias, Have news and will be leaving tomorrow for Kalispell, expect several days before I arrive.
   Carson"
    
   No sense sending personal news via the open wire where any key jockey could intercept the message. Now that not have been what they were called, but it was what Tyndall called them as he had no respect for them, though they were in good company, Carson Tyndall felt everyone was beneath him.
    
   All of the necessary files that would show the work done by him and by Fairchild, and provide the necessary proof of any and all accusations presented, or proof of any innocence discovered. That would be a brief case full of papers. A lot for Elias to digest, but seemingly clearing his son Zeke, and with some reservation, his daughter Leah.
    
   
   
5. 

   Carson Tyndall

   September 17

   It was late afternoon, near the closing hour when former Pinkerton Agent Bradley Fairchild arrived at the office of Carson Tyndall. He was a tall man, well dressed, brown hair and eyes, and a smug look about him. But for Carson Tyndall, Fairchild was well worth his fee.
    
   "I have reviewed all of Ezekiel Steelgrave's finances, unfortunately, unless he's burning the money, he is not taking it. Though I have yet to see if somehow cash is being funneled either to mother or back to his father. It's all here in the report."
    
   "And Elinor? Anything new on the estranged Missus Steelgrave?"
    
   "Yes Mister Tyndall, these is a bit of new information." Fairchild began, "She has relocated from St. Louis to New Orleans. She has accommodations at a hotel named 'The Cajun Queen' on the Mississippi. Almost adjacent, I might add, to the River Princess steamboat, which is docked close by. And which is quite convenient for the lady in question. There are men, but none like the gentleman in St. Louis, someone that is constant, in fact I have lost track of him, Ellisworth I believe was his name.
    
   "Mister Jared Ellisworth, he was present when Elinor arrived in St. Louis, but he was not bankrolling her, it was she that paid the bills. So he is well in the clear. But that he has since disappeared, that is of some concern. Now, Thacher Speckman, the agent killed by parties unknown, left no trail. I had hoped to uncover notes, or reports, anything, but his place was clean as a newborn. Obviously whoever killed him cleaned the room." At this juncture he paused.
    
   "I do not pretend to be a financial expert Mister Tyndall, but in review of Miss Leah Steelgrave's  financial transactions, there is nothing suspicious. She is one of the shrewdest of traders, sir. Her transactions are to date, above reproach. Profits are routinely reinvested and more profits earned. If there is an initial trail, it is long buried beneath transactions. She has outpaced her father several time over."
    
   "And what now Bradley?" Tyndall asked.
    
   "Keep at it, sir. For as long as you like. We might want to focus on Elinor, sir. She seems to most vulnerable if I can get closer to anything resembling financial records, not so much the current ones, but those from the time in St. Louis."
    
   "Thank you, yes, please do keep on, we need to know where Mister Steelgrave's money went." Tyndall concluded.
    
   "Very well, Mister Tyndall. I shall be in New Orleans at the Orleans House." And with that Bradley Fairchild  left the office, as Carson Tyndall sat back reflection on the mess he had to present to his client.
   
   
6. 

   Four Good Men

   September 17

   "We're wastin' our time out here! They ain't comin' huntin' nobody" Treach stated flatly. "Least not taday. Best we make the best of this. But if they ain't here by tamarra, I'm fer pullin' our freight."
    
   "I figure we got us a couple days out here before we know they ain't comin'. And yeah, it's a big gawddamned spread, so it's gonna take some time, if they're comin' at all." Dutch growled, he was suddenly aware that yes, a couple of days at least.
    
   "The boss sent the four of us, that's a long fence line so I understand that he figgered it would take four of us to cover it. So hightailin' it back on our own may not sit well with the old man. You know he wants to get somethiin' started with the Lost Lake, been wantin' too fer years." Deckered explained. "We best stay till we get sent for. Other'n ridin' in fer grub."
    
   Watts just shook his head. "Man's payin' wages ta do what we's told, he wants us out here, that's the damned job. Not my place ta argue with the boss and the foreman cuz I don't wanna sleep on the ground."
    
   "Aw shut up Watts!" Dutch said.
    
   "Well, I brung a bottle along ta keep us comp'ny." He added, then  grinned. "Not so much ta git us drunk, but enough to ward off the chill."
    
   "So who's goin' in fer chuck first?" Deckerd wanted to know about supper.
   
