Buffalo Bill's Relentless Trail; or, The Unknown Slayer of the Black Cavalry

# Catalog Note

This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels (No. 979, July 28, 1897) contains "Buffalo Bill's Relentless Trail; or, The Unknown Slayer of the Black Cavalry," a serial by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham. The narrative centers on murders at Fort Benham, Arizona, where members of the Black Troops have been systematically assassinated over six months by an unknown assailant who employs rifles, arrows, knives, and lassos. Colonel Thorp enlists Surgeon Frank Powell—also known as "White Beaver" and "the Surgeon Scout"—to solve the mystery. Powell proposes assembling a team including the frontier legend Buffalo Bill, the old trapper Silent Sam, and a Ute Indian named Man Killer to track the killer. Powell theorizes the murders stem from personal revenge rather than Indian raids, and pledges to "fathom" the mystery and bring the guilty to justice.