Hunter is very tall, wide-shouldered and trimly built. He stays in good physical condition due to long working hours. His hair is thick with a tendency to curl when allowed to grow longer and nearly black in color. There are touches of gray shot through it, particularly at the temples. He also usually wears a mustache, but is otherwise clean-shaven. His wide-set eyes are a brown-gold hazel. Hunter’s best feature is his smile. He has a light-up-the-room kind of smile that tends to make others respond in kind. He also has a deep, infectious laugh that turns heads.

When it comes to style, Hunter jokes and says that he has none. He usually wears durable work pants or jeans, well-made but not expensive. For shirts, he likes a simple button-down or bib-style.

Marks & Scars: Hunter has the usual array of marks and scars from an active and adventurous life. Of note, two overlapping star-shaped bullet wound scars in his upper mid-thigh of his left leg. The first one was received in the war. The second one was received in a gunfight with Shade Thornton.

Traits

• Appears affable (+)
• Great sense of humor (+)
• Proud (+/-)
• Intelligent (+)
• Quick Witted (+)
• Calm, level-headed (+)

Personality

Hunter Morgan presents a rather affable, easy-going demeanor on first meeting. His deep, mid-baritone voice is clear and carries a decided Texas drawl. He is very disarming and most people don't see that they are being sized up and catalogued as friend or enemy. He has a trick of making everyone feel like they are his best friend. He can stroll with someone and begin randomly talking and suddenly that person will be spilling everything about themselves and any problems they might be having. This ability has made him one of the Texas Rangers' master interrogators. Hunter has a great sense of humor. He laughs easily and smiles often.  Hunter can also smile even as he is getting angry. Most people realize they have pushed him too far when they are picking themselves up off the ground.

Like most Texans, Hunter is a proud man, a hard worker and fiercely independent. He gives better than a full day's work for his pay and never shirks. Hunter views his accomplishments with pride but not vanity. Most of the men he served with during the war described him as tough but fair. He won't ask anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself and often put himself in danger because of that. He believes in earning his way. Hunter's independent nature makes him a better man to work with or for rather than working for someone else. Essentially, if he hasn't worked for it, earned it, or bought it with his hard-earned money, then it isn't his.

Hunter is almost always polite to those deserving it, especially those he respects as figures of authority and older persons. He has a tendency to be mildly flirtatious with ladies of all ages who usually appreciate his roguish charm. Hunter is almost always a gentleman when dealing with women although he views committing to one woman and marriage in much the same light as he does rabid dogs. His desire to avoid matrimony borders on being phobic.

Rafaela and Graeme Morgan were well-educated people. They saw to it that their son was also given as good an education as they could provide. Hunter is highly intelligent and, over the years, he's become quite life-smart, able to quickly judge a person or a horse with a great deal of accuracy. He prefers to downplay his education and intelligence, often using slang, colloquialisms, and less than perfect grammar to mask it.

Loyalty and honesty are very important to Hunter. To friends and loved ones, he is fiercely loyal, sometimes past the point where should be. Hunter's very protective which, along with his temper, has led him into trouble more than once. He goes the extra mile to be a good friend where it is deserved and takes having his faith and trust broken very hard. Hunter considers himself an honest man and expects to be dealt with honestly and forthrightly. He dislikes subterfuge. This doesn't mean Hunter doesn't know when to keep things to himself. When it becomes necessary, he has a very good poker face.

On a non-traditional note, Hunter does not much care for beer or hard liquor. He will drink beer when he wants something cold that’s not water, but most often will order a sarsaparilla. His drink of choice is a fine wine.

Employer Name: Self-employed

Position: Drifter, Bounty Hunter, lawman

Details: Hunter worked for a war crimes task force organized by General Harcourt Adams from 1870 - 1873. After that, using connections made during those years, he took on jobs in various towns that needed “cleaned up”. 

Professional Skills

Long-range marksman

Master interrogator

Tracker

Hand-to-Hand: Hunter is a hard-hitting fighter, but has no formal hand-to-hand combat training beyond what he learned from the Tonkawa workers on the family ranch.

