Welcome to the Maddock NEWS file. This file is here to provide you with information about Maddock and related topics.
    If a news entry doesn't answer a particular question you may have, please feel free to ask a staff person for clarification. The contents of this news file are also available on the MUX, of course.

The basics (read these before starting, please):
 ·  Character
 ·  Disclaimer
 ·  Policy
 ·  Staff
 ·  Theme

Life in Maddock:
 ·  Animals
 ·  Building
 ·  Children
 ·  Cowboys
 ·  Farms
 ·  Food
 ·  Geography
 ·  Indians
 ·  Law and Order
 ·  Lodging
 ·  Mining
 ·  Money
 ·  Population
 ·  Prices
 ·  Ranches
 ·  Taxes
 ·  Transport
 ·  Weather
 ·  Women

Maddock has grown into a well-rounded town with a variety of jobs and positions filled by player character and NPC alike. One of the hardest parts of creating a character on a new MUSH is building a character that you will enjoy playing, but also has motivations for interacting with other characters.
As an aid, there is the +census command (+help census), specifically to help you identify what areas are still open for development. You can get a breakdown of vocations with @census/vocation.
You can also chat with the staff, (+stafflist) or any of the senoir players (+senoirs) to help round out an idea. Once you have a concept you should use the +pcheck command to get information on the commands your may need to use to get yourself ready for game play.
Once you have established a background for your character, please @mail it to Shae so that she might utlize the information when planning game wide tinyplots. You may also choose to set a less informative @background on your player which can be viewed by anyone.
You are welcome to utilize the Rumour and Roleplaying boards to post about your new character.

Maddock is a privately-operated and privately-funded MUX made public for the enjoyment of all. This game operates under a paid account and in no way represents the site or organization which provides the hardware on which it operates.
    Access to Maddock MUX is given freely and without liability or guarantee to those who wish to abide by the policies set forth by its operators. At any time, access can be revoked for failure to follow the prescribed policies.
    Please enjoy yourself and keep Maddock an enjoyable place for others.
    Thanks,
    The Staff

In general, the staff prefer to have as few restrictions as possible, and when we do, it's out of necessity. Connecting to Maddock MUX implies an acceptance of the following policies:
    -- All rooms and objects must conform to the theme.
    -- All player characters must be humans. No elves, shapeshifters, vampires, etc.
    -- All pets/puppets should be realistically within theme. This means no pet wolves, bears, etc.
    -- Names should be birth names, not nicknames -- something you would name a child. Exceptions for this may be names for Indian characters. This means no names such as KnightRider, Dragon, DarkAngel, UBeUgly, etc.
    -- Characters should be fictional characters that *YOU* developed, not real-life historical or fictional characters. No Billy the Kid, no Earp brothers... you get the idea.
    -- Idle time logout is 60 minutes.
    -- Disruptive behavior designed in any way to obstruct the MUX server or other players' right to a stable environment may be grounds for removal from the MUX.
    -- All players should abide by the guidelines set forth in the player's guide.
    -- While staff members will always try to make themselves open to player feedback, they are not under any obligation to explain or defend the policies given here and in the player's guide.
    -- Staff members are volunteers with no ownership rights in the Maddock MUX database and shall not be held personally responsible for broadcasted material in any format unless it is broadcast from their own site.
    While the owners and staff members of Maddock will make every attempt to regulate the content and destination of any material broadcast here by setting down these policies, we are not responsible for the actions of a player who takes it upon himself or herself to violate one of these policies and broadcast material that may be found offensive.
    It is not our intention to actively police or censor activities that take place between two or more connected players in a private or public room. The roleplay here is a recreation of society and life in the late nineteenth century, and may contain material that some players might find offensive, including the use of slang words and sensitive topics such as slavery and discrimination as they relate to the historical aspects of the time depicted. If you are easily offended by such things, Maddock may not be to your liking.
    See Also: News Policy Language and News Policy TS

We don't really want to put down a list of what anyone can or cannot say in or out of character. However, we would hope that players will conduct themselves in a manner that others will not find offensive. Please respect each other.
    In standard roleplay, there may be times when slang may be used as is appropriate to the character and situation. Please use common sense with regards to who else is present and who you might offend given the type and extremity of language used. The use of abusive language directed at a player for the purposes of harassment is strictly not allowed and is grounds for revocation of access to Maddock.
    It is also requested that language on the channels be of a PG quality that people would not find offensive by today's standards.

