Dark Snow may be purchased from either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

The story of this, my first book, begins on the birthday of our hero, Remiel-Remmy-Bevens as he makes his way home after a day of cutting firewood.

Here are some historical photos related to the story.

A photo of the 1886 blizzard taken in central Kansas.

 

Typical bow saw of the period.

 

The old county courthouse in Erie, KS.

 

 A typical home cook stove, this one probably in the south. The stoves in an eating house of the day would have been much larger. They were normally fired with wood.

 

 

The very first silver certificate for $1 was issued in 1886. All certificates were replaced in 1957 with Federal Reserve Notes. The difference was that a certificate could be traded at any bank for $1 in silver coin. Today’s Federal note can be redeemed for non-silver coins. While silver coins are still minted and can be used as currency, they are really intended for collectors, because the value of the silver greatly exceeds the minted face value. You might now pay $25 for a silver dollar, but you could only spend it as one dollar.

This is the Osage Mission Catholic Church in Neosho County, KS.

The Church built a school next door which is today the oldest continuing school in Kansas, though it is now public. There was a virtual war between Osage Mission and the town of Erie for possession of the county seat. Today, Mission is called St. Paul and the church is St. Francis.

 

The cover of a book about the real murders of the Sell family in Neosho County, Kansas, in 1886. Sixteen year old Willie survived and was accused of and convicted for the murders of his family, and spent 21 years in prison before he was finally given a full pardon based on the evidence. While that evidence points strongly to two unnamed killers, they were never caught.

This real murder was the starting point for my story, Dark Snow.