Handgun: Colt *Thunderer Double Action Revolver. Caliber: .41 Long Colt

IMAGE HERE

*The Colt M1877 “Lightning” and “Thunderer” were not manufactured until 1877, 2 years after the start of the RPG stories. This is one of those occasions where we will allow the good of the story to override historical accuracy. It is not expected that Hunter’s revolver will figure prominently in many scenes.

8th Texas Cavalry: Notable Engagements

Battle of Shiloh (April 6–7, 1862; Hardin County, TN; Union Victory)

Rifles

Winchester 1873 Repeating Carbine

Weight: 9.5 lb (4.3 kg)

Length: 49.3 in (125 cm)

Barrel length: 30 in (76 cm)

Caliber: .44-40 Winchester

Action: Lever action

Feed system: 15-round tube magazine

Sights: Graduated rear sights, fixed-post front sights

Sharps 1874 Carbine .45-70

Weight: 9.5 lb (4.3 kg)

Length: 47 inches (1,200 mm)

Cartridge: .45-70

Action: Falling block

Rate of fire: 8–10 shots per minute

Muzzle velocity: 1,200 ft/s (370 m/s)

Effective firing range: 500 yd (460 m)

Maximum firing range: 1,000 yd (910 m)

Feed system: 1 round

Sights: Custom mounted brass scope.

Whitworth 

Length: 49 in (1,200 mm)

Barrel length: 33 in (840 mm)

Cartridge: .451 caliber bullet

Caliber: 0.451 in (11.5 mm)

Action: muzzle loaded

Rate of fire: 2–3 rounds per minute

Effective firing range: 800 to 1,000 yd (730 to 910 m)

Maximum firing range: 1,500 yd (1,400 m)

Feed system: muzzle loader

Sights: classic iron sights scope

Hobbies & Interests

• Wine making
• Reading
• Competitive shooting.

FAMILY

Father: Graeme Hunter Morgan (living); Owner of Rancho de los Morganos, a small but profitable ranch in the Hill Country near San Antonio, Texas. Co-owner and manager of Corvino Vineyards.

Mother: Rafaela de Luca Morgan (living); Owner of Corvino Vineyards. Rafaela maintains the household on the ranch, but does not work the ranch much these days. Instead, she has worked to expand Corvino and get the label recognized.

Brother: William Travis Morgan

Sister: Juliette Alora Morgan (1842-1844)

Grandparents: Dominic de Luca (maternal grandfather, deceased 1864), Sophia de Luca (maternal grandmother, deceased)

PLAYED CONNECTIONS

Shade Thornton (1866 - Present; friend, lives in Kalispell)

Prior to the 1800s: The Morgans immigrated from the Orkney Islands in Scotland to the American colonies in 1744, before the 1745 Jacobite uprising. Several members of the clan settled in the mountains around present-day Cherokee, North Carolina. Over time, some of the Morgans married into the Cherokee tribe and were scattered during the forced removal of the Cherokee from their homelands (1831-1850).

October 1835 to April 1836: Jason and Graeme Morgan answered the call for volunteers and joined the Army of Texas during the summer of 1835. Both men were hungry for adventure and the allure of generous land grants led them away from their North Carolina home. The war ended on April 21, 1836 at the Battle of San Jacinto. As promised, Graeme and Jason were given land near San Antonio, an area perfect for ranching. They soon established Rancho de los Morganos and sent for their mother who declined to make the journey.

1836 - 1837: Graeme, the younger of the two brothers settled happily to ranching. Jason, far more adventurous and quickly bored with ranch life, joined the Texas Rangers. Not long after settling in San Antonio, the Morgans met their neighbors, the de Lucas. Dominic de Luca was an Italian immigrant with a thriving vineyard. Corvino (Raven) Vineyards produced high-end, high-priced wines. The old man was quite pleased to have two eligible bachelors as neighbors since his daughter, Rafaela, had refused all offers of marriage. The Morgan brothers took one look at the stunning Rafaela and both fell in love with her.

While Jason was away on assignment with the Texas Rangers, Rafaela accepted Graeme’s marriage proposal. He tried to get in touch with Jason to no avail. In the spring of 1837, Gray and Rafaela were wed.