TS happens. Without monitoring every conversation and violating player privacy, there is no way we can prevent two consenting adults from roleplaying whatever they want in a private location.
    HOWEVER, you should be aware that it is against the law in the United States (where this server is located) to participate in TS with anyone under the age of 18. This is also frowned upon by the administrators of this game server.
    It is each player's responsibility to know the true age of the players they choose to interact with in this manner. While Maddock has tended to attract a mature, adult group of roleplayers, there is no way to be certain that a player is being honest about their age.
    Nobody wants to see it... Take it someplace private.
    There are certain places in Maddock (such as the saloon) where an amount of innuendo may come into play. Again, use common sense to decide how much is too much.
    Harassing or stalking another player for the purposes of engaging them in this sort of activity is strictly forbidden and should be reported to the staff. Anyone found to be doing this will permanently lose their access to Maddock.

Staff members are people on the MUX who volunteer their time and effort to see that the theme is maintained, to help people get settled in, and to promote roleplay.
    Any player-related complaints, suggestions, or help should be sought from a staff member. The staff can be reached by using the @mail alias '*staff'.
    Wizards are people whose primary official function is to maintain the server so it continues to run for everyone to enjoy. Wizards uphold certain code policies, offer code help and assist the staff with some administrative matters when necessary.
    The wizards can be reached by using the @mail alias '*wizards'.
    Related command: '+stafflist'

Maddock is a small town in the territory of Montana, in the American West. It has a population of over 900 residents, including the outlying farms, ranches, and mining camps.
    The railroad has reached west to Great Falls, which is a 50-mile stagecoach ride to the north. From there, one can catch the railroad to the east. To board a boat for a trip down the Missouri to the Mississippi and points east, the best bet is a 100-mile stage ride northeast to Fort Benton.
    Maddock has a wide variety of residents and visitors -- travelers headed farther west, cowboys, ranchers, miners, businessmen, gamblers, farmers, and even the occasional outlaw.
    The town supports commerce for the numerous ranches and farms in the area, as well as the gold, silver, and ore mines located across the river to the west.

After the fire, many of the key structures in Maddock were destroyed. The lands on which they stood, however, were not. Many of these lands were owned by PC characters who now have the chance to rebuild. Others were defaulted to the bank and were put up for auction.

Maddock will also soon be gaining a Land Agent who will be dividing up and undisclosed amount of land to potential homesteaders.

At this point, now that spring has broken, current owners of lots may begin considering rebuilding. Those who have bid on and might win lots might also consider building. When planning your building keep in mind the following associated costs as they will be extracted from your character's wealth base. If the costs exceed their money they will either need to pool resources with others or get a loan from the bank.

No buildings at this point have any sort of running water. If you are building on new land, you will need a well to have water of you can fill barrels and bring it in from the rivers.

Lots with old buildings may already have had wells.

Dig Well: $1500
Single Story 2 Room Wooden Building: $500
Single Story 2 Room Brick Building: $900
Double Story 4 Room Wooden Building: $1000
Double Story 4 Room Brick Building: $1800
Wooden Barn With 2 Stalls: $500

Building of other buildings and their costs can be discussed with Shae.

If you are ready to think about building, @mail Shae and we'll work out the details. Thanks.

Domestic cats and dogs are fairly common in Maddock. Rats and mice are also regularly found, but more often on the farms than in town. An occasional stray dog or cat can be seen roaming about town, usually looking underfed and desperate.
    "Wild" animals are controlled by strict ordinances. Wolves are shot on sight (sometimes with glee) by local cowhands, and a similar fate awaits raccoons, porcupines, or other such creatures which have the bad luck to wander into town.
    On the farms, one can find a variety of cattle, horses, donkeys, pigs, chickens, geese, goats, and other typical farm animals. Mules are common in the mining areas, and are also found at some of the farms. Horses are bought and sold at the stable on the north side of town.
    As a note to players, "wild" animals are not allowed as characters' pets. Please stick with something a little more typical if you're coming into town.

