Beadle's New Dime Novels: Foghorn Phil

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, Foghorn Phil: The King of the Border, or The Secret Foe by Oll Coomes, opens with a frontier adventure set in November across the Montana plains. The first chapter, "Under the Snow," follows a solitary white hunter in Indian dress traversing the Coteau des Prairies between Panther Mountain and the Powder River. As darkness and an approaching blizzard force him to take shelter, he's startled by vibrations of approaching hoofbeats. The second chapter, "The Storm Riders," introduces a mysterious couple—a bearded man named Herman Rochelle and a young woman named Camilla—riding westward toward the Black Pass through a gathering snowstorm. Pursued by wolves across the frozen landscape, Herman responds coldly and mysteriously to Camilla's fears, his cryptic remarks hinting at dark secrets. The narrative interweaves these two storylines across the treacherous winter frontier.