America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 171 The Run-down Town of Roseville
Stone itself is not an easy-to-handle building material, and it is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Therefore, stone buildings are rare in the western United States, because wood can often solve most problems.

But the building in front of them was a genuine stone bunker.

This is quite a European medieval retro style.

"Where did you get the stones?" Chen Jianqiu glanced at the bunker. Although the workmanship was average, it looked decent. Without decent cannons, it might not be easy to break into it.

"It's probably that mountain." Holmes pointed to the bare hill beside the guide.

"Well, actually, we recruited some local Nahua people." Vaughan touched his nose, "They are different from the Indians I have seen before. Some of them have very good stonemason skills."

They followed Vaughan through the gate under the watchtower and went in.

Only then did Chen Jianqiu see the whole picture inside.

The interior of the building is much simpler than the exterior. Strictly speaking, this is a stockade surrounded by four stone walls.

Four shooting towers are located at the four corners of the diaolou, and the tops of the stone walls connecting them are accessible.

A wooden ladder ran from the stone wall to the clearing enclosed by the four walls below.

Vaughan and his soldiers usually live in adobe houses in the middle of the open space.

Chen Jianqiu felt a little strange: "Why isn't the house you live in simply built with stones?"

"Because the confiscated Nahuas have run away." Vaughan scratched his head embarrassedly. "The terrain here is too flat, and we have no danger to rely on, so the four stone walls still play a lot of role."

The crowd climbed up the wall along the ladder, and they circled around the top of the wall.

On the west side of the stone wall.

"This is where we came from." Holmes pointed to the wilderness, "Chihuahuan Desert. It wasn't inhabited until hundreds of kilometers away."

They followed the stone wall to the south stone wall.

The south is a road into the mountain. Roseville is located at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountain. Chen Jianqiu understood why Holmes said before that if he went south, he had to pass through this place.

At last they came to the east.

Not far away, a dilapidated small town appeared in their field of vision.

"This is Roswell."

Chen Jianqiu looked in the direction Holmes pointed.

Broken, really broken, so broken that it almost makes people feel that this place has been abandoned.

The buildings in the town are mainly adobe houses, mixed with a small number of wooden buildings.

From a distance, many buildings look uninhabited. Some of them have half of their walls collapsed, some of their roofs are missing, and some of them only have a broken sign hanging outside.

A gust of wind blew up, and the dust on the ground flew up, covering the town with a layer of yellow. Those broken wooden signs shook with the wind, making the town even more barren.

The only place that is a bit popular is the location in the center of the town. There are two rooms there, and there seem to be a few horses and a carriage parked at the door.

"That's the town's post office," Vaughn said, "and it's the only public facility still in operation in the town."

"I remember that it wasn't so barren when I came last time?" Holmes also shook his head, "No wonder you are not very interested in getting your salary, and there is nowhere to spend it."

"There's no water!" Vaughn sighed. "The nearest water source is far to the east, and I often can't find it. The salary will come with the post office's carriage every month."

"Why is this town called Roseville?" Chen Jianqiu asked suddenly.

"The name of the old postmaster's father." Vaughan's answer surprised Chen Jianqiu a bit.

"Isn't it up to you?"

Vaughan shook his head:

"The old guy came before us, he came ten years ago, when there were Nahuas all around here."

"He built two adobe houses here as a post station, and then he was driven away by the Nahua." Vaughn pointed to the post office in the center of the town.

"Later we drove the Nahuas away, and he came back, and then actually filed a lawsuit against the federal government on the grounds that he came first, the evidence was the two houses, and he actually won in the end, and used his father named the town after him."

"And then?" Chen Jianqiu broke the casserole and asked.

"Then? I don't know the specifics, but it should be that he bought out the ownership of all the nearby land from him."

After visiting the whole place under the leadership of Vaughan, everyone returned to the ground in the middle.

Vaughan opened the doors of several empty houses and said to Chen Jianqiu, "You guys should live here, anyway, it's all vacated by the dead brothers."

So, in the end, Geronimo's Apache people occupied two rooms; two women, one room; and the rest lived in one room.

"Sir, when do we start looking for crude oil?"

During dinner, Vaughan was holding a bowl, pulling a pile of mushy things, and asked the geologist expectantly.

"Ah, this, or we can talk about it tomorrow." Holmes stammered.

After dinner, a group of people went back to the house.

Chen Jianqiu found a kerosene lamp, lay down on the table, and began to study the densely packed map that was standard by Holmes for the first time.

"Tell me, is there really oil here?" Chen Jianqiu asked Holmes suddenly.

Sean and Asuka, who were chatting softly at the side, were all dumbfounded, and the room suddenly fell silent.

"Boss, you don't really want to find some crude oil, do you?" Sean asked suspiciously.

But Chen Jianqiu ignored him and continued to look at the geologist.

"The probability is quite high. I have found traces of ancient underground channels from the cut surface of the stone exposed on the ground, but no matter how much exploration I do, I will not be allowed to do it," Holmes said

"I guess there are some knowledgeable people who have come here and come to a similar conclusion. Although the group of Freemasons like to play tricks, they are always well-informed. This thing can only be done by luck."

"What about the water? Do you believe there is no water in this place?" Chen Jianqiu asked eagerly.

"How is it possible! These people don't know anything." This time Holmes replied very simply, "I went around and there should be an aquifer underground here. But this thing is the same as crude oil, no No one can guarantee it.”

"Besides, do you believe that the Nahua people will settle in a place without water? When I have time, I will take you to see the land southeast of Roseville. If the problem of surface irrigation is solved, it is very suitable for farming."

Holmes continued.

"However, there are only a few pastures there now. It is really wasteful to prepare to eat up the grass there and run away."

Chen Jianqiu has been listening very carefully, and is constantly thinking about it in his mind.

The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, with oil and fields.

This place, yes, he made a note of it.

"Everyone go to bed early, Holmes, tell Vaughn tomorrow that we will go further afield to find crude oil, and then we will find a chance to continue south." Chen Jianqiu made a decision.

During the three or four days in the desert, Chen Jianqiu hardly had a good night's sleep.

He thought he could take a good rest today.

But the gunshots in the middle of the night still woke him up from his sleep.

He sat up from the bed.

Over the barracks, Vaughan's shout echoed:

"The Nahuas are coming! The Nahuas are coming! Take your weapons to the wall! Quick!"

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(End of this chapter)