 XX, XX 1838: *will be updated when Longshot completes Travis' bio. Rafaela gave birth to the first of their two sons, William Travis Morgan. A few days later, Jason returned and learned of his brother’s marriage. At first, Jason was very angry and hurt, but after seeing his new nephew and how much Graeme loved Rafaela, he was mollified. Although he would never marry himself, Jason became a loving and doting uncle to his two nephews.

August 1, 1839: On August 1, 1839, Rafaela Morgan gave birth to her second child. She and Graeme named him Hunter after his father’s mother’s family and Augustus for his birth month. There would be other pregnancies but most ended in miscarriages.

1840 (a. 1)

In March of 1840, just as Hunter was turning six years old, relations with the Comanche took a turn for the worse. A meeting was held in San Antonio between Texas officials and Comanche chiefs. The meeting was held under a flag of truce with a goal of negotiating the release of thirteen hostages, mainly women and children. The captives had been taken during the previous ten years under Mexican rule. The commissioners were outraged over perceived lies being told by the Comanche chiefs. Soldiers surrounded the Council House. The chiefs tried to escape and were killed by the Texas. Fierce fighting ensued between the Texans and the Comanches. Six Texans and thirty-three Comanches died in the fighting.

As expected, the Comanches were furious over the killing of their chiefs under a flag of truce. Hundreds of their warriors approached San Antonio but remained beyond the range of the Texans’ rifles. The Comanches suddenly retreated and it was believed the crisis was over. When they got back to their camps, the Comanche killed many of the Anglo prisoners they were planning on exchanging.

In August of 1840, Comanche warriors raided the heart of eastern Texas. Hundreds of Texans were killed and homes burned. After reaching the Gulf of Mexico, the Comanche began a slow retreat north. This gave the Texans time to organize. A militia, with the aid of Tonkawa scouts, ambushed the main body of the retreating Comanche at the Battle of Plum Creek at Lockhart, Texas. Fortunately, the Morgan’s ranch was not in the direct path of the raids and was spared.

May 3, 1842 (a. 3): Juliette Morgan born.

December 12, 1844 (a. 4): Death of sister, Juliette, from an unknown fever.

1845 to 1850 (a. 6 - 11)

In 1845, Texas became the 28th state when it was annexed by the United States. Very little changed on Rancho de los Morganos. The spread continued to enjoy modest profits. There was some concern as raids by bands of Comancheros increased, but Graeme saw no reason to hire more men.

Hunter’s life up to this point had been fairly uneventful. He spent much of his time tagging after his older brother, doing his chores and working with grandfather at the vineyard. He enjoyed learning the ins-and-outs of running a ranch, but his true passion was the winery. His grandfather, Dominic de Luca, often told him and his parents that Hunter had a natural palette for the wines. He literally began learning the art of winemaking as a toddler. Despite loving the vineyard and wine in general, Hunter, even as he grew older, never developed a tremendous love or even liking of alcohol in general.

Now assigned to the Texas Rangers’ San Antonio Division, Jason was a frequent visitor to the ranch. The family attended Mass together and Hunter’s uncle was often present for family gatherings and dinners. When his work did not demand his presence, Jason spent time with his nephews, teaching them about weapons, tracking men and animals - a skill that the ranch’s Tonkawa employees also augmented - and generally how to take care of themselves, to rely on each other and their own abilities to survive.

In between all of these activities was school. Rafaela insisted that her sons be well educated. They attended a nearby mission school and few evenings passed that she did not sit and read with them. Graeme would also sit with them, talk about current events in the state and around the country, and share his newspaper with them.

1851 to 1856 (a. 12 - 17)

Around the age of twelve or thirteen, Hunter discovered another innate skill. Jason had taught his nephews the basics of handling firearms and kept them up-to-date on the latest weapon innovations as they became available. Hunter was an indifferent shot with handguns. He could aim, fire, and hit what he shot at. However, he was neither fast or flashy with it. That was different with rifles and carbines. He had superb long-distance eyesight, somewhat better than average. Over the next few years, he would show a growing affinity and prodigious skill with long-distance shooting. In fact, the further away the target was, the better Hunter was.

