Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1118

This October 1901 issue features "Minkskin Mike, the Boy Sharpshooter; or, Columbia Jim on the War-path" by Oll Coomes. Set in 1862 at Pine Valley, Minnesota, the narrative follows a shooting competition organized by Major Gardette to encourage rifle practice among local youth amid rumors of Indian hostilities. The undersized but remarkably skilled eighteen-year-old sharpshooter Minkskin Mike appears, despite objections from the haughty Randolph Hill. During the climactic contest, a painted savage abducts Kitty Hamlin, the seventeen-year-old settlement belle serving as match scorer. Mike fires a fatal shot from an impossible angle, rescuing the girl unharmed. Hill initially accuses Mike of murdering Kitty before learning she merely fainted. Settlers celebrate Mike as the region's supreme marksman, carrying him on their shoulders.