Cantua Crossing

The year is 1871. Stagecoaches are being held up in alarming numbers. A woman passenger is reported missing after the Visalia Overland Stage is robbed above the Elkhorn Station by the notorious outlaw, Tiburcio Vasquez. Harry Caldwell runs a small spread east of Visalia in California's Central Valley. The woman's nephew pressures Harry to join the posse that is being formed in Visalia to pursue the bandit and aid in the search for the missing passenger. Harry allows that the missing...
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The year is 1871. Stagecoaches are being held up in alarming numbers. A woman passenger is reported missing after the Visalia Overland Stage is robbed above the Elkhorn Station by the notorious outlaw, Tiburcio Vasquez. Harry Caldwell runs a small spread east of Visalia in California's Central Valley. The woman's nephew pressures Harry to join the posse that is being formed in Visalia to pursue the bandit and aid in the search for the missing passenger. Harry allows that the missing woman, Cora Belle Skinner, could most likely make Salt Water Taffy out of the bandit's hide, but that doesn't mitigate the fact that she's missing. Taking into account that he had enjoyed a short dalliance with her when she first arrived in the area, he feels obliged to help with the search. But finding Cora Belle, and unraveling the mystery surrounding her disappearance, proves to be as difficult as capturing the elusive outlaw, Vasquez.This fictional story is woven around historical facts and established landmarks in the region known as the Arroyo de Cantua located on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley.