Earth-4, the Old West, 1870’s

The dimension where the four adventurers were going was usually referred to by the League as “Earth-4”, since it was the fourth dimensional version of that particular planet that they had come across.

While Earth-4 is similar to our earth in many ways, there are several noticeable divergences, some of which are very apparent during the late 19th century.
For one, North America was not settled by pilgrims that adhered to a very strict and condemning variant of Christianity, but by pilgrims which had been thrown out of Europe for their very, very liberal interpretation of monogamy and sexual morality.

While the craziest of their excesses has been softened by the arrival of more ordinary Christians, sex is very big in North America, and sexual slavery was not a small part of the southern lifestyle which ended with the First American Civil War in 1862-67.

What’s more, North America is not merely split up between the British colonies, the United States and Mexico, for Texas is a Prussian colony and California was settled by the Russian Empire. This means that the people inhabiting the area from California through Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico to Texas are often a mix of Russian, German and Spanish heritage.

Further, the border between the United States, the Prussian colony of Texas, the Republic of Mexico and the Russian Principality of California is a very lively place, with Indians, cowboys and agents for the different governments passing through.

And that’s where the four league-members are going, to the metropolis of debauchery and filth that is Santa Fe, passed only by Boston and New Orleans in terms of depravity.