Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 346

This Beadle and Adams dime novel presents "Rapier Raphael; or, The Swordsmen of Zacatecas" by Major Henry B. Stoddard. Set in 1866–67 Mexico during Maximilian's failed Austrian intervention, the story follows young Raphael Douglass, a fifteen-year-old American educated in Switzerland and master swordsman who manages a silver mine with five companions in a ruined castle. When French and Austrian officers attempt to forcibly enter the property, Raphael engages them in combat, displaying exceptional fencing skill. Though overwhelmed and captured after fighting multiple opponents, a mysterious mounted stranger arrives to rescue him, defeating the officers through superior swordsmanship. The narrative emphasizes elaborate sword-fighting sequences and adventure, featuring conflicts between American youth and foreign military forces in remote Mexican terrain.