Children in Maddock live a wide variety of lives, depending on the sort of family they are part of. Those with families which are well off are maybe a little sheltered, with school, play, and obedience to their parents being the basic parts of their lives.
    Most children on the frontier are working parts of the family, with jobs ranging from plowing to hunting, from planting potatoes to herding cattle. Poorer children do what they can to raise a little money, from sifting sweepings to find anything of value to selling edible weeds to miners hungry for fresh food.
    These children were very independent and unsupervised. By mixing with all sorts of adults, they were sometimes exposed to influences which would shock Eastern sensibilities. Some unhappy children took this lack of supervision to its extreme, by running away. In a West which was short of labor, they often had little trouble finding a place to live and work without questions.
    Childhood in this period could be dangerous, though. Child abuse was not yet a crime, and child labor laws were not yet enacted. Some children might work long hours at dangerous jobs, or find themselves in workhouses or almshouses, living with tubercular adults or crazy people. Orphans who found themselves in orphanages were the lucky ones, and orphanages varied widely in how they treated children.
    As boys grew up, they would find themselves in "men's jobs," hunting, clerking, driving a stage, or operating a telegraph. Girls, on the other hand, often lost their freedom as they approached adulthood, being kept in the home to take up cooking, sewing, and preparation for marriage, after years of running wild in the fields, prairies, and towns.
    Children's lives were not all work, of course. There was school, although they often attended only for those few months when they could be spared from home and farm work. They played games, roamed the countryside, and read whatever they could get their hands on. They went to the same dances, lectures, debates, and revivals as the adults, and sometimes tagged along with exciting characters like miners, gamblers, and sporting women. This exposure to adults also exposed them to their elders' vices -- children often gambled, and drinking and smoking was certainly not unheard of.

When one thinks of the West, one of the most commonly depicted figure is the cowpuncher. The cowpuncher's life consisted more than just driving the cattle to market and spending their pay in town at the saloon. The chores around the ranch were never ending. There were horses to be broken, strays to be rounded up, steers to be doctored and of course, watching for rustlers.

Sometimes the work was dangerous, usually is wasn't very glamorous and it was always poorly paid. It was work for the young, the average cowpuncher was between seventeen and twenty eight.

The 'round-up' usually took about three months, starting in mid-spring. The cattle were rounded up and brought into the main compound for branding, cutting for market, castration and doctoring. Any stray unbranded cattle (known as 'mavericks' were quickly branded and added to the ranch's stock.

After the big round-up two thirds of the cowpunchers would be laid off. The life of a cowboy was very seasonal and these unemployed hands often would ride from homestead to homestead seeking a meal in exchange for a little work.

Spring was also a time for bronco-busting. While all hands would try their luck at this, it was often done by a 'bronc peeler'. These men would earn upwards of five dollars for each horse broken in for riding. This life was also quite hard, with injuries abound and more than one life lost to a rolled horse.

The hands who remained on the ranch would then turn to more menial chores. There were fences to be mended, summer haying and bulls to be taken to the range for mating. Come autumn, more ranch hands would lose their jobs for the coming winter.

The life was hard, with grueling days in the saddle and a sod bunk house that was often infested with lice, snakes, mice and other critters attracted to the cool shade.

Despite the poverty, back breaking work and patronizing employers, for thousands of men this was the life they chose - willingly. Civil War veterans, farm and city boys and even a surprising number of Englishment and Scotsmen of noble blood (remittance men). Filling out the ranks were Mexicans and Blacks. Vaqueros made up ten percent of the cowboy population and were known for their excellent horsemanship. Woman cowpunchers were extremely rare, but not unheard of. Most were ranchers wives who took on the tasks after the death of their husbands, but there are the occasional tales of women who chose the life as a cowpuncher and even some who secreted their sex away under the guise of a boy.

One of the most important possessions of a cowboy was his hat. It acted to shade the sun and could be used in a creek to get water for himself or his horse. A cowboy dressed from top down and undressed from bottom up. His hat was the first thing donned and the last thing to come off.

The most common dress of a cowboy included a top grade pair of leather boots. These were usually top quality, calf height with heels to prevent the foot from slipping in the stirrup. Most cowboys were known to invest a month's pay into his boots (twenty to thirty dollars). Until 1890 westerners wore their pants tucked into their boots.

The spurs were a necessary accessory but the first thing a cowpuncher did when he got a new pair was to dull the sharpest edges. Rounding out the cowboy dress was a pair of chaps (leather in the summer, fur/hair lined in the winter.) A red or blue bandana and a yellow slicker saddle coat known as the "Fish".

