Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 100

This 1879 dime novel installment from Beadle and Adams features "Deadwood Dick in Leadville: A Strange Stroke for Liberty" by Edward L. Wheeler. The narrative opens with a mysterious rider traversing a Colorado snowstorm toward Leadville, encountering road-agents in a mountain gulch. He enters the Wild-cat mine shaft, where he witnesses two miners—an elder and younger man—dispute over stolen property. The younger man shoots the elder dead. The scene shifts to spring, introducing English tourists traveling by stage: Sir Noel Farnsworth (wealthy, good-natured), his mother Lady Farnsworth, his brother Chandos (dissipated, conceited), and sister Lady Belle (adventurous, nineteen). Their driver Jack Fargett and servant Josephus Wash complete the party. En route to Leadville, Deadwood Dick and his gang intercept the coach, demanding money and jewelry at gunpoint.