   
7. 

   Carson Tyndall

   September 15

   The stage that would take him to Kalispell would not leave for two more days as it only made the trip once a week at present, with no thought of adding another trip any time soon, but that could always change with mining booms, not that one was expected in the Kalispell area. Other parts of the state were rich in minerals, but nothing so far in the remote town.
    
   Carson Tyndall hated travel by stagecoach, and by horseback even more. He was a man of comfort, trains, that was the way to travel when absolutely necessary. A summons from Elias Steelgrave, unfortunately, was absolutely necessary and the stage was the only way to get there expeditiously. At least Kalispell had a very fine hotel , so his stay would be comfortable at least, as for the rest of the trip, that remained to be seen.
    
   The amount of money that had disappeared was substantial. Upwards of fifty thousand dollars. But pinning the embezzlement on any one party was proving difficult. He had suspected Leah, but with her myriad of investments it was all but impossible to know where the money had come from.
    
   Elinor, almost as difficult, but the dead investigator certainly cast a damning light in her direction, though it was clear she did have her own money, but hardly close to the amount that was missing, which left Zeke Steelgrave, yet, he was his fathers son, to be sure, yet there was always that chance that Zeke had been involved in skimming funds. All of it remained to be seen, and for Carson, Elinor and Zeke were the prime suspects.
   
   
8. 

   Four Good Men

   September 15

   A plan. He needed a plan to gain some control in Kalispell, thought if past history was an indication of his chances, they were bleak. Possibly worse than bleak, this was not like Whitefish had been. All that he had in town were Latham and Ashworth. Oh true, Robertson had kept thing under control up until he vanished. But did he really?
    
   A man of his stature and age really did not vanish, far from it. He could be in Helena, or Missoula, or even Montana's Virginia City. But a man who liked his comforts could be found without a great deal of problems. Yes, given his nature, Elias wanted to kill the man for turning on him, but if he could bring him back into the fold, so to say, perhaps he could wrest control from Wentworth, then again, if Latham could win as Mayor and head of the Town Council.
    
   A snowball's chance in hell was a good description of Cole Latham's chances, and Elias knew it. There had to be another way. He himself was as welcome as the plague in Kalispell, Case, not much better off. At least he might still have supporters in town. Not everyone loved Guyer.
    
   That could be the answer, Guyer. If he was out of the picture then there was a chance, no matter how small, that Case could get the Marshals job, and if he he did, he could have a say in who was appointed as County Sheriff. But killing Guyer would not be easy. He needed Robertson back in power first, then it would be possible to just have he and his deputies fired and Case appointed. No election, no problem!
   
9. 

   Carson Tyndall

   September 13

   Mature Content: A good possibility. 
   With: Carson Tyndall (NCP)
   Location: Tyndall, Jeneah, and Oakley Law Offices
   When: Summer 1876
   Time of Day: Mid-day
    
   
    
   
    
   The message was concise and to the point, 'Elias needs you here.' It was signed simply Latham. So a visit that attorney Carson Tyndall had planned to make within the next month to six weeks now had it's time table moved up substantially. It would just be an inconvenience, he had a case pending that either Jeneah or Oakley could handle in his stead. But he hated having his schedule upended by anyone, especially Steelgrave.
    
   The man had no concern for others or their lives, well he had a few things to tell Mister Steelgrave about his finances, and his wife. He suspected his daughter Leah, but proof was not so simple to come by as it was on Elinor Steelgrave and perhaps his son Zeke who handled the families non-ranching business interests, and and fate would have it, answers to his mother, Elinor.
    
   From what he had reviewed, actually nailing down who had done what to Elias was no easy chore, even with the hired investigators, one of whom had been pulled from the Missouri River, a hole in his forehead, outside St. Louis. Of course there was no link to Elinor Steelgrave, she was in New Orleans at the time, and had been for some time, but Tyndall suspected that she had something to do with the killing, even if she was not present when the shot was fired. No killer was ever captured either.
    
   The portfolio he had to present to Elias was not anything that would make him happy, and Elias in a rage, which would most likely be the result, was nothing he was looking forward to. The man was unpredictable when his temper was lost.
    
   So coach reservations would need to be made post haste.
   
   
10. 

