Beadle's Dime Novels No. 212: Silverspur

Silverspur: Or, the Mountain Heroine

This dime novel by Edward Willett, published by Beadle and Company in 1870, follows Fred Wilder (known as "Silverspur" in the mountains) and his search for Dove-eye, an Arapaho warrior-woman. The narrative opens in a St. Louis saloon where frontier scout Old Blaze encounters Wilder among civilized merchants, barely recognizing him in his refined dress. Old Blaze brings news that Wilder's ally White Shield has been killed by Blackfeet, but before dying revealed that Dove-eye—whom Wilder believed dead—lives and now fights as a warrior among the Crows against the Arapahoes. Moved by this intelligence, Wilder and Old Blaze depart westward. The text breaks off as the two men pursue missing horses lost from their hunting party near Fort Laramie, with the narrative interrupted mid-incident.