Sheriff Satterlee from Bloody Trail

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talks and the second in a series of four interviews with residents of the town of Wolf Creek, who can be found in the pages of Bloody Trail by Ford Fargo. Ford Fargo, by the way, is not one author but many. Today's guest is the creation of James Reasoner.

Sheriff Satterlee leads the posse after the gang of outlaws that raids Wolf Creek and kills several of the citizens. It's a desperate chase, as the posse needs to catch up to the desperadoes before they reach the border and cross over into Indian Territory, where Satterlee will no longer have any legal jurisdiction.

That's me. Sheriff George Washington Satterlee, keeping the peace in Taylor County. Not sure I've ever seen such strange contraptions in all my life, but if this isn't a trap of some sort, I'll talk to you for a spell. Just don't try anything funny.

How long have you lived in Wolf Creek?
Been living here in Wolf Creek for a few years. It's just me, no wife, no kids, and I don't think deputies count as family. I've spent a lot of my life roaming around and used to think I'd never really settle down, but if a man's going to, Wolf Creek is as good a place as any, I suppose. Better than some. It's got your usual mix of decent folks and no-accounts.

Really? Do tell...

I'm the sheriff, not the town gossip.

Okay. How yourself? What did you do during the war? 

I managed to stay out of the Late Unpleasantness, thank you most to death. I suppose if I'd had to pick a side, I probably would have fought for the Union because I used to scout for the U.S. Army. Not much of a reason, I know, but you see, I've always tended to steer clear of other people's troubles. Or at least I did until I became sheriff. Now taking care of other folks' troubles is sort of my job. But I sort of drifted into keeping the peace and never expected to be doing it. Turns out I'm not bad at it, either.

I can certainly understand not wanting to get caught up in a civil war, but what about the issue of slavery?

Well, I never did hold with the idea of folks owning other folks. Of course, I reckon there were other ways to deal with the problem without slaughtering thousands of good men on both sides. But then, the politicians don't ask me for my opinion, do they? If they did, I might give 'em an earful.

I think there were more than a few people who thought the same way, including the politicians. Not all choices you make are one's you like.

Chasing down those outlaws forced me to make some decisions I didn't want to make. When a fella has to make a stand, has to choose between one trail and another, sometimes it can come back to haunt him. I hope that's not the way it'll be here, but you never know.

Thank you Sheriff Satterlee. I look forward to reading more about you in Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail, written by the authors collectively known as Ford Fargo, published by Western Fictioneers.