The Land Claim

"Alicia Newcome; or, The Land-Claim: A Story of the Upper Missouri" by Mrs. Frances Fuller Barritt (published 1862).

The narrative opens on the Nebraska frontier during westward expansion. Thomas Newcome, a reckless Englishman, has settled a land claim with his daughter Alicia, a refined young woman who inherited her mother's cultivation and beauty. Newcome's violent temperament is sparked by a boundary dispute with neighboring claim-jumpers—four young bachelors (a physician, lawyer, surveyor, and editor sharing one shanty)—who contest his poorly-marked fourth boundary line. Newcome threatens armed response to defend his claim. Meanwhile, a French trader named Mauvais visits, prompting Newcome's suspicion and harsh warnings to Alicia about encouraging disreputable acquaintances. The fragment shows the early complications of frontier land disputes and domestic tensions amid settlement expansion and romantic elements emerging between Alicia and her suitors.