The Gray Hunter

This issue contains "The Gray Hunter of La Ptah," a Western tale by Edward Wiclett, appearing in Beadle and Adams's dime novel series (No. 129). The narrative opens with an old frontiersman called the Gray Hunter—a white-bearded, rifle-armed man living in the Arizona mountains near the Rio Grande—standing atop a volcanic peak with a young Indian attendant named Chicco. The Gray Hunter claims supernatural perception of a coming disaster. Descending to the arid plain below after a severe storm, they discover a young white woman, Emilie Latourette, apparently frozen to death on the desert. Using restorative techniques and herbal liquids, the Gray Hunter revives her. He carries her to his mountain lodge beside a volcanic crater lake, where he provides shelter, warm herbal tea, and supper. Emilie recounts that she was traveling to Santa Fe with a caravan led by her guardian, Pierre Cartier, when a violent norther scattered the horses and swept her away unconscious. The Gray Hunter's expression becomes troubled upon learning her name.