Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 797

This issue features "How Eli Got There: A Romance of King John's Death-Trap" by Ed. L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick novels. The story concerns a mining camp called Rope Walk, a settlement on an isolated plateau accessible only by a chain bridge spanning a chasm. The narrative describes how an outlaw leader known as King John leads a raiding party that kills the night watchman and massacres the camp's inhabitants. A young man named Junius escapes on horseback despite being wounded, fleeing to find help. He encounters another man on a mule traveling the trail, to whom he recounts the disaster and his desperate mission to rescue a woman left behind in King John's power. The story combines Western frontier adventure with dramatic action, emphasizing violence, danger, and personal stakes.