The Rival Hunters

This issue of Beadle and Adams' The Rival Scouts contains Edward S. Ellis's serialized story "The Rival Hunters; or, The Forest Garrison." Set in January 1768 during the colonial period in the wilderness near Lake Erie, the narrative follows the experienced frontiersman Basil Veghte as he camps during a severe snowstorm. Seeking shelter against an oak tree, Veghte builds a fire and settles in for the night, assured by the distant sound of the fort's evening gun that he remains on course toward Presq' Isle fort. A mysterious stranger emerges from the darkness, initially introducing himself under false names (Brock Bradburn, Zechariah Smithson) before finally revealing his true identity as Horace Johnson—a former companion from an encounter two years prior on Lake St. Clair involving an attack by Chippewa in a canoe. The two men, now reunited, discuss their divergent paths and prepare to continue to the fort together.