His first novel , '' Blood-Money '' ( 1882 ) , about the Mussel Slough Tragedy , was an indictment of the conduct of California railroad companies which were forcing settlers off their land . It gained little attention , and in fact Morrow took a position in the public relations department of the Southern Pacific Railroad some nine years later . A mystery/suspense novel , '' A Strange Confession '' , was serialized in the '' Californian '' in 1880-81 , but was never published in book form . His stories were collected in '' The Ape , the Idiot and Other People '' in 1897 , but he published few stories thereafter . The book is now a much sought-after collectors ' item
Mussel Slough Tragedy
Mussel Slough Tragedy
W. C. Morrow