Beadle's Dime Novels: The Bear-Hunter

About this issue

This serial installment features "The Bear-Hunter; or, Davy Crockett as a Spy" by Harry Hazard, copyright 1872. The story follows the frontier figure Davy Crockett traveling across Texas prairie. While seeking water at timber stands, he detects and evades an ambush—a rifleman shoots him, killing his horse instead. Crockett survives and pursues the assailant who flees. Later, tracking a bear trail that leads to a stream, Crockett shoots a wild turkey for sustenance, then encounters a large grizzly bear across the water. He shoots it through the eye with his rifle. While butchering the animal, another massive grizzly emerges from nearby den—suggesting further combat ahead. The narrative emphasizes Crockett's frontier skills, marksmanship, and survival instincts.