Leland's Journey: A Tale of Toil Amid Gangsters and Massacre

Leland had a poor start in life. He became an orphan at six and had mixed success in being placed with families who raised him. He became a coal miner at twelve and a moonshiner by eighteen. At twenty-two his life changed when he moved to Herrin, a new center of the coal industry. In Herrin he saw 'normal' families and decided he wanted one for himself. Toiling in the mines on work days and in a tavern some evenings provided him with a good income, camaraderie and a chance to fit in with th...