The Texas Hawks

# "The Texas Hawks; or, The Strange Decoy"

This 1878 dime novel by Jos. H. Badger Jr., published by Beadle and Adams, concerns a hunting party encamped on the Texas prairie near the Trinity River. Young hunter Fred Hawksley recounts encountering a mysterious woman—beautiful, white, brunette, expertly armed—riding a mustang near a prominent red rock three days prior. Dressed in fringed buckskin trimmed in Indian style with eagle feathers, she challenged him wordlessly before vanishing across the prairie. The mysterious woman subsequently appears at their campfire astride a piebald mustang, her dress adorned with beads and silver ornaments, carrying a rifle. When questioned, she laughs and flees, inviting pursuit. Hawksley, mounted on his yellow horse Mott, pursues her across the prairie, resolved to discover her identity and purpose.