    Four Good Men

    September 13

    Elias started to pace, then dropped onto his settee. This was not going the way he had planned. He had thought he had control over Robertson, at least to the point he needn't worry about legal matters locally. But with the Town Council short handed due to a death, and then it dawned on him, who was the fifth member of the council?  And Wentworth, how in God's name did he get himself appointed acting Mayor, and the head of the Council.
     
    Tyndall might be able to rectify the aberration of a Council that had approved the contract. Then too, he would be viewed as an outsider, outsider, hardly! But it had been some time since he had made an appearance in Kalispell. No matter, he was the take charge type, and that was what was needed. Someone besides him to take charge of this mess and get it straightened out to his liking. He wanted to fault Latham, badly, but he had to admit that try as he might, Latham was outgunned at the meeting and most likely silenced by Wentworth who was suddenly the man in control.
     
    Ashworth, he could be of use, yes, but in order for much of anything to happen, he had to get control in town before anything else went awry. Things like this could spiral out of control quickly if someone didn't do something, and even Tyndall was days away by coach, which may not be all that much help. Hopefully the man would go back to running his hotel now that he had messed everything up.
     
    It was time for him to play this closer to the vest, perhaps not react as some might think he would, until, of course, he could manage to wrest control of Kalispell's governing body. Damned Robertson anyway, but he still could be of use.
    

Topics I Participated In

1. 

   Carson Tyndall

   Started by Elias Steelgrave · September 13

   Mature Content: A good possibility. 
   With: Carson Tyndall (NCP)
   Location: Tyndall, Jeneah, and Oakley Law Offices
   When: Summer 1876
   Time of Day: Mid-day
    
   
    
   
    
   The message was concise and to the point, 'Elias needs you here.' It was signed simply Latham. So a visit that attorney Carson Tyndall had planned to make within the next month to six weeks now had it's time table moved up substantially. It would just be an inconvenience, he had a case pending that either Jeneah or Oakley could handle in his stead. But he hated having his schedule upended by anyone, especially Steelgrave.
    
   The man had no concern for others or their lives, well he had a few things to tell Mister Steelgrave about his finances, and his wife. He suspected his daughter Leah, but proof was not so simple to come by as it was on Elinor Steelgrave and perhaps his son Zeke who handled the families non-ranching business interests, and and fate would have it, answers to his mother, Elinor.
    
   From what he had reviewed, actually nailing down who had done what to Elias was no easy chore, even with the hired investigators, one of whom had been pulled from the Missouri River, a hole in his forehead, outside St. Louis. Of course there was no link to Elinor Steelgrave, she was in New Orleans at the time, and had been for some time, but Tyndall suspected that she had something to do with the killing, even if she was not present when the shot was fired. No killer was ever captured either.
    
   The portfolio he had to present to Elias was not anything that would make him happy, and Elias in a rage, which would most likely be the result, was nothing he was looking forward to. The man was unpredictable when his temper was lost.
    
   So coach reservations would need to be made post haste.
   
   
2. 

   Into the Storm

   Started by Matt Wentworth · July 16

   Mature Content: No
   With: Matt Wentworth, Leah Steelgrave, and others
   Location: Mayor's Office
   When: Mid-Late July 1876
   Time of Day: Morning
    
   
    
   After Matt escorted Leah to her seat in the Mayor's office, he took out his fob watch and checked the time.  It was a little after 9 but the day already seemed a bit  longer.  The only other people presented were John Anderson and Marshall Guyer, who, unless someone else came were to be the witness of the signing of the papers letting Leah finally build her hospital.  Both Guyer and Anderson were unaware of how precarious the situation had become but hopefully, with some luck, no-one would find until out after the election.  Since only he and Leah were the only ones who knew the truth, it would be fine...unless Ben Robertson decided to come back.  Robertson coming back, however, was a remote possibility at this stage.
    
   Trouble would only arise if he didn't become mayor but according to the scuttlebutt around town, he was almost guaranteed the opposite.  The only strong opposition was Cole Latham and he would only win if Elias Steelgrave managed to pay off everybody in town.  Pettigrew and Priest were virtual non-starters with the former not being considered a serious candidate and the latter, a complete unknown who spent most of his time at the Star Dust, which wouldn't endear him to the church-going folks in town.
    
   Any more thoughts about his chances in the upcoming election would have to be put on hold for now.  It was time to get this transfer of property to Leah, done and dusted.
    
   "All right, if there are no objections, may I suggest that we proceed with our business."
    
