The Argo Goes West

98, Earthquake

Cassandra Jackson, the sister of the acting mayor of Sacramento, saw the Argo entering town through the hospital's bars.

A powerful streamlined locomotive with a black sheen. White steam was coming out of the chimney. Only then did Cassandra understand the meaning of the prophetic dream.

"It wasn't just a horse. It was an iron horse."

Sacramento, the capital of California, is crossed by two rivers. As a result, it was blessed with water and flourished during the gold rush period. There were no trams running now because the electricity supply was cut off. It was like going back to the horse-drawn carriage era. Of course, the streets were lit by gas lamps.

A banquet for the Argo crew was held in the California State Capitol, a neoclassical building.

Mashed Potatoes, Cream of Celery Soup, Salmon Filet, Ice Cream, Roast Turkey with Cranberry Sauce, and Apple Dumplings. They were all delicious, but Hercule Giraud, the chef of the Argo, was better.

Over an after-meal coffee, Theodore Roosevelt began.

"Tell me what's going on in San Francisco."

"Neither do we know," Hector Jackson began, prefaced. "But I can tell you about when something happened. It was a terrible tremor. California has had many large earthquakes in the past. Last year and the year before. Therefore, we are used to earthquakes, but the earthquake at that time was the largest we had ever experienced. The chandelier shook violently, and although the shelves did not topple over, all the dishes inside were broken, and the shaking continued for a long time. I thought it would continue like this forever. At that time I was in my office, my lawyer's office. I was worried about my family and returned to my home in the suburbs as soon as the shaking subsided. Many buildings in the town were destroyed and some were on fire. All my family members were safe. I left the messy house cleanup to my family and returned to the city to check on my friends, acquaintances, and customers. After I did that, I helped tend to the wounded and clean up the wrecked house.

It wasn't until a while later that I realized things were going to get rough outside of Sacramento. As the workers went out of town to restore power, they were attacked by half-man, half-horse monsters. When I heard that story from a survivor, I thought it was a lie. But soon the monsters attacked the town, and we fought back with the whole town. There were many casualties, but we managed to drive the monsters away. We then fortified the town for the next attack of the monsters.

We were busy defending our city, Sacramento. We didn't have time to go find out what happened to California cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. "

Theodore Roosevelt nodded and then asked:

"What are those Carter's Raiders you were talking about earlier?"

"A group of robbers made up of half-human, half-horse monsters. They are led by a human. He is a former cavalryman and his name is Carter."

"Have you actually met Carter?"

"No. I learned about it from people who fled from another town."

"Are they residents of Colfax?"

"No, the people of Fresno, Modesto, and Stockton."

"I think that cavalry is the 7th Cavalry," Captain Harris whispered to Roosevelt. The information was correct. Miss Craig later found records that Company B of the 7th Cavalry, led by Lt. Col. Alvin Travers, had gone missing while operating in Death Valley near Fresno.

"Let's deploy part of the army stationed in Colfax to this town," suggested Theodore Roosevelt. "And we'll restore the telegraph network."

(Bonnie Monaghan of the Rough Riders was appointed as messenger to Colfax, directly from Theodore Roosevelt. Why was Bonnie chosen? "It's a pun on the Pony Express and Bonnie," says Lou Blackman, who accompanies her as her bodyguard.