Beadle's Dime Novels No. 297: Black Nick

This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels contains two serialized stories. The first, "Tippy, the Texan; or, The Young Champion" by George Gleason, depicts the Mexican-American War, specifically the storming of Monterey during Zachary Taylor's campaign. The protagonist is a young Texas ranger and spy who combines soldiering with romance as he participates in the siege and assault on the stronghold.

The second serial, "Black Nick, the Hermit of the Hills; or, The Expiated Crime" by Frederick Whittaker, is set during Burgoyne's surrender in the Revolutionary War. It opens with a mystical interruption: while British-allied Indians meet a spy in a forest clearing to receive strategic orders about attacking American forces near Oriskany, a mysterious demonic figure—described as a gaunt apparition in black with upright horns, clutching javelins—emerges from a hollow tree. The creature, calling itself "Black Nick," slaughters the Indians and terrifies the spy. Subsequently, a young Prussian hussar officer attached to General Schuyler's staff investigates smoke rising from the supernaturally-feared "Haunted Hill."