   @Flip
   
3. 

   Four Good Men

   Started by Elias Steelgrave · March 7

   Mature Content: Language.
   With: Elias, Granger, Deckerd, Treach, Watts, & Dutch
   Location: Main House, On The Range, On Lost Lake
   When: July1876
   Time of Day: Late Afternoon
    
   
    
   Attorney of sorts, Cole Latham, and Postmaster, newly minted, Nolan Ashworth rode out of town at a leisurely pace so as to not arouse suspicion that most already had about the pair. They were riding north, that would mean The Evergreen, and reporting to Elias Steelgrave. Generally only one would have the task of informing Elias of either his daughter, Leah's or son Case's doings that both went, that was something that did get attention. Including that of editor Phineas McVay who happened to be leaned against and awning post.  He stepped back into his office and smiled at printers devil, Tommy Lane.
    
   "Round up our news rats and find out what's going on, just saw Latham and Ashworth headed for the Evergreen." He ordered. The news rats were hi informants that kept an eye on things around town.
    
   The ride north was about the goings on since the last report and that which had happened that afternoon. It began with Guyer and Leah, then to Guyer and Wentworth, of the hotel, and culminated with a visit to Judge Robertson. None of those visits were in secret, nor was there any attempt to hide these meetings, and, that would mean the promised land for the hospital which was delayed.
    
   Elias, ever volatile , would not be happy. He had been assured the judges silence as well as his delay in granting any parcel of land. So whatever the unknown outcome of these meetings, Elias would not be happy, both with the meetings and with the lack of knowledge as to what went on with Judge Robertson.
   
   
4. 

   Thundering Hooves, Barking Rifles

   Started by Clyde Baker · July 18, 2021

   Mature Content: Yes, violence, language, probable killings of both humans and animals
   With: Clyde Baker, Wayne Baker, Baker gang, Brendan Connolly, José Reyes, Evergreen Ranch hands, Potentially Steelgrave Family themselves
   Location: Edge of the Evergreen Ranch
   When: Mid June, 1876
   Time of Day: 11PM, the dead of night
    
   
    
   They were too close for a fire, and so the gang had huddled beneath blankets and pulled coats over themselves as the night's chill crept in. It was the middle of the damn summer, and this God-forsaken hellhole dropped to frigid temperatures as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon.
   
   "Freezing my damn balls off here, Clyde. When are we making a fuckin' move?"
   "Shut your mouth Greene, we go when I god damn say so."
   To make matters worse, they'd hired on extra hands for this job. Frank Greene, Jed Sampson, and Jimmy Finch had joined in the bolstering of their ranks, swelling their little posse to five members strong.
   
    
    
    
    
    
    
   For Clyde, that was just as bad as going without. Men you didn't know were as liable to shoot you in the back as to carry you through a burning building, and that was a chance he never liked to take. Unfortunately for him, Kalispell; this little shithole out in the ass-end of the world, was a long way from anywhere safe, and a longer way still from anywhere they would be able to fence cows or cattleflesh. Him and Wayne couldn't do it alone, despite how poorly these cowpokes rubbed him.
    
   Out in the distance, at the fence line, came the whinny of a horse as its rider brought it to bear, and the low grumbling of Cattle followed, protests at the movement in their ranks.
   Clyde grinned. The wait was over.
   "Alright Greene, we're going. Mount up boys, masks on and guns ready."
    
   There was a resounding chorus of 'alright' and 'bout' time'  and 'let's do this' from the men, as they loaded their weapons and readied themselves for the raid to come. Clyde pushed himself to his feet and pulled the revolver from his holster, giving its cylinder a little spin in trepidation. His plan would work. It had to work.
   He moved to his gelding, a ratty thing he'd fleeced off a card shark in Wichita, and pulled that old red bandanna from it's saddlebag. It was comfortable around his throat in its familiarity. He must have worn it dozens of times in robberies just like this, and it had always seen him through. His. Plan. Would. Work.
    
   The outlaw planted a foot in his stirrup, and hoisted himself up onto the mount. The gelding snorted in discomfort, and took a few steps to the side to resettle himself against the weight.
    
   "You ready, Clyde?" asked Wayne to his right, already mounted, looking for all the world like a trickshooter with that Winchester nestled in the crook of his arm.
    
   "You know it, buddy. Just like old times."
    
   "Just like old times."
    
