Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385

This December 9, 1834 Beadle and Adams pulp serial tells of "Yreka Jim's Joker," a Western adventure set in the Idaho mining camp of Red Nose. A handsome, well-armed stranger arrives during political turmoil—Judge Jeremiah Alvin, who controls the town through strict temperance enforcement, faces growing popular opposition demanding a "free-license ticket." When the stranger dismounts at the Buckin' Cayuse hotel, Judge Alvin mistakenly identifies him as the temperance speaker Charles "Chippeway" Charley St. Maur. Townspeople seize and carry the bewildered man inside, stuffing him with frontier delicacies for an hour. After consuming an enormous meal, the stranger reveals his true identity—"Jim"—admits he came for poker, and audaciously produces a whisky flask to offer the horrified temperance advocates. The story appears to concern Jim's scheme to challenge Alvin's authority through deception.