This issue of The Prairie Pirates; or, The Hunter's Revenge by Gustave Aimard, serialized in Beadle and Adams' dime novel series (No. 218), presents a frontier adventure narrative set on the Canadian River.
The opening chapters depict an Apache attack on a frontier settlement. A week prior, horse thieves—including an Apache warrior and white renegades—were whipped by settlers. The Apache, brother to Chief Stanapat, swears vengeance. Stanapat coordinates a coordinated assault with renegade whites who infiltrate the village. The fort falls after a siege; the captain kills the treacherous half-breed informant and scalps the Apache before being overcome. The settlement is destroyed by fire.
Subsequent chapters follow a hunting party—old Clarkson, his two sons Harry and Edward, and their Indian companion Curumilla—returning from expedition. They discover the devastated village and locate their family's remains among the ruins: Clarkson himself, his daughter (fourteen), wife, and youngest son, all killed in the attack. The narrative emphasizes frontier survival, family tragedy, and violent conflict between settlers and Native Americans.
About this artifact
- Date
- 1882
- Rights
- Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
- Restoration
- Digitally restored and hosted by comicbooks.com.
Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.