Beadle's Dime Library No. 1

About this issue

This Beadle & Adams dime novel installment features "A Hard Crowd: or, Gentleman Sam's Sister," attributed to the author of "Tiger Dick." The story, set in Omaha during its era as a rough frontier town, centers on a confrontation in a low gambling saloon between Missouri Bill, a notorious bully, and a composed stranger. When Missouri Bill threatens a young stripling at the bar, the stranger intervenes with two drawn revolvers, coolly covering both Bill and his potential allies. The narrative emphasizes the violent atmosphere of frontier society—depicting casual brutality, gambling, and constant armed conflict. The dialogue employs period frontier vernacular extensively. A secondary plot thread involves two gentlemen observers, including a major and a doctor, who discuss the moral degradation of frontier life while witnessing the saloon drama unfold. The excerpt ends as the stranger defuses the escalating confrontation through sheer audacity and marksmanship.