under her wing as a foster daughter. In the third season, Alma loses her baby to miscarriage and returns to her laudanum addiction. Seeing her addiction as a sign of her unhappiness, Ellsworth decides they should separate, after which she is able to end her drug habit. She uses the wealth generated by her claim to open Deadwood's first bank but is under increasing pressure to sell the claim to Hearst. She tries to negotiate to sell him a substantial portion of the claim, but he will only accept full ownership. Hearst tries to intimidate her by having one of his men shoot at her in the street, presumably to provoke Ellsworth into being killed in a fight. Swearengen stops this from happening, but Ellsworth is later assassinated by one of Hearst's men. With no alternative other than to flee the camp, Alma reluctantly sells to Hearst. In Deadwood: The Movie, Alma returns to Deadwood along with Sofia to oversee her banking interests in the town, having spent some years away. There remains strong romantic tension between her and Bullock, though they decline to act on their passions. Alma defies Hearst when she outbids him for the former land of Charlie Utter. Whitney Ellsworth Whitney Conway Ellsworth (Jim Beaver) is an experienced prospector who has sought gold all over the country, even having once worked as a miner at wage and an overseer on sites owned by the Hearst mining company. Having left his position with the company, disgusted at the nonchalant attitude toward the well-being of its miners, he is introduced in the first season as one of the many individuals who have traveled to Deadwood on the promise of wealth in the gold-rich hills, revealing himself to have a "dead-eye" for the color and having successfully managed to eke out a comfortable living in this profession. Ellsworth is a regular of the Gem Saloon, like many of the town's prospectors, and is liked by the Gem's employees, including Trixie and Dan Dority. Early on, he witnesses Brom Garret's murder in the wilderness, but understanding the dangerous nature of their employer, he keeps this fact to himself, lest he meet a similarly unfortunate "accident". In return for his silence, Dan Dority does not make known to Swearengen Ellsworth's status as a witness. After being hired by Seth Bullock to manage Alma's claim in order to keep her title active,