Fragments from the Vault #030: Little Creek Massacre (from the Ballad of Sadie Adler)

From the snows of Ambarino to the marshes of Lakay,

When the West was wild and America's child the lawman did defy...

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Game: Red Dead Redemption 2

Location: Hanging Dog Ranch

More information: Hanging Dog Ranch | Red Dead Wiki | Fandom

Before Little Creek, the Van der Linde gang faced off at Braithwaite Manor. 

Screen capture: FetchQuester

The blood-hued moon rose from the mist on the brink of the scalding shore,

As the daughter of the devil's kin vowed O'Driscoll blood she'd pour,

"For the man who sowed my heart," she cried, "And the men whose worth rings true,

I'll tear the land asunder till this day the damned will rue."

Out from her hip the Cattleman whipped; like dogs the gang went down,

While the fleeting glint of a rock and flint engulfed the cursèd ground.

As the flames spit out their shameful ire and smoked the crimson sky,

Her dagger found its way to the breast of the man with the vacant eyes.

Moonlit ride. Photo credit: FetchQuester

She watched him beg for mercy, she watched him writhe with fear,

And thought of the countless souls he culled as eternal sleep crept near.

"This is for my Jakey..." she wept as the light grew cold - 

A life for a life and a widowed wife is worth its weight in gold.

"Bang bang!" The rafters buckled; Arthur Morgan at her side -

And crashing through the burning lot they fled the eventide.

Into the storm-cloaked hills they rode, onto the rain-seeped plains -

Behind them a trail of ashen swale where O'Driscoll's brood lay slain.

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Revenge is a dish best eaten, death no consolation brings,

But justice tempers anguish in the land of lawless kings.

And though her heart be troubled, her resolve held strong and true,

For the deeds of Sadie Alder till this day the damned will rue.

Sadie silently whittles at Shady Belle, the old hideout. Photo credit: FetchQuester

Arthur Morgan, Sadie's steadfast friend. Photo credit: FetchQuester

- Lucy A.

***

Sources: 

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games); fandom.com; with influences from Alfred Noye’s “The Highwayman”; "Revenge is a Dish Best Eaten" is a quest name from Red Dead Redemption 2.

*Dedicated to Rina.