Beadle's Pocket Library No. 383

Catalog Description "Wild Bill, the Pistol Prince" by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham traces the life of James Butler Hickok from early boyhood. The narrative opens with young Jim's ingenuity: constructing a wolf trap to earn scalp bounties for a pony, rifle, and pistol. A formative episode shows his bravery when he pursues a bear that has seized the tavern-keeper's infant daughter, shooting the animal multiple times despite being armed only with pistols and knife, ultimately blinding and killing it. The second chapter depicts Hickok at age fifteen working on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, where he discovers a plot by the boat captain and crew to rob company treasure. Using a recently acquired Colt's revolver and his wits, Hickok traps the conspirators in the hold, then battles the cook Skillets, dragging him overboard into the canal in their struggle.