Buffalo Bill's Death-Deal; or, The Wandering Jew of the West

This 1904 Beadle and Adams dime novel, edited by Col. Prentiss Ingraham, opens the serial "Buffalo Bill's Death-Deal; or, The Wandering Jew of the Wild West." In Colorado's Grizzly Gulch mining camp, a dying vagabond summons Buffalo Bill to reveal that he had ambushed the scout the previous night. The man, wounded by Bill's defensive shot, confesses he'd attempted robbery to fund his mysterious search. Before expiring, the vagabond entrusts Bill with sealed papers, a gold-framed miniature, and other effects—a "legacy" detailing a sacred commission the scout must fulfill. Bill agrees to the dying man's terms, attends his burial, then returns to the camp. The narrative introduces Grizzly Gulch's key figures: Captain John, the multifaceted proprietor of the Crows' Roost hotel and de facto town authority; and Dr. Eugene Douglass, a skilled, well-dressed physician whose refined nature seems incongruous with frontier roughness, prompting speculation about his hidden past.