ENG-05W Final Essay
The Resultant Events The officers watched the detectives closely. The politics of a police department were conflicted and convoluted. The officers were of two minds about the detectives. In the first instance, they knew that they needed to act in a subordinate manner. The detectives were important figures in the department. However, they also knew that the detectives were facing reprimand and dishonor if their investigation did not turn up anything of significant importance. This led to a sense of divided loyalties. The two detectives had begun to sense, quite correctly, that the officers were only honoring them with their mouths, but that their hearts were not in the right place. This sense of conflicted loyalty on the part of the officers came from the events preceding the investigation. It was important to understand the history and background of the town of New Bedford. New Bedford had been a quiet town founded in the time of the first colonial settlers. The New England town would experience explosive growth in the middle of the 1800's – shortly after the United States Civil War – as a rare gold field was found in the nearby foothills. New buildings sprang up overnight in the town during the gold rush. One of those new buildings was built by Josiah Cranberry. He was a young gold miner determined to cash in on this opportunity for riches. The background of coming from nothing left a person hungry for success. This was close to Josiah's mind as he built a simple house and went out every day to seek the life he wanted to build. He had been attracted at a young age to a beautiful young lady from a well to do family. He knew they would never accept her marriage to a man from such lowly origins as he. It must be remembered that the environment and social customs were much different in that time. The class distinctions in the world were far more noticeable and apparent. Thus, the opportunity to mine for gold was a huge potential benefit for him. He imagined going back to gain the hand of the one he loved. Yet in the smooty town, such dreams were hard to realize. Josiah was counseled not to be overly hopeful. Josiah went farther out than most of his fellow gold seekers. He reasoned that it would be easier to strike it rich where the ground had not been previously inspected to such a great degree. This determination proved wise in his case. He was outfitted with the main tools of the trade. He had a mining pan and a shovel. One day, being discouraged, he wandered home along a different path. Coming upon a small stream, Josiah was shocked to discover gold in the water. Panning, he felt he had struck a source of wealth. Perhaps his dreams were closer than he had realized. He quickly noted the location of this site on his map. Then he headed back to town and spoke with a trusty innkeeper. Old John Barnes had been an innkeeper for many decades. He was a shrewd and squinty old man. Yet he had a reputation for being trustworthy. This was hardly earned, as it would come to be revealed. In any event, Josiah went on to tell him all about the situation, and ask that he assist Josiah in procuring the necessary claims and paperwork. When he went to bed that night, Josiah was happier than he had ever been. However, some days later, he would find that the innkeeper had taken the site for himself. Josiah had not even been mentioned as the founder of the site. Great wealth accrued to the innkeeper, while the young man pined his life away for his lost opportunity and his lost love. This was the start of the Cranberry – Barnes feud. For over one-hundred years after this, the feud was fought long and hard. By a quirk of fate, both men had large families in time, and they both stayed near New Bedford. Barnes was a rich family, but their unethical manner of gaining riches always left them in a state of moral decay. Generations later, the