Comparing the whole city, it’s probably the best location. I’m confident in this decision.
The sun will shine brightly on the entire process as the land untouched by civilization magically transforms.
Here, Mary, with God’s kind permission, our shelter will be built.
Oh, and when you come, I have someone I can introduce you to. He’s a really fun guy.
The meaning of friend is a little different though.
He’s the sheriff of the town of Lawrence, and I think he’ll be joining me in business in the future.
You’ll probably be surprised when you meet him.
My lovely daughter Lily, with a baby on the way.
I hope that the day when our family will be together again is not far off, and that you stay healthy.
To Holiday’s beloved wife, Mary Dillon.]
Max asked Holiday, who was sealing the envelope.
“I didn’t know you were married.”
“It’s been about two years. He’s in Pennsylvania, and I’m thinking of bringing him here once I find a place to stay. A tent is a bit much, isn’t it?”
Holiday said with a chuckle.
“I’m a little late, but in the West, everyone gets married early. At 19, it’s time for you to think about it.”
“What about women?”
“There were three people here alone. Two of them run an inn, and you know the other one? He seemed interested in you.”
Emily Fawn Peach.
Her interest might not have been limited to curiosity about the fact that she was an Asian. Even if that wasn’t the case, Max had no thoughts.
“I like being alone.”
It would be difficult for them to cultivate the barren lands of the West alone, so most of them get married at a young age and have children one after another.
It was a common sight in this era.
But that’s their life.
‘Living in the glory of my age, obsessed with being crazy.’
“Oh, right, that’s what I said a few days ago.”
Holiday brought up Topeka.
“Since your identity is not clear yet, it would be better to invest in my name but make a separate contract between us.”
“Of course it should be like that.”
“That’s why I made it like this.”
“Oh, that’s fast.”
Holiday originally intended to become a lawyer.
In fact, having a law degree, he was excellent at drafting official documents.
“According to the regulations, public land purchases are to be made at two dollars per acre···.”
“Huh. I know it’s $1.25. I also know that the price goes down for public use through special bidding. Where do they sell the drugs?”
“……Ahem. Whatever. If you do that, you’ll be allotted 625 acres.”
‘625 acres is 765,000 pyeong.’
It is slightly less than 900,000 pyeong in Yeouido.
This was equivalent to 1.5% of Topeka’s total area of 48 million square meters.
Funds are raised by allocating land, and this is notified to the government in the form of a deposit along with a down payment. Afterwards, a certain amount of land is sold to individuals, and the profits are used as public funds for the village…
Anyway, it was a pretty complicated structure.
“Location doesn’t matter?”
“Please, south of the Kansas River. If possible, strong and within 2 miles (3.2 km).”
“Why do you want to go south of the river?”
“I’m Gangnam style.”
Holiday stared at Max.
“How is it that we are exactly alike? Do you want to see this?”
He presented a plan of the town he had envisioned. It was similar to Max’s idea.
‘Even if that’s me, this guy has a knack for real estate.’
In fact, although Topeka is the capital, it is not comparable to a large city.
Rather than just investing, I would say it’s about leaving a mark in a quiet city with beautiful natural scenery.
But this investment gave Max a foothold in the heart of Kansas.
Because the governor, mayor and other key power holders will come from Topeka’s founding members.
*
A meeting was held in the town of Lawrence.
The sheriff is an essential presence at meetings, and Max also attends.
The hot topic was whether or not to start construction as soon as the timber arrived, but opinions were divided.
“Shouldn’t we wait for the land issue to be resolved?”
The lumber had already been loaded and set off from Leavenworth’s sawmill, but Vice Chairman Fuller was prioritizing a legal solution.
“It’s obvious that there will be interference from slavery, but if there are no problems with the paperwork, it’s right to start construction right away.”
“What if a problem arises then?”
“What’s the problem? Are they going to start a war?”
The debate came and went. Holiday also raised his voice saying that it was right to do something about this issue.
Chairman Charles Robinson said as he cleared the room.
“If the opponent’s resistance is strong, casualties may occur. This is exactly why I am worried.”
Charles Robinson stared at one spot and asked.
“Let’s hear what our sheriff thinks.”
Everyone’s attention turned to Max, who stood up from his seat.
“I think it’s right to push ahead with the construction.”
“If the governor sided with the other side in the land dispute, the building could be torn down.”
Charles Robinson addresses the nature of the incident, saying he is concerned about safety.
‘Is this gentleman testing me?’
Maybe it’s because I heard the story about Topeka from Holiday. It feels like I’m getting a sneak peek into Max’s insight.
“You will know that the governor is delaying his decision because of pressure from the slave owners.”
“So isn’t this a more difficult situation?”
“The important thing is why the governor is delaying the decision. Isn’t it because he wants to raise our hand but has no good excuse?”
Charles Robinson checked Max’s words, stroking his chin.
“What do you mean by excuse?”
“A hole for oneself to escape through. A kind of excuse that says, ‘I couldn’t help it.’”
In fact, this can be guessed by looking at the governor’s erratic actions going forward.
The head is closer to the abolitionist, but
The body is a reality surrounded by advocates.
That was the current governor’s situation.
Charles Robinson, who had been thinking hard for a moment, asked Max.
“If you force it by making excuses and physical friction arises, what will you do then?”
“We have to stop it. Isn’t that why I put you in the sheriff’s seat?”
The confident look is an action that shows that the land problem will be solved.
What the slave states wanted was to stall for time until the election, but they had no reason to stop the work that had begun.
And the governor will reluctantly side with us.
