"1909, the Edwardian golden days. Genteel civilization had come to England, the continent, and the eastern United States. New York rivaled London and Paris as one of the great metropolises of the world. Albert Einstein had expounded his theory of relativity back in 1905, and science had brought us the wonders of the modern world. Culture and refinement had arrived on the east coast of America. Caruso was singing Pagliacci at the Met. Arturo Toscanini was conducting. The Barrymores were performing and a Ziegfeld girl was the rage. 1909 in the western part of the 46 United States was not so refined. The surviving Indian warriors were now being rounded up by the U.S. Army. In Washington, William Howard Taft, 300 pounds of pure Republican, was president and life was comfortable. In other parts of the country men were fighting each other and the elements. In New York department stores, a lady could buy maxis and boots and live in style. Out west, they didn’t think about style, just living. Eastern empire builders had secured their fortunes, the Morgans, Vanderbilts, and Carnegies. There were empires in the west, too, such as the great McCandles Ranch. But these huge ranches were held together only by having enough men and guns."