   ----
    
   They moved in silence to the fence line, nothing in the still night air but the clopping of horseshoes and the faint baying of cattle. Cresting a rise, the five riders peered down at the ranch below, pens upon pens of cattle, and off in the distance sat the ranch house, dim lights showing through the windows.
    
   Clyde looked around for the pen he'd spotted earlier - a smaller one holding maybe twenty heads. He'd sat up the last few nights watching the routine of these hands at the fence line, and he knew there was a window of changeover, about fifteen minutes long; where that pen would be undisturbed by any guards. They would slip in, stampede the cows, corral them into the forest, round them up, and be gone before morning. Once they got out into open country, they'd never be caught. Wayne was too damn good at what he did.
    
   "Wayne, take Sampson and circle round the rear. On my whistle I want you to get the herd moving. I don't care how you do it, just fucken do it."
    
   "Yes boss." mumbled Wayne, beckoning for Jed to follow him. Their horses trotted off into the night, riders alert.
    
   "Finch, you're riding flank. Keep to the side, and when the cattle start running, you keep those stragglers from drifting too far, y'hear?"
    
   Finch nodded, and he too rode off into the night, the opposite direction to Wayne and Jed.
    
   "Alright, Greene, you're with me. Keep your head down, do what you're told and we'll come out of this rich."
    
   "Sure shit, Baker." grunted Frank, and with that, the gang fanned out into the night, completing a deadly envelopment of the small pen. Clyde kicked the gelding into motion, and they cantered down to the fence line. In front lay their fortune, behind lay hundreds of miles of unsettled territory. All they had to do was get it out of there.
    
   They stopped just shy of the fence, and Clyde pulled sharp left on the reins, scanning the border for a glint of metal that would indicate a gate. He found it right in the center, chained shut with nothing but a rusty old padlock. He swung his leg over his mount and dropped to the grassy ground, pulling the bandanna up to cover his nose and mouth as he did so. It was dark, and unlikely that anyone would recognize him if he was seen, but it always paid to err on the side of caution, especially on a job wrought with such chance.
    
   "Greene! Cutters!" he hissed, and his companion jogged over to him, a set of bolt cutters in hand. Clyde never liked to work with faulty equipment, and the cutters in question had been sharpened to a honed edge. All it took was one deft snip, and the padlocked chain fell to the dirt, useless.
   Clyde dropped the cutters, and Frank moved to the opposite side of the gate. Together, they pulled it open, creaking obnoxiously in the still night. From within the pen, the cattle began to move around, uncomfortable with this irregularity to their schedule. With their side of the job complete, Clyde tilted back his head and gave a single sharp whistle to their accomplices.
    
   ----
    
   By now, Wayne and Jed had arrived at the rear of the pen, and their horses stood pawing the ground in anticipation. The animals could sense the anxiety in the air, and here and there came the mooing of nervous cattle.
    
   Wayne watched as those two dark figures moved across the fence line opposite them, darting from their horses to the fence.
    
   "Are we goin' or what?" Jed asked, nervousness in his voice.
    
   "Calm yer fucken' self. We go on my brother's signal." Wayne shot back. He'd learned some years ago that Clyde generally knew best, even on matters that seemed straightforward.
    
   Jed huffed, but said nothing. The moments ticked by, excruciatingly. Any second now, one of the Evergreen ranch hands might come up the rise and catch them in the act. Then there'd be bloodshed for damn sure, but until then they would wait.
   Finally, like a message of salvation from God himself, there was a sharp whistle from across the pen.
    
   "Alright, let's go." Wayne announced, as he pulled his own bandanna up to cover the bottom of his face. He kicked his horse into gear and they loudly galloped along the fence. The cattle began to stir, but made no movement, and so Wayne darted back for a second time, slapping the side of his saddle.
    
   "Come on cows, gee-up, cmon', go on, get going!"
    
   Jed joined in the theatrics, and the cattle begun to stomp their feet, but still they would not move.
    
   "Damn it Baker, we gotta get em' going!"
    
   "Don't you think I fucken' know that?" Wayne retorted. Damn it, Clyde would know what to do, but he couldn't circle around to ask, they were running out of time as it was.
   Beneath his mask, he chewed his lip, and finally after a moment's deliberation, he pulled the Winchester from it's scabbard on the side of his saddle.
    
