The Boy Pioneer

This issue contains a catalog advertising the "Dime Speakers" and "Dime Dialogues" series—collections of performance pieces including recitations, farces, burlesques, colloquies, and dramatic dialogues for school exhibitions and home entertainments, covering wit, humor, satire, and eloquence. Twenty-four dialogue volumes and numerous speaker collections are listed.

The primary serialized content is "The Boy Pioneer" by Edward S. Ellis. The narrative follows Mr. Lawrence Bingham and his twelve-year-old son Herbert, who arrive at Riverton, Ohio—a frontier settlement on the Ohio River established after General Wayne's victory over the Indian confederation. Built around an early block-house garrison, Riverton comprises rough cabins and cleared farmland. After a few days, Bingham decides to seek land further downriver to establish his own property. He and Herbert take Colonel Ringgold's sailboat to explore locations, encountering a deer swimming across the Ohio as they journey downstream toward Kentucky.