Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 59

Beadle's Half-Dime Library, No. 59 Old Hickory; or, Pandy Ellis's Scalp by Harry St. George (1878). A frontier adventure serial combining western action with humor. Chapter I depicts hunters Blue Beans and Powder Flash, a Comanche chief, camping in the forest when enemies hidden in trees ambush them. After exchanging gunfire, the pair flee through dark woods, their pursuers stumbling and falling during the chase until only a few remain—whom Blue Beans and Flash then turn to confront. Chapter II introduces three veteran rangers—Rocky Mountain Joe, Roaring Ralph Rockwood, and Bolly Wherrit—tracking through forests at sunset. They discover a posted placard nailed to a tree offering substantial rewards (buffalo robes, furs, rifle, ammunition, whisky) from seven Sioux chiefs for the scalp of "Heavy Knife," identified as Pandy Ellis. Bolly, Ellis's old friend, expresses delight at this bounty on his comrade, unaware that Ellis himself lurks nearby, overhearing their conversation with amusement.