Dead Man's Hand Desperados

"Washington is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad, the dust is disgusting and the morals are deplorable. Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country."

Horace Greeley wrote these famous words in 1865 in a New York Tribune editorial. In it, he encouraged Civil War veterans to take advantage of the Homestead Act and colonize the public lands.  And why not? After the Civil War, some Southern soldiers returned home to discover they'd lost everything. Other veterans found it impossible to return to their old way of life on the farm or in the city. Some veterans went West for a fresh start, some for the solitude, and others dreaming of fame and fortune.  That's the long-winded explanation for the Civil War veterans in the set below.

The Desperado set might be my favorite in the Dead Man's Hand line.  They're a wild and colorful bunch, and that's how I think they've turned out. If you field this set, I wonder if there is a chance that the Union and Confederate fellow go after each other instead of the enemy?  

I can't resist the opportunity to share Linda Ronstadt's live performance of Desperado. There's no go-go dancers, bright lights, foam fingers or distractions of any kind. Just Linda, a piano and nearly silent audience. Brilliant!