Beadle's Pocket Library, No. 31

This 1884 Beadle and Adams dime novel presents "Nightingale Nat: The Forest Captains" by T. C. Harbaugh. A singing youth nicknamed Nightingale Nat drives oxen in a wagon train heading toward Lake Superior's copper country. When Captain Rough orders him to stop singing, fearing it will attract danger, Nat obeys reluctantly. An attack by Indians and outlaws materializes; a mysterious figure called Old Shadow-Shot intervenes when Rough attempts to whip the boy, declaring "I'll kill the first man what te'ches the leetle one." Meanwhile, a band of outlaws and Indians—the "Vultures of the Woods"—led by Captain Dave, track the train after hearing Nat's song. Dave's lieutenant Rafe expresses unease about their previous attack on Collyer's party, but Dave dismisses such qualms. The narrative follows two parallel storylines: Nat's struggle against Captain Rough's tyranny and the brigands' coordinated assault.