Beadle's Dime Library No. 147

About this issue

This 1881 New York Weekly serialized adventure novel by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, "Gold Spur, the Gentleman from Texas; or, The Child of the Regiment," chronicles the exploits of a mysterious frontiersman who arrives at a cavalry bivouac on the Western plains. After appearing as a spectral horseman on the moonlit prairie, Gold Spur informs Major Gregory of a conspiracy between renegade whites disguised as Indians and Native American bands led by Two Lance and Medicine Bear—who plan to attack an emigrant train. The stranger, dressed in ornate Mexican attire despite his refined bearing and womanly features, takes immediate action, violently confronting Second Lieutenant Hiram Hale when the officer insults him, subduing the burly man single-handedly. The narrative blends frontier action, military intrigue, and mystery surrounding Gold Spur's true identity and past exploits in Denver.