Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 202

About this issue

This 1881 Beadle and Adams weekly publication presents an adventure story by Oll Coomes featuring the title character, Prospect Pete. The narrative begins with a prologue set in the Black Hills during a gold rush, where six miners discover a rich lode but face attack by Sioux warriors while attempting escape. Daniel Wynne, preparing for possible death, hides a map documenting the mine's location inside a cavern. Young Barton Gregory alone survives to reach the Fairy's Spring rendezvous point. The main story introduces Prospect Pete, an eighteen-year-old orphaned prospector, encountered by Captain Gillhooly and federal soldiers pursuing the outlaw Dashing Dan. Pete describes the territory and recounts Dan's exploits before impulsively stealing the captain's horse and fleeing up the canyon. The narrative combines mining-rush setting with action adventure typical of dime novel tradition.