Goin' Up to Cripple Creek

Goin' Up To Cripple Creek is historical western fiction of the Colorado, Cripple Creek Mining District, and the men who established it, and mined its gold. The time period is from the discovery and settlement of this alpine valley, through the establishment of the town of Cripple Creek, to the fires of 1896. This is the first work in The Gold Trail Series. Filled with action and romance, it is a well researched and historical fiction of an exciting time. Starting with the settlement by Levi Welty, and the discovery of gold by Bob Womack, it tells the story of the establishment of the District. A vivid picture of the community, inner workings, and social life emerges. A young mining engineer, Steven Marks, arrives from abroad and is robbed of his money on the road into the new town. With the help of kindly, hard drinking Bob Womack, he is able to establish himself with employment at Guyot's Assay Office, where he becomes acquainted with Winfield Scott Stratton. He meets and falls in love with the independent Elizabeth Yates, who owns a restaurant on the main street. She has made an enemy of Soapy Smith, and a tangled relationship with Steven is complicated by the arrival of her first husband. As the city grows, bad elements of greed, and intemperance, tear the social fabric of the close knit early town. Purged by fire, a community is brought together.