“If what you say is true, the faster the construction, the better.”
“That helps the governor.”
*
January 10th.
The first timber has arrived.
A wagon train drawn by mules had finally arrived, having set out from west Leavenworth.
It took two days to cover a distance that should have taken three hours, because the amount they were carrying was so great.
Moreover, we were able to arrive safely in the village under the escort of Senator Rain to prevent any possible attacks.
While watching the group, mixed with cheering townspeople.
A middle-aged bearded man approaches Max.
Isaac Cody, who runs a sawmill.
He was Buffalo Bill’s father.
He approached Max and grabbed his hand.
“I guess I’m just saying thank you now.”
“Is your shoulder okay?”
“Of course. It’s all thanks to you.”
Isaac rolled his shoulders to make sure he was okay.
People who were curiously looking between the two were murmuring and making their own guesses.
“How is your son? He seems so smart.”
“If it’s your son… Oh, you mean William. He’s not around the house these days, I wonder what he’s doing with his Indian friends.”
It seems like he doesn’t think about the fact that he’s busy and can’t see my face.
Anyway, Isaac Cody was married three times and had eight children.
The eldest son died, leaving William Frederick Cody to effectively assume the role of the eldest son.
Above them were all older sisters.
‘You will learn to speak and use the bow and arrow while living with the Indians, and acquire the laws of the wild.’
This experience would become the foundation for what would make William Cody into Buffalo Bill.
“By the way, have you had any problems since then?”
“Huh. Even if those bastards do that, they won’t be able to do anything to me. It won’t change my beliefs.”
Isaac Cody’s eyes never change.
Rather, he was seeking to figure out how he could more actively help abolish slavery.
“Oh, my friend James asked me to give you this.”
Isaac Cody held out a rather heavy leather basket.
What was inside was food.
It appears that Mary passed it on to James and then to George.
Max felt his heart sink and bowed his head to Isaac Cody to express his gratitude.
“Then let’s meet again.”
Isaac and his men began unloading the lumber from the wagon.
Now we are gathered in tents, but we will disperse and build houses on our assigned lands.
The life of a settler. That hard and difficult life had begun in earnest.
*
Knock knock. Knock knock.
Max is helping build a building.
The project that mobilized most of the villagers was none other than building a school.
“Wouldn’t a carpenter be a better fit than a sheriff?”
“Whatever you do, it all suits you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Emily Fawn Peach. She was standing next to Max as his assistant.
It wasn’t my intention, the construction manager paired us up like that.
“How old are you?”
“I’m 19. How about you?”
“I’m not asking the lady’s age.”
“……”
“You can read too?”
“Do you find that strange? Because I’m Asian?”
“You have a sense of entitlement. I asked because many white people can’t read. When did you get here?”
Max answered with a hammer.
“How many years has it been?”
“You’re Asian, so you came to California. Of course you don’t have any land, right?”
“Why if you have land?”
“Without land a man is nothing, especially in the West.”
Max paused for a moment and looked back at Peach.
The intelligent facial features caught my eye once again. But something else came out of Max’s mouth.
“It’s quite a hindrance to your work?”
“Okay. I’ll be quiet.”
Peach made a gesture of covering her mouth with her finger.
I haven’t said a word since then.
‘It’s strange.’
Max shook his head and concentrated on hammering.
The school was completed three days later.
January 16th marked the opening day of Lawrence’s first school. The townspeople gathered to celebrate the opening.
Following the school, a church was built, and a community hall for the council was also built.
During this time, no disturbance occurred.
And Charles Robinson, who had called Max, had one piece of news himself.
“It turned out just as you said. The governor sided with us.”
A decision that had been pending for months was finally made just two weeks after construction began.
Max’s prediction turned out to be correct.
“That’s fortunate.”
“I heard from Holiday, but Topeka might need your help too.”
“It would be an honor for me to join you.”
“I ask for your help in the future.”
Charles Robinson was a gentle man, but he could also be bold at times. He had firm beliefs, especially when it came to slavery.
It was possible for him to become the chairman of the council despite not being a member of the NEEAC that led the Lawrence settlement because he possessed such leadership and ability.
Construction progressed smoothly with the resolution of the land dispute.
Shops such as saloons, general stores, and hardware stores began to open one by one, and during this period Max was a carpenter, not a sheriff.
And finally, March 2nd.
A sheriff’s office was built midway down Lawrence’s Main Street.
*
A space of about twenty pyeong.
A small iron stove and a clothes hanger.
Max sits at his desk with his back to the sunlight from the window.
‘Let’s go somewhere.’
He put his feet up on the desk, sank deep into the chair, and put a cigar in his mouth.
Cheeeeek.
“Phew.”
‘This is it.’
Max looked at the ceiling and blew out smoke.
The sheriff’s office makes you start smoking again even if you quit in your past life. This environment is driving people crazy.
‘But don’t smoke too much.’
Maybe it’s for enjoying a special atmosphere.
When Max was laughing alone.
Squeak squeak.
A man came in with the sound of a swing door.
A somewhat broad-headed, bearded man like Jesus, the Kansas Herald of Freedom.
The editor of the Herald of Freedom was a man named George Washington Brown.
He was a member of the NEEAC immigrant party and was the publisher of Kansas’ first free-state newspaper.
Bam.
“It’s a hot, freshly printed newspaper.”
“Why did you bring it yourself?”
“That means there is important news.”
Brown sat down in a Windsor chair with many ridges on the back and smoked a cigar.
In an instant, the smoke they were exhaling filled the office.
“The slave owners’ actions are unusual.”