   "Jaysus Baker, are you mad? You'll alert every damn hand on the ranch!"
    
   "We don't have much fucken' choice, do we? We're gonna get caught anyway if we sit here with our thumbs up our asses!"
    
   He worked the lever action, filling the chamber before he raised the rifle's barrel to the sky. He shut his eyes for a moment, and hoped that this was the right thing to do.
    
   ----
    
   The gunshot echoed out, far across the valley. What followed were the thundering of hooves, belonging to both horses and cows. Men darted awake in their beds, riders turned their mounts to face the noise, and ranch hands stopped what they were doing to investigate.
    
   José slumped down into his bunk, exhausted after a long day on the range. His hands were blistered and sore from working the herds, and his back ached from hours in the saddle. It had been a month. A month of honest work, and it was honest work for sure. He was a changed man now, he had gotten out. How many outlaws could say that?
   He was just reaching down to unbuckle his gun belt when there came that noise that he could have recognized anywhere. A Winchester model 1866, fired off from one of the rearmost paddocks. The very paddock that he had just left, the very paddock that the night patrol would be heading up to...
    
   He took his hands off his gunbelt, and pushed himself back onto his feet.
   @Bailey@Flip
   
5. 

   Back In Kalispell

   Started by Case Steelgrave · June 29, 2021

   Mature Content:  Nope.
   With: Case, maybe some of his gang
   Location: Big Flat, Montana
   When: Early July 1876, Not 1896
   Time of Day: Not sure yet
    
   
    
   Big Flat, Montana. Not much of a town, but then, neither had Whitefish been when he stepped in. This would be the same. Sitting on the Flathead River there were men hard at it panning, and they were showing some color. It really wasn't enough to start a rush, or a boom, but it was enough to keep the saloon, the general store, the hardware store, and even a couple of ladies of the evening busy.
    
   The trial had been a joke, well, as far as he was concerned it was, Goodnight had eared whatever it was his father paid him to get Case off with a genuine slap on the wrists, and, a pocket change fine. He wanted to stay in town, just to rub Guyers nose in it, but that would certainly have gotten him killed. If not by Guyer, certainly by Deputy Pike. Dying was certainly not in his plans, so, he decided to relocate to somewhere that offered possibilities for he and the boys. Big Flat was that place.
    
   The first order of business was to ensconce in the town and get some of the prominent locals, and there were a couple, thinking he was exactly what they needed. A good honest marshal for their fledgling town of four buildings and perhaps a dozen tents. Someone to keep the peace. And that would be  the man that single-handedly ran off the Guthrie Gang. No small feat the town believed. Though the gang had not killed anyone, nor had they beaten anyone, what they had done was intimidate and threaten. They usual tactic in gaining what they wanted. Of course, they were not above killing or beating anyone, there had just been no need. So the blacksmith made him up a star, attached a pin, and presto! Case Steelgrave was Big Flat's Town Marshal.
    
   Slowly the rest of Case's crowd filtered into town as the town itself slowly grew. By the time he'd been in town a month, it had grown to twice it's size, one hundred hearty souls. Men were panning in the Flathead River and show some color, not enough to start a rush, or a boom, but enough to support the saloon, the general store, the hardware store and even a couple soiled doves. Big Flat was beginning to prosper, as was Case and his crowd. And to help that along, Billy Barnes, flush with cash, bought the saloon which had no name, Case fixed that, calling it the Buckhorn Saloon, which had everything, whiskey, women all two of them, card games and card sharps to go with them. And Dyer Howe to ensure everyone behaved.
    
   Case Steelgrave was once again in business.
   
   Billy Barnes & Dyer Howe
   TBC
    
    
   
6. 

   What else Can Go Wrong?

   Started by Elias Steelgrave · March 23, 2021

   Mature Content:  Yes Language
   With: Elias Hood, Layton Harris, Arlen Granger
   Location: Add specific location information here.
   When: April 24th, 1876
   Time of Day: Mid-Morning, evening, etc.).
    
   
    
   The place was straightened up somewhat. Elias was sober, and had been for since news of Cases arrest reached him.
   Three men stood in the parlor, two with hat in hand. Elias, his Foreman Layton Harris and the Assistant Foreman, Arlen Granger. This was not a friendly meeting by any stretch of the imagination.
   “What the hell has taken you two three full days to gather the goddamned riders I ordered? I meant to have my son out of that jail and home by now.” Elias was fuming. I wanted them sonsabitches in Kalispell yesterday, goddamnit! Not nursemaiding cows!
    
