Unassigned Lands

In 1875 the James-Younger gang hi-jacked a Mexican Gold shipment and fled across Texas to the Indian Territory. With a posse on their tail and a blizzard threatening, they buried almost 200 gold bars in the Wichita Mountains and slipped away. Unfortunately, Jesse's gang was wiped out six months later, leaving the gold free for the taking. Young Bud Dalton was in Jesse's gang when the bars were buried and Bud was determined to keep them for himself. Easier said than done. The Indian Territory was, piece by piece, being turned into Oklahoma and it was not going smoothly. The Indians were determined to keep the White Man out, but David Payne's Oklahoma Boomers were determined to open the Unassigned Lands, as well as all the rest. Cattlemen, U.S. Marshals, and crooked politicians all wanted their cut. Making matters worse, Bud's outlaw brothers kept the law focused on Bud. A gold rush was threatening to sweep through the mountains and Bud's surviving outlaw buddies were after the bars, too. Getting the gold would be tricky. But Bud had a plan.

Ross Callen was born in Hobart, Oklahoma and spent his summers hauling hay, working cattle, and chopping cotton on his grandparent's farm in Kiowa County, just south of Cooperton. After the chores were finished, he and his brother relentlessly prowled the Wichita Mountains and the nearby Wildlife Refuge. He later attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman to study Management Information Systems. Work, children, andthe real world diverted his attention for a while, but Oklahoma was never far from his thoughts. He still loves the Wichita Mountains with their rich, chaotic history and visits as often as possible. Ross lives in Plano, Texas, with his wife and miniature dachshund.