Beadle's Dime Library No. 646

Museum Catalog Note *Hailstorm's North Plains Braves: A Romance of Montana* by William H. Manning appears in this 1891 Beadle and Adams dime novel (Vol. L, No. 646). The opening chapters follow Deputy-Sheriff Roger Elbridge and three companions—lawyer Jonas Chapin, and bordermen Ben Bragg and Ceph Peters—pursuing a fugitive girl named Mirabel Wayland across Montana territory. They encounter a mysterious Gypsy couple on the trail who refuse to provide information about the girl's whereabouts, prompting confrontations between the rough Bragg and the impassive male traveler. After forcing their way past the uncooperative pair, Elbridge's group proceeds toward the town of Cottonwood Blaze, where they believe Wayland may be hiding. The narrative emphasizes frontier lawlessness, class distinctions between the refined deputy-sheriff and crude bordermen, and tension between official authority and frontier justice.