   “For Christ sake Elias, they were all over the spread. They were branding as they found calves, a couple were driving them down out of the hills, but we had men tied up everywhere on this ranch, except here.” Harris shot back. Boss or not, there were situations where men would be all but out of reach. “It’s spring round up, damn it, and that takes every man we’ve got. Cases men are no help, they’re off someplace doin’ whatever.”
    
   “I sent one of the young hands out to find them, but I ain’t heard squat since he left.” Granger piped up. “We got maybe a dozen men that need food and remounts to make the trip to Kalispell. Ya gotta give ‘em some time, they ain’t been here twenty minutes.”
    
   “I gotta give ‘em shit! I pay their wages on time, I expect them to be here when I need them! So you get their lazy asses in them saddles and ride for Kalispell! I want it done now goddamnit!”
    
   “What the hell else can go wrong?” He shouted at their backs as they hurried from the room to help with the remounts and get them going.
    
   With the two of them there would be fourteen men, against two. Kalispell had had it’s fair share of excitement, but that had been five men in the bank job, this would be three times that many! It would be a much different situation, besides, there were another fifteen that had yet to ride in to the home ranch, plus Cases men. If they ever showed.
   
   
7. 

   Alone With His Thoughts

   Started by Elias Steelgrave · November 14, 2020

   Mature Content: No.
   Location: Where Whitefish Once Stood
   When: April 1876
   Time of Day: Mid-morning.
    
   
    
   Still an able horseman, Elias Steelgrave rode over to what had been the town of Whitefish. Granted, his son ran the town with an iron fist, had kept his outlaw friends close, while they rustled cattle from everyone local, including some of his, but he had been paid handsomely to be involved in the ruse, plus the return of his cattle and generally several head of unbranded stock.
    
   It was a sad sight, the utter destruction of both fire and weather had unleashed on the town that was to be the jewel of his empire. Now those that had lived there had moved on, either to Kalispell or Columbia Falls, south to Fort Somers and possibly beyond. Without Whitefish as his centerpiece, the plan for the empire and it’s expansion was now just a painful memory.
    
   Elias considered what had transpired over the past year, he lost both his daughter and his wife, not to mention the crushing blow to his plans. His sons who should be at the home ranch were off somewhere, Clayton who was supposed to be the foreman of the ranch was in and out, working with his underling and acting foreman Layton Harris, who actually ran the place. Clayton, busy with his wife and four children, had lost his taste for blood letting, or so it seemed. And Zeke, Zeke who ran most all of the Steelgraves non-ranching businesses was now in Missoula with Elias’ actual lawyer, Carson Tyndall, and whether or not Zeke was still in contact with his mother was unknown to him. Perhaps, he needed to find out.
    
   The only one of his family he could count on was Case. Yet, could he rely on a man that had his own plans and ideas that most times did not ally with his fathers? That was the question. True, his boys had been there in the beginning, had been willing to use their guns to further their fathers plans, but as he turned his horse for home he wondered if they too had abandoned him.
    
   Well, there was Case, and there were Case’s men. He might just have to cut his other children out, permanently. Elias had become an angry, empty man. And that made him very dangerous.
    
   
8. 

   Not Good News

   Started by Elias Steelgrave · September 16, 2020

   Mature Content: Language?
   Author: Put your OOC username here ONLY if posting with a Shared NPC.
   Location: The Evergreen Ranch House
   When: April, 1 1876
   Time of Day: Mid-morning
    
   
    
   The big house seemed a mere shell of what it had been to Elias Steelgrave. His wife, Elinor, and run off and promptly disappeared. His best efforts to find her were rebuffed by a typically harsh winter with transportation at a near standstill. His suddenly rebellious daughter was in Kalispell, refusing to return to the ranch, and then barred from such action by the winter.
    
   Even his sons, Ben, Clay, and Zeke were rare visitors and where they had spent the winter was not known. And Case, he was on the mend in Kalispell from injuries suffered during the disaster which was the demise of Whitefish. Though it was possible to get through to the ranch and had been for a number of weeks, he had not done so.
    
