Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 971

This 1896 Beadle and Adams pulp weekly presents Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Oath; or, Paradise Park, a western romance by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick novels. The tale opens with the hero discovering a burning wagon train massacre in New Mexico's Cottonwood Meadows, where wagons, horses, and bodies burn together. A dying survivor urges Dick to avenge the victims but expires before revealing details. Mysteriously, no tracks lead from the massacre site. Years later, at a New Mexico hotel, Dick recounts the unsolved mystery to fellow guests. A man named Williamson reveals he was asked to investigate the disappearance of Andrew Whitley (matching initials tattooed on the corpse Dick examined), missing for years after striking gold. A letter arrives from Whitley's brother Ryan, dated from a missive five years old, expressing suspicion of foul play and requesting Dick's help, as he now wants "proof" and retribution.