Beadle's Dime Library No. 88

This issue of *Beadle & Adams's Half Dime Library* (Volume VII, No. 88, February 25, 1880) contains "Big George, the Giant of the Gulch; Or, The Five Outlaw Brothers" by Joseph E. Badger, Jr., a Western adventure serial. The story opens in a mining town called Blue Earth during the Gold Rush era. Big George, a seven-foot-tall giant and leader of five outlaw brothers (including the dwarf Little Pepper, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, and Pepper-pot), attends the opening of the town's first theater, "The Temple." Big George becomes obsessed with La Belle Estelle, a singer performing "Home, Sweet Home" and Highland songs. After drinking heavily and witnessing miners showering the performer with gold and a rival named Dandy Dave presenting his prized silk shirt, Big George forcibly enters the backstage area, assaults a doorkeeper, and confronts Estelle in the dressing room. The narrative emphasizes Big George's violent temperament, his physical dominance, and his sudden infatuation with the young performer.