Life continued with Hunter dividing his time between dogging his beloved uncle’s footsteps, spending time at the vineyard, and his chores on the ranch. With both boys old enough to travel on their own, they were required to attend classes four days a week at the mission school on the outskirts of San Antonio. During the shorter winter days, they lived at their uncle’s villa in town. On Fridays, they made the ride back to the ranch.

At age sixteen, Hunter’s parents felt he had accomplished all that he was going to in a formal classroom setting and he was allowed to graduate. Even though he loved the ranch and the vineyard, Hunter immediately applied to the Texas Rangers. After a long discussion between him, his parents, and his uncle, Graeme and Rafaela acquiesced and he was assigned to Jason’s division in San Antonio.

1856 to 1860 (a. 17 - 21)

Hunter learned the job fast and proved to be an excellent lawman. His rather affable seeming personality often persuaded men, and a few women, to confess their crimes in the course of a friendly conversation. He had a natural instinct for people, generally able to detect when someone was lying with little effort. Over time, Hunter also found he had a genuine respect for the law and seeing due process done. The only hitch was that he sometimes found himself caught between what was right and what was legal. On these occasions, he had to let his conscience dictate the outcome, often coming down on the side of what was right and just.

1861 to 1865 (a. 22 - 26): Civil War

On February 1, 1861, the state of Texas seceded from the United States of America. It joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861.

Over the strenuous objections of their parents, their grandfather, and their uncle, Hunter and Travis chose to join the fight. In August of 1861, they enlisted in the 8th Texas Cavalry under the command of Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry. The "Terry Rangers" as they became known, distinguished themselves in several battles during the Civil War. During their fours years of service, Terry's Texas Rangers fought in approximately two-hundred-seventy-five engagements in seven states.

The regiment earned a reputation that ranked it among the most effective mounted regiments in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. ~ Wikipedia

Both Hunter and Travis distinguished themselves with the 8th. Hunter garnered a bit of a reputation as a marksman and sharpshooter. Their commanding officers quickly learned that the pair worked better together than when separated despite a tendency to squabble and even resort to scuffling.

Returning to Texas at the end of the war was something of a jolt for both young men. Their beloved home state, like most of the South, had not weathered the war well. The war had also taken its toll on Ranchos de los Morganos and the Corvino Vineyard. After one of many raids by marauding Union soldiers, Dominic de Luca had died of a heart attack leaving his beloved vines to go fallow. The ranch had suffered major setbacks as well. Much of its livestock had been killed or run off leaving Graeme and Rafaela to scrape out a living as best as they could. Still, a majority of their Tonkawa employees refused to leave and they fared somewhat better than others in the area.

Although it was a shadow of its former self, the Texas Rangers were still operating as a state-wide law enforcement agency. The reception from Uncle Jason was a bit cool at first, but that did not last. He was too happy to have both of his nephews home alive, well and with all of their body parts intact. They once again resumed their positions as Texas Rangers. In their spare time, they helped Graeme and Rafaela get the ranch and vineyard back on its feet.

1866 to 1870 (a. 27 - 31)

Angry returning veterans seized state property and Texas went through a period of extensive violence and disorder. Most outrages took place in northern Texas and were committed by outlaws who had their headquarters in the Indian Territory and plundered and murdered without distinction of party. The outlawry was not restricted to north Texas, the Hill Country around San Antonio experienced its fair share of raiders. Many of these gangs were comprised of disenfranchised land owners and soldiers from both sides of the war.

In 1866, while lounging just outside the Rangers’ headquarters in San Antonio, Hunter took note of a young man riding out of town at quite a clip. Something about him flagged a memory and he went inside to dig through the wanted flyers, eventually find the one he wanted. The man’s name was listed as Shade Thornton. He was wanted as a member of Cutler’s Raiders, an outlaw gang that had terrorized much of Texas. By the time that Hunter tracked down Travis and they got their gear assembled, Thornton had quite a head start on them. Both men agreed that they did not want to be spotted tracking him in the hopes he would lead them to the gang’s hideout.