   So, Elias Steelgrave was alone. Alone for the first time in some forty years, and he didn’t like it. Oh he’d made some mistakes along the way, but none he didn’t believe he had or could repair. The incident wit Leah, well hadn’t he been drunk? It was not something he repeated, and he had regaled her with money, accounts in town, in Helena, wherever she wanted to go. Always first class. Still she refused to return.
    
   Seated across from him were his attorney Cole Latham and Nolan Ashworth, a man ensconced in the fabric of Kalispell and it’s citizenry. Neither had a pleasant look on their faces.
    
   “A rebuild of Whitefish is simply out of the question.” Latham said wearily. “There is no backing for such an undertaking. No backers are interested in funding it.”
    
   “And why not?” Elias demanded.
    
   “Interest is now to the south, in Kalispell.” Ashworth interjected in reply.
    
   “The hell you say! Why if it weren’t for Lost Lake Ranch and the Thornton-Cantrell bunch Kalispell would be a speck and Whitefish would be resurrected.” Elias stated. “And what’s the big deal with Kalispell?”
    
   “Perhaps you should see this.” Ashworth volunteered, holding out a copy of the Union.
   
   TBC
   
9. 

   Why Is Hell So Cold?

   Started by Elias Steelgrave · June 19, 2020

   Mature Content: Add yes, possible language
   With: Elias Steelgrave
   Location: Evergreen Ranch
   When: December 16,1875
   Time of Day:  Afternoon
    
   
    
   Drunk since the day Elinor Steelgrave left, Elias was a wreck of a human being. Unwashed, in the same clothes for weeks, a bottle in his hands at all times. He was ugly, ill tempered and wanted nothing to do with anyone, anyone except his truant daughter Leah.
    
   The women of the Evergreen were gone. Leah had left in early November for the state capitol at Helena on some fool errand, or at least that was how he saw it. She was girl, what did she know about anything? And her mother? Points unknown, and why, why would she leave him at this juncture? They were wealthy almost beyond measure, the ranch would be expanding, well it would have been but word was delivered that Whitefish had been wiped out, almost totally destroyed. There was no word on his son Case.
    
   So there he was, in that huge house, by himself.
    
   The accusations about his molestation of Leah couldn’t be proven, at least not without her testimony, and he would see her dead first. But she was to blame, plain and simple, flaunting herself around the house the way she had. That Elinor threw that up to him before her sudden departure was unfair. She didn’t understand what had happened, and that would have exonerate him of any blame and cast the guilt where it belonged on the ungrateful little bitch.
   He found the humor in that and fell back out of the chair, knocking himself out.
    
   Next: Find Her And Kill Her!
   
10. 

    A Rainy Montana Day

    Started by Elias Steelgrave · January 18, 2020

    Mature Content: Add yes, no, or short info if needed (example: Yes, violence).
    With: Ben, Clay, Zeke and Bannister
    Location: Add specific location information here.
    When: September / 1875
    Time of Day: Morning.
     
    
     
    Three men stood in the living room at Evergreen Ranch in slickers. “Trip was easy, using the boys from Whitefish was a waste of their time. No body gave us any guff about the new county, nor did them seem to care that Case would be the law.” Ben Steelgrave stated with some disdain, not because the had made a long ride, but because there had been no resistance.
     
    “You rode al the way to Columbia Falls without incident?” Elias questioned. “Not one dissenter in the lot?”
     
    “No Pa, not a single one.” Clay responded. “It was like they welcomed the change, no cusin’ under the breath, no hard looks, nothin’ like we expected.”
     
    Zeke smiled, “No excuse to shoot any of ‘em. So the boundaries are set. Columbia Falls was a bit concerned about what is happening, but once we let ‘em know it wasn’t going to effect them, well, that was pretty much that.”
     
    “Hard to believe, but we’ll see how it goes from here on out.” Elias said, cautiously relieved for the lack of trouble and at the same time disappointed that there had been no show of force, something he was used to. “Well, you boys head on out.” He opened a box on the table had produced a bag of coins, tossing it to Ben. “You deserve time off. Go.”
     
    There were murmurs of thanks as the three left the room and left the house for a wet ride to Whitefish and some fun.      
     
    Elias had other things on his mind. “Santee!” He called out once the door was closed. The hired gun walked into the room. “You ride for Kalispell and bring back Miss Steelgrave and Bannister. Enough of her lollygagging around down there.”
     
    “Yes sir, on my way." Santee stated.
     
    TBC
    

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