Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1158

# The Giant Trapper; or, The Flower of the Blackfeet By Albert W. Aiken

This frontier adventure serial, appearing in Beadle's Dime Novels (February 1865), opens at Fort Benton on the upper Missouri as the steamboat Mountain Belle arrives from St. Louis. Two passengers—the older Roderick Wright and young Harry Courtney—meet by chance and form an alliance. Wright recruits Courtney for a mysterious expedition into Blackfoot territory, promising him ten thousand dollars if they succeed in obtaining something worth fifty thousand dollars. Wright speaks cryptically of treasure that is "alive and has a voice," eventually revealed to involve a female captive. The narrative includes Wright's digression defending Native American martial prowess against dismissive newspaper accounts, establishing the Blackfeet as formidable warriors. The men plan to hire Sol, a renowned old trapper known for his long legs and intimate knowledge of the Flathead river region, as their guide. The story emphasizes danger, frontier life, and the contrast between civilized easterners and seasoned frontiersmen adapting to wilderness conditions.