Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 3

This 1877 Beadle and Adams dime novel, authored by Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody), follows Red-Hand, a mysterious pale-faced scout with a permanently blood-red right hand. In the Black Hills, Red-Hand encounters and fatally shoots a man named Boyd Bernard, whom he recognizes after seven years' separation. After burying Bernard beneath a marked tree, Red-Hand hears a woman's voice singing mournfully in the gorge, calling for Boyd—an apparition that terrifies him into fleeing. Five years later, Red-Hand returns to the region as guide for a gold-prospecting expedition. The narrative emphasizes frontier adventure, mysterious pasts, and the scout's superior marksmanship and wilderness skills. The story combines elements of revenge, romantic tragedy, and suspenseful frontier action.