Buffalo Bill's Daring Deed; or, The Scourge of the Cold Rail

Buffalo Bill's Daring Deed: The Scourge of the Gold Trail This serial novel by Col. Prentiss Ingraham follows frontier scout Dart Deering as he accepts a guiding contract for Don Enrique Ellwardo's wagon train emigrating from Kansas to Arizona. Buffalo Bill, Deering's friend and original guide, receives military orders requiring his immediate departure to lead forces against the Sioux. Deering replaces him, though he experiences an inexplicable foreboding. Before departing, Deering faces a card-game challenge from Red Rob, a dangerous frontier tough with a grudge, at a settlement saloon. The narrative emphasizes Deering's mysterious refinement—his cabin contains taxidermied specimens, musical instruments, and books—contrasting his educated background with his frontier life as a gold seeker. Tensions arise when Senorita Idolene, the Don's beautiful daughter, impresses Deering immediately, and she confesses ominous premonitions about the expedition's outcome.