And finally, the saddle. Weighing upwards of forty to fifty pounds, the horn needed to be able to withstand the pull of a 2,000 pound bull. The styles varied by region. The Montana saddles tended to favor a two cinch "rimfire" rig. One winter mornings, Montana cowboys would want their horses bit by dipping it into their coffee.
Fish Slicker Link: http://www.cowboyoutfitters.com/1880sslicker.html Other Clothing Links: http://www.cowboyoutfitters.com/vin1.html

Homesteaders and farmers have begun to reach the Maddock area. These industrious settlers have come west to claim land to live on, and try to establish a new life in the West. A homestead of 160 acres can be claimed by anyone who lives on it for five years and improves it by work (such as building a house, barn, farm, etc.)
    Cash crops for this area include barley, oats, alfalfa, wheat, and various grasses to be cut and kept for hay to feed livestock over the cold winter months. There are other things grown in the area, and one farmer actually has an orchard of cherry trees south of town.

Prior to the fire in 1877, the Golden Star Hotel had a nice dining area and serves food and tea to guest and resident alike in a very high-class setting. Compared to the other places in town, the price to dine at the Hotel is fairly high.

For those who were on budgets, there was Ylsa's Restaurant on the east side of town, with more reasonable prices and a more normal setting. For farmers and miners, though, going to the restaurant is still considered a special occasion.

Off north Maddock, the Wessel family used to operates a German-style Beer hall, with authentic Bavarian beers and foods. Some of the farmers would get together there on occasion and play a little oompah music with the owner.

The boarding house has an open-kitchen policy for its guests, and Miss Caroline usually keeps coffee brewing around the clock.

The Grey Horse Saloon sometimes had chili or stew for sale, but the quality varies. There are more important things than food in a saloon.

The Trading Post sells dried beef, canned goods, and other supplies, for those who want to make their own meals.

Since the fire, meals have been widely given out by the area ranch holders, Quintans, Brandts, Ellis. Supplies have also been brought in from Great Falls. These references were left to guide people on what it may be like again, once the restoration is complete.

Maddock is in south-central Montana, between the Big Belt and Little Belt Mountains, a few miles from the Smith River. (Not too far from the location of the modern Smith River State Park.)
    While the area may be called the Smith River Valley, the low area between the Big Belt and Little Belt Mountains is several miles wide, offering plenty of room for farmers and ranchers to do their thing. The river itself flows from the southeast to the northwest through the area, toward the Missouri River.
    There are plenty of trees in the area, even up the sides of the mountains, although the trees do thin out with altitude. With the mountains to protect the area, precipitation through rain and snow is not too heavy in most years.

Other tribes of note which might be encountered in the area are Assiniboine, Gros Ventres, and Cree in the north and Crow (enemies of the Blackfeet and the first of the modern Plains Indians to settle in Montana, in the early 1600s) in the south. The Flathead (the oldest modern Indian tribes in Montana, having arrived in the 1500s),

Salish and Kootenai Indians live west of the Continental Divide. Other Montana Indians that live nearer the territory's borders are Assiniboine and Sioux (in northeast Montana) and Northern Cheyenne Indians (in southeast Montana).

The western frontier was violent. When settlers first began to expand west, they were far removed from the resources of lawmen and justice. They carried firearms to oust Indians and kill wild game and disputes had to be settled among themselves, sometimes bloodily.

By the code of the west, a man was required to stand his ground and avenge any insult made against him. This type of thinking resulted in violence becoming almost 'socially acceptable'. Other codes helped instill some social order, for shooting a woman or an unarmed man was considered contemptible and as a result, many men walked about unarmed. A man's word was his bond and a handshake was as binding as any contract set down by lawyers. Strangers were treated well and horse thieving was evil.

Still, crime was prevalent throughout the west during this era, including cattle rustling, bank robbery and highway robbery by road agents. By 1877, Texas had a list of 5000 wanted fugitives within the Rio Grande alone.

Road agents often worked in gangs, at night and used the element of surprise to make their hit. Many of these outlaws were immigrating criminals who had fled from overseas hoping to get lost within the frontier. Pioneers and settlers lived quite poorly and also walked a thin line between law and survival. Young boys on the farm often idolized moving into the 'exciting' life as a road agent. Indian outlaws were very rare.

Large ranching, mining and railroad operations were known to hire on guns to exact their own idea of justice. These gunmen were used to oust homesteaders, and remove any other obstacles which might stand in the way of their 'free enterprise'.

