Mister Hamlin's List

Cripple Creek Colorado, 1904, 'The Greatest Gold Camp on Earth!'

There is a job for anyone who wants one.  Sort of.   Gold and liquor burble in the streets and saloons.  Untold wealth, plenty of it, comes out of the ground.   But….unrest and struggle lurk.  Mine owners and miners simply do not mix in this eccentric and wild place.   

Conflict underlays the camp as extensively as the gold bearing ore it sits on.  The miners’ union and mine owners maneuver and grab and fall like sumo wrestlers.  But in this match, spectators aren’t safely in the gallery.  They are in the ring and innocent people get caught up.   Trains are derailed,  mines are booby trapped, union workers are blacklisted….

A savage explosion set off in a public building brings events to a head.   The townspeople must grapple with the crime.   Families, the entire camp, the union, and the State will be changed forever.

Abby Bosini, her brother Lon, and miner Ben McNall are faced with daunting and far reaching decisions.

This is history.  These events and struggles took place over a century ago.   The story is timely and holds lessons for today.