Beadle's New Dime Novels: Eph Peters

About this issue

Eph Peters: or The Scout of the Mohawk Valley by W. J. Hamilton is a historical adventure novel set in 1755 near present-day Schenectady. The narrative opens with Ronald Mannering, a young soldier in Colonel Williams's regiment, encountering Mother Ann (Ann Wylde), a peculiar herb-gatherer rumored to be a witch. When Mannering attempts to visit Margaret Wylde, Ann's daughter, the crone reveals her tragic backstory: she is half-French, half-Huron, and harbors bitter resentment toward Mannering's father, who spurned her love to marry his adoptive sister's daughter. Ann recounts the Acadian expulsion as justification for her hatred of the English, predicting French victory under Baron Dieskau. Despite her warnings, Mannering resolves to pursue Margaret, defying Ann's prohibition. The tale combines frontier romance with the geopolitical tensions of the French and Indian War period.