As towns began to spring up out of dust, the first local justice positions established were the Sheriff and Justice of the Peace. The Sheriff position was a parochial position. A sheriff was elected into office by local merchants, bankers, ranchers, mine owners and other established townsfolks and their agenda often catered to those who had the power to elect them. They were easily corruptible. The sheriffs were usually paid very little salary (if at all), and took a share of every fine they collected. A sheriff was empowered to deputize citizens, form posses, and collect taxes. They often served summons, attended court, arrested fugitives and enforced local ordinances. As much in the saddle as at a desk, this thankless job included a lot of paperwork, posting court notices, wanted notices and filing reports.

The Justice of the Peace was usually a local citizen with little or no law background. (Judge Roy Bean was a saloon owner who held court in his saloon. He was known for concluding his sessions with a cold one.)

As territorial and state governments moved to take over law and order, onto the scene came US and Deputy Marshals as well as Federal Appointed Judges. These men were usually far less prone to corruption and local influences and in the case of law, well versed. The Marshal's generally focused their attention on Federal crimes like mail robbery. They also often came into conflict with local sheriffs when it came to arresting fugitives and collecting bounties.

There are a variety of places for a newcomer or visitor to Maddock to stay in town.
    Rooms can be rented on a nightly, weekly, or monthly basis from the Golden Star Hotel on the square. The Golden Star is the finest place in town... and it knows it.
    The boarding house off East Maddock is less posh, but offers rooms for those who wish more modest accommodations. Miss Caroline, who owns the boarding house, is always glad to have new boarders.
    Rooms are also available on a nightly basis at the Grey Horse Saloon, but those rooms usually only rent to cowboys and gamblers.

Mining has been an important activity along the Smith River area and into the foothills of the Big Belt Mountains since 1857, when the "My Fair Lady" claim produced its first gold.
    The Challow family own the Maddock Mining Company, which is the largest mining concern in the area. After a big silver strike in 1872, the McSweeney Mining Company came into town, to try to buy up claims and take over the local mining operations. Aside from the two big companies, there are a variety of smaller concerns and independent miners and prospectors who hope to strike it rich in the mining areas west of Maddock.

There is a slow development of an economy based coded system on Maddock for the purposes of further enhancing character development, Maddock growth and some roleplay situations. This ecomony system is a work in progress and until it is completely finished may play little if any part in the roleplay around Maddock. While coded systems can be a great addition to a game, we do not wish to implement anything that might become a hinderance to player creativity and roleplay.

Each player begins initially with about 50 dollars, this amount can be changed by @mailing Shae with information about the amount they have on their possession as well as how they might have obtained it.

One of the key areas where the economy is being introduced involves land ownership and the ability to build a suitable structure within one's financial means. By introducing the economy system, it is hoped to fostered the need for characters to seek out IC partnerships as well as introduce the liability of bank lending. As this system is fully fleshed out, more details on will become available.

See also: news building, +help pay

Maddock has never taken an actual census, but the area is estimated to contain nearly a thousand people. The makeup of the people of Maddock -- like most Montana boomtowns -- is generally white, sometimes displaced people who become prospectors or miners, and sometimes people who have come to set up businesses. Due to both the furring industry and Maddock's proximity to Canada, those of French or French/Indian descent are a fairly common sight. Gold and silver have international allure, though, and people from as far away as Europe can be found in Maddock.
    There are a few groups who have only minor representation in this area, such as Mexicans, Chinese, and blacks.
    Almost one-fourth of the total population can be attributed to the mining areas, and are men who usually come into town once or twice a year. The rest of the residents usually work in town or on farms or ranches.
    The Indians in this day and age are a proud, stand-offish people who consider the whites invaders onto their traditional hunting grounds; rarely will they be found in the towns and likely those that come in face strong prejudices.

Most of the ranching done around Maddock is cattle ranching, and a fine example is Twin Hills Ranch, to the south of town. Twin Hills was founded by the now deceased Karl Quintan and is currently owned by his grandson, Joshua. It is the largest cattle ranch in the area.

There are a number of smaller ranches around, taking advantage of The good pastureland to be found between the Big Belt and Little Belt Mountains. Most of these are cattle ranches, though there are some who raise sheep.

The second biggest ranch in these parts is the Brandt Ranch, which raises horses. As an added feature, the Brandts have built a racetrack on their ranch, and occasionally have a race to show off their stock.

These races also make for fine social events.

