Beadle's Dime Novels No. 295

About this issue

This issue contains the opening chapters of "Arkansas Kit," a frontier adventure tale serialized in Beadle's Dime Novels (No. 295, 1873). The story follows Dick Weston, an ennui-ridden city man, and Kit Hammond, a grizzled Arkansas scout and ranger, as they paddle a canoe down a Western river tributary. While hunting, Weston accidentally shoots and kills Badger Eye, a Crowfoot Indian, with a stray bullet meant for a deer. They bury the body, discovering Badger Eye carried a fresh scalp from a white man. Eagle's Claw, the Crowfoot chief and Badger Eye's brother, arrives and demands accountability. Hammond threatens the chief with his rifle to extract a promise of non-retaliation, though the confrontation remains unresolved. The narrative emphasizes frontier violence, Indian-settler conflict, and the scout's expert knowledge of wilderness survival.