Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 4

About this issue

This issue of Beadle & Adams' dime novel features "The Great Shanghai of the Northwest" by Philip S. Warne. The story follows Walter Weston, a young frontier hunter of refined sensibilities living in a Minnesota cave, tormented by his unrequited love for the betrothed Blanche Burbank and his tragic childhood—abandoned by an outlaw father and cold stepmother. When scout Bantam arrives with urgent news, Walter discovers footprints of a woman fleeing hostile Sioux. Pursuing rifle shots, Walter rushes toward the attack. Meanwhile, Blanche rides with Burly Ben when Sioux warriors ambush their forest road. Ben's horse is shot; Blanche escapes on her horse Selim despite a thrown tomahawk. The narrative cuts to a nighttime battle where Walter defeats Sioux warriors holding Blanche captive, severing her bonds—only to discover her seemingly lifeless or dead.