Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 303

Content Description

"Top Notch Tom, the Cowboy Outlaw; The Satanstown Election" by Captain Fred. Whittaker is a Western adventure serial that opens in a Texas saloon town notorious for rowdiness. The narrative establishes Satanstown—officially "Satantatown"—a county seat dominated by saloons where ranchers and cowboys spend their earnings. Conflict erupts when Sandy Bill of Screw Worm Ranch is cut off by barkeeper Baldy Mac and sparks a brawl at the Lone Star House using clubs and baseball bats as weapons. The Glasgow Cattle Company's men, led by English overseer Berkeley, withdraw from the fight, tipping numerical advantage to townsmen. Ranchers including Punch Burleson, Deaf Smith, Limpy Balstrop, and the cowboy candidate Top Notch Tom arrive on horseback with whips to aid their fellows, restoring equilibrium to the escalating street battle. The narrative emphasizes shooting skill, ranch rivalries, and electoral politics within frontier lawlessness.