About the Book:
In Spring 1874, the American economy is descending into a depression, following the collapse of Jay Cooke’s financial empire. Amid the chain of bank and business failures set off by Cooke’s bankruptcy, Jubilee Walker struggles to keep Warner and Walker Outfitters solvent.
Jubil’s grand plans for developing Yellowstone National Park into a popular tourist destination were dashed when Cooke’s business plan failed, but he is still determined to fulfill the park’s potential—not to mention his promise to his friend White Dog to end the corruption affecting the well-being of the people living on the Crow reservation.
When Jubil solicits support from the highest levels of government, he sets off a chain of events that puts not only him but the ones he loves most in grave danger. What is the nature of the secret Jubil’s nemesis is hiding? And how far will he go to protect it? Book four in the Jubilee Walker series is loosely based on historical events.
Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.
Thanks for inviting me.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Elijah Boswell, but everyone calls me Eli. I’m twenty-one years old. I have a twin brother named Isaac, Ike for short. Our sister, Nelly, is two years older than us. That’s not her Christian name, but if I told you her real name, she’d be angry and get revenge on me somehow. We grew up in Bloomington, Illinois, which is where our parents still live. Our father works in a carriage shop and is a very skilled carpenter. Our mother makes the best fried chicken and apple pie you’ll ever taste, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
How did you become acquainted with Jubilee Walker?
I’ve known Jubil for as long as I can remember. Our family had a farm outside of Bloomington for a while, and Jubil’s parents owned the farm next door. We went to school together. He and Nelly have always been best friends. Even though he’s three years old than my brother and me, he tolerates us—which says more about his character than you might think. While he was gone on his first adventure to the West with Major John Wesley Powell, he asked me and Ike to take care of his property, and we accidently burned down his farmhouse and barn. When I think of it, I can hardly believe he’s still friendly toward us. But I guess we made up for it. And I guess it’s lucky for us that he and Nelly turned sweet on each other. Now they’re married, so Jubil is my brother-in-law. He trusts me and Ike enough now to let us work for his business, Warner and Walker Outfitters.
What is the nature of your employment with Mr. Walker?
Our first job for Jubil was helping him and Luke Warner, his business partner at the time, start up their store in Bloomington. Ike and I worked for no pay for a year to repay the damage to Jubil’s homestead. After our debt was paid, we kept working for Jubil, because we like the work, and we’re good enough at it that Jubil wants to keep us on. Ike helps with the management issues and new product design, and I’m the top salesman and stock clerk.
The problem is that an enemy of Jubil’s—a man Jubil ran into trouble with while he was exploring in Yellowstone in 1871—hired someone out of spite to burn down the store. Luke died in that fire, and Jubil moved us to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to take over Luke’s father’s store. As much as I enjoy working in the store in Council Bluffs, what I really want to do is help Jubil with his adventure tour business. This summer, we’re leading our first group of tourists along the same route Jubil took in 1868 while he was exploring in Colorado with Major Powell.
Is Warner and Walker Outfitters a successful business?
It was, up until last year. The whole economy’s gone into a depression, and we’ve been struggling. Jubil was deeply involved with Jay Cooke, whose investment house went bankrupt after the Northern Pacific Railroad deal fell apart. Jubil almost lost Warner and Walker entirely, because the market has gone cold. The stylish business and leisure travelers who used to buy our goods aren’t buying anymore, so we’ve been focusing on more basic goods. Jubil also has connections in the military, so he’s trying to get more supply business at the forts within reach. He’s considering expanding into the Montana Territory by putting a new store in Bozeman to supply Fort Ellis. That store would also serve as a base for the adventure tours we’ll offer into Yellowstone Park. The Crow reservation is nearby, and we might eventually be able to get the supply contract there, but there are some issues Jubil needs to get resolved there first.
Wasn’t Jubilee Walker involved in some trouble in Bozeman a few years ago?
Well, that’s true, but none of it was Jubil’s fault. Back in 1871, after the Washburn Expedition into Yellowstone, Jubil and the other explorers vowed to lobby the government to make it a national park to protect it from being exploited. A man in Bozeman named Phineas Black took exception to that plan, because he owned gold mines near the Yellowstone Basin and stood to lose a good bit if the government took the land for the park. That wasn’t all Black took exception to. Jubil was determined to stop Black’s mercantile, which was supplying the Crow reservation, from defrauding both the tribe and the government. Black ended up drawing Jubil into a gunfight, and Jubil—with the help of his friend, the Crow scout White Dog—prevailed.
Are all those issues settled now?
Not entirely. Congress managed to declare Yellowstone a national park, but there’s no funding to protect it. I know Jubil is concerned about that and doing what he can to influence the situation. Meanwhile, there’s still fraud going on at the Crow reservation. What are the Crow people supposed to do when they’re sent rotten grain and sickly livestock? How can they survive? With Phineas Black out of the picture, we’re wondering who’s behind the problem this time. Jubil’s not eager to draw any attention his way if he doesn’t have to. He’s hoping one of his government friends can solve the problem. Once that happens, we can win the supply contract for the reservation and open a new store in Bozeman.
Do you plan to stay with Warner and Walker Outfitters?
If everything goes as planned. If we open a new store in Bozeman, I’ll likely be the one to manage it and leave the Council Bluffs store to Ike. I also have high hopes for our adventure tour business. If the tour this summer goes well, it could help our stores weather the slow economy. I like working with Jubil. He has bold ideas, and he’s not afraid to do what others are too timid to take on.
Tim Piper is retired from a long career in Information Technology and has been a lifelong hobbyist musician. In his earlier days he was an avid hiker and backcountry camper, but his adventures these days are less strenuous and more comfortable. He began his education at Illinois State University as an English major, but life circumstances put him on a more pragmatic path, and he graduated with a BS in Business Admin, a degree he finds appropriately named. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois.
Learn more at www.timpiper-author.com or follow him on Facebook.
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