Beadle's Pocket Library No. 489: Old Crossfire's Crisis

# "Old Crossfire's Crisis," by Captain Charles Howard

This serial, featured in Beadle and Adams' Dime Library (Vol. XXX, No. 489, 1893), is a frontier adventure set during the 1835 Seminole War in Florida. The story follows Frank Nesbit, a young man, and Sam Thatcher (nicknamed "Old Crossfire"), a seasoned scout with a Cuban bloodhound named Tiger. Seeking vengeance, they pursue Morello, a half-Seminole, half-Spanish leader of the "Mixed Riders"—a band of renegades responsible for massacres across Florida plantations, including the Grant estate where Nesbit's beloved Maggie was killed alongside her aunt and cousin. The plot thickens when two mysterious gun-wielding women are glimpsed pursuing Morello's group, suggesting additional personal vengeance narratives. The story positions itself within the historical context of Indian removals and the Dade Massacre, blending historical backdrop with personal vendetta narratives.