The Squaw Chief

This Beadle and Adams publication is a catalog of the publisher's dime novels and instruction manuals, supplemented by the beginning of The Squaw Chief; or The Earl's Half-Breed Daughter by Frederick Whittaker, a serial tale set in 1675 New England. The narrative opens with Weetamora, the female sachem of Pocasset, convening a war council. She receives emissaries from Pometacom (King Philip) urging the Pocasset tribe to join a pan-Indian uprising against English colonists, framing their expansion as theft and invoking the fate of the Pequots. Weetamora expresses caution, citing colonial military superiority and existing peace agreements. An envoy references her late husband Wamsutta's suspicious death, attempting to inflame anti-colonial sentiment. A runner interrupts announcing the arrival of two English visitors—Benjamin Church, a Puritan military man, and Charles Hazelton, a Cavalier—who arrive on horseback as the council smokes the ceremonial pipe.