However, their quarry proved far more elusive than they anticipated and led them a merry chase. They finally cornered him in a rocky arroyo near the small town of Paradise, some forty miles away from San Antonio. A gunfight left Hunter wounded and Shade Thornton trapped with no way out except past the two of them. After nearly three days, Shade surrendered having finally been convinced that the Morgans were not outlaws themselves out for loot. During the long ride back to San Antonio, Hunter and Travis learned that Shade Thornton was not the hardened criminal one would expect from someone riding with an outfit like Cutler’s Raiders.

By the time they had locked Shade Thornton in a cell, neither man had much stomach for what would happen to him after his trial. After talking it over with their uncle and after Jason talked to Thornton, a plan was put into action. Jase Morgan worked out a deal with the judge and prosecutor. Shade would be allowed to escape. In return, he would bring them information on Cutler and his outlaws, facilitating their capture. For that, he would be given a full pardon, legally acquitted of all crimes to date. Shade accepted the deal.

It was a risky operation, but in the end all of the gang were found and brought to justice. Afterward, Hunter and Travis talked their uncle into offering Thornton a job with the Rangers. Shade declined the offer with a counter-offer. He suggested that he keep doing what he had been doing. Embedding himself with various outlaw gangs and feeding information to the Rangers. Jason was a bit reluctant to put the young man in such a dangerous situation. Still, Thornton had proved himself adept at living the lie and obviously still felt a need to atone for past deeds. He finally accepted and Shade Thornton became an undercover operative for Jason’s division.

Late in 1869, during a bank robbery in San Antonio, Jason Morgan was shot and killed. By the time that Hunter and Travis had tracked down his killer, word had gone out that the Texas Rangers was being dissolved and replaced by the Union run Texas State Police. Both men decided that they could not remain in the new organization. They retired to the family business with plans to try and settle down and help their parents full-time. After years of living on the edge, neither brother settled into ranch life easily.

In early 1870, they returned to the ranch after driving a herd to the market to find a tall, gray-haired Union General having tea with their parents. The man introduced himself as General Harcourt Adams. His drawl placed him as a Southerner which proved to be the case. They learned that the man was from Tennessee and had, with great sorrow, chosen to serve his country instead of his state of birth. Now, he was charged with creating a task force to track down the worst of the war criminals from both sides of the conflict. After reviewing hundreds of service records, he had chosen a small unit of ten men. He was there to offer Travis and Hunter the last two positions. The downside was that they would have to put on the Union uniform in between assignments.

After debating the offer for several days, Hunter and Travis reported to General Adams’ new unit where they received their first assignment.

1871 to 1875 (a. 32 - 36)

For the next few years, Hunter and Travis worked for Adams. They tracked down several notorious war criminals and, along the way, gained a reputation as men that could be counted on to help clean up towns. This was a job they continued on with even after the war crimes task force was disbanded. Their reputation as troubleshooters that could be counted on to back up lawmen and help end a town’s lawlessness increased. In between jobs, they would return to the ranch and spend time with their parents.

Arrival in Kalispell pending.

Current Residence

Drifter

Place of Birth

Rancho de los Morganos

San Antonio, Texas

Education

Overall: Educated at home and at nearby Mission School.

Languages Spoken: English (native), Italian (fluent), Spanish (relatively fluent)

Animals & Pets

Name: Il Rosso (The Red - Italian)

Breed: Spanish Andalusian / Mustang cross (South American bred)

Hands: 16.2

Color: Blood bay, black points.

Gender: Gelding

Temperament: Spirited, can be hard to handle, not mean.

Name: Zip (dog)

Breed: Cur (Catahoula Cur)

Size: 26”, 85lbs.

Color: Blue and black, mottled

Gender: Male

Hunter acquired Zip during the journey back to Texas after the war. He won the dog off a Cajun in a poker game in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Battles of Chattanooga (Oct.-Nov., 1863; Chattanooga, TN; Union Victory)

Battle of Chickamauga (Sept. 18–20, 1863; Catoosa and Walker County, GA; CSA Victory)

Atlanta Campaign (May 7-Sept. 2, 1864; Northwestern GA and Atlanta)