America’s Last Emperor: Warning

Chapter Sixteen

Washerwoman’s Lagoon, courtesy OpenSFHistory.org

July 6th, 1856

The days that followed the hangings of Casey and Cora were among the strangest that Norton had seen so far. The events would normally be alarming to him, as the rights of ordinary citizens were trod upon hourly by the vigilantes in their attempts to clean up the town. The people they targeted were mostly politicians this time, which made it doubly consterning to Norton. He felt as if he dodged a bullet when Broderick declined to employ him now. So far his old friend Broderick was untouchable, but a scandal developed when it was discovered that Casey and his friends engaged in a ballot box stuffing conspiracy. The seizing of government officials forced the state governor in Sacramento to call up the militia.

Norton did not find these events alarming though. He had no business anymore. He had no vested interest in the ongoing struggles of government to maintain control. He spent his days walking his morning and evening rounds, trailing a chain of stray dogs behind him. There was one that was the first stray dog that Norton could remember in town, and a rotating cast of curs that would beg Norton for pieces of dried meat that they knew he carried with him.

Norton started his day by walking up and down the hill in front of his boarding house, to get his blood flowing…