Setting:  The Missouri River...Onboard the Riverboat "Missouri Belle"

It is the spring of 1867 and hope has re-emerged in America. The nation has emerged from a long and bloody war. Many people have seen the west as an opportunity for a better life and have set out by boat, horse, wagon and foot to stake their claim on the rich lands of the west. The native peoples there have objected to this invasion of their lands and have resisted the coming of the white peoples. It is in this setting that you find yourselves this evening. The Union and Central Pacific Railroads race to complete the trans-continental rail line and compete for business with the riverboats.

For tonight you are invited to choose which one of these many travelers you are. Trappers, Hunters, Farmers, Army men, Miners, Lawyers, Salesmen, Cooks, Lumbermen, Tailors, Newspaper reporters, Teachers, Ranchers, Gamblers, Outlaws...the list could go on for a lengthily time. Choose one you would enjoy being and join us in our "Mystery" as it unfolds.

You are traveling west on the Missouri River from St. Louis. It is April of 1867. Whatever your reason for traveling west, you have chosen to go by Riverboat in part due to the continued attacks on the Union Pacific rail lines by Black Kettle of the Cheyenne and Red Cloud of the Sioux. The Army is reinforcing its forts in the west and attempting to stop the attacks by the Indians. They have not been totally successful to date and the safest means of travel westward at present is still the Riverboats.

Custom dictates that all the passengers and certain members of the boat's crew all meet together for supper on the 1st night of the voyage. It is that supper that you are attending. Such dinners are opportunities to meet many new people and exchange news of other areas, but can also be opportunities for suspicious circumstances to befall the passengers. So be alert! Our Mystery may put you in the center of events before the night is out!