Ebony Dan; or, The Rival Leagues of Silver Circle

# Ebony Dan; or, The Rival Leagues of Silver Circle

This 1880 Beadle and Adams dime novel by Frank Dumont presents a mining-camp adventure set in Colorado's Silver Circle region. The narrative follows a stagecoach robbery in Hell Gate canyon, where two rival outlaw gangs clash. Spencer Mason, a wealthy mine-owner, travels with his daughter Eleanor and an elderly passenger who is revealed as Bully Bolton, a road agent seeking revenge against Mason for past crimes. Bolton's robbery attempt is interrupted by a mysterious band of Black horsemen led by "Ebony Dan," who defeats Bolton's gang and rescues Eleanor. Bolton retreats, vowing vengeance against both Ebony Dan and Mason. The story establishes conflict between Bolton's white brigands and Ebony Dan's organized league, with Eleanor caught between them and Mason's hidden past driving the plot's central tensions.