The town of Maddock raises money for town services (services? Think about law and order) in various ways.
    Business permits are Maddock's largest source of income. The saloons pay the most for their permits, because they sell alcohol and because of the, ahem, other merchandise available from the ladies there. Any business operating in Maddock must have a valid business permit or face a fine of $25, on top of the expense of buying a permit. This fine has been paid only once in the town's history, when Mayor Dellington insisted that Old Mrs. Jacob was operating a business for selling pies at 25 cents each.
    The next largest revenue source for the town is fines for breaking various town ordinances. Public drunkenness carries a fine of $2, but this fine is not often collected, and the drunk sleeps off the night in a jail cell or heads on home. Firing a weapon within the town limits carries a fine of $10, and brawling carries a fine of $5.

At this time, there are basically three ways to get from Maddock to somewhere else: stagecoach, train, and riverboat.
    The stage depot is on the north side of town, and stages depart on a regular schedule for the nearest towns, Great Falls (50 miles to the north) and Fort Benton (about 100 miles to the northeast). The winter snow slows the stage a bit, but it continues to run year-round.
    To catch a train, one must first make the stage trip to Great Falls, and then catch the Northern Pacific (they haven't gotten to the Pacific yet) to go to railroad destinations to the east.
    For river travel, the best bet is to take a stage to Fort Benton, where one can board a boat on the Missouri River and go down to a wide variety of destinations along the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers, all the way down to New Orleans.
    If you don't like those methods, one can always travel by horse or by foot, though it will definitely take longer to get anywhere.

What's the weather like in Maddock? Hard to say, exactly, but as a guide, here are the average monthly temperatures, rainfalls, and snowfalls for Great Falls, Montana, which is roughly 50 miles north of Maddock. (Maddock is fictional, but Great Falls is very much a real place.)

              High (F)   Low (F)  Rain (in.)  Snow (in.)
 January        28          9        0.98        10
 February       37         18        0.75         8
 March          43         21        0.94        11
 April          54         30        1.50         7
 May            64         41        2.52         2
 June           73         48        2.76       trace
 July           84         54        1.10       trace
 August         82         54        1.30       trace
 September      72         45        1.02         2
 October        61         36        0.83         3
 November       45         25        0.75         7
 December       36         18        0.79         9
 
 

The stereotypical view of women in the American West divides them into three groups: Respectable, Sporting, and Independent. It takes all kinds, of course, but these simplistic views aren't entirely accurate, as we'll see.
    The Respectable woman is often seen as a sensitive creature, only suited for light housework or looking pretty. In truth, running a house was an awful lot of work. As an example, let's look at a lady who has decided to fix a chicken dinner for the evening.
    Our example housewife must chase down a chicken, kill it, pluck it, clean it, and cut it up. She must choose, pick, and clean the vegetables that will go with the meal. She must make up dough from scratch for a loaf of bread. Once all this is assembled, she works over a hot woodburning stove, keeping the heat up enough to bake the bread and cook everything else properly. All without modern advances like running water, electricity, gas, or refrigeration.
    Sounds like a full day's work... and that's without taking care of any children, chickens, other animals, or the vegetable garden. Or sweeping and mopping the floors, scrubbing laundry, making soap, mending clothes or making new ones. (Or breakfast or lunch.)
    The Respectable wife and mother is an industrious woman, and she still has interest enough in being proper and pretty to keep her place in the home and in society.
    The next stereotype on our list is the Sporting woman. These are usually seen as spoiled doves, living one-track lives in a saloon or a bawdy-house. In the West, many of these ladies of the evening (or any other time) operated independently, and basically ran their own businesses.
    Operating out of boarding houses or private homes, these women sometimes did a seasonal business, staying in one town in the summer and working, while living a more respectable life somewhere else in the winter. A successful independent prostitute could end up running a house of her own, employing a number of other women and being responsible for all the necessities of that sort of business. Business and money led to other sorts of connections, and some of these women could become influential.
    Women were usually rare in the west, and so even these sorts were treated with a certain amount of respect by men. Respectable and judgmental women (those who make good LAC members), on the other hand, often shunned or pitied these sporting types, seeing them as fallen women.
    The third type is the Independent woman, often seen as a rare creature, taking over for a husband or father who had passed away or simply left town, leaving the woman to make do as she could.
    As we have already seen, women were already working hard doing "woman things," so it is no surprise that women in the West could be very strong and independent in other areas which were typically a man's part of the world. Women were landowners, business owners and operators, and often made quite a bit of money. Women were just as shrewd as men in business dealings, and earned respect from their male counterparts on top of the gentlemanly deference any man was supposed to give to a lady.
    Women are people too, and they come in all kinds, in Maddock just as in the real world.