Beadle's Dime Library, No. 149

The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War

This serialized adventure by Gustave Aimard begins in October 1812 in the forests straddling the Texas-Mexico border. The narrative opens with a detailed scene-setting meditation on American westward expansion and its consequences for indigenous peoples. The protagonist is introduced as a French-Canadian wood-ranger in his early twenties—a skilled hunter and outdoorsman paddling a birch-bark canoe who has just shot two flamingos. The story's primary action commences when a runaway enslaved man appears on a rocky outcrop, pursued by bloodhounds owned by John Davis, a slave trader. The Canadian rescues the fugitive from the river, then confronts Davis across the water. Davis demands the Canadian return the man for a twenty-dollar reward, but the hunter refuses, setting up a clear conflict between the protagonist and the slaver that will presumably drive the narrative forward.