Beadle's Pocket Library No. 448: Wild Raven the Scout

Wild Raven, the Scout: Blanche, the Overland Maiden This frontier adventure serial by Oll Coomes follows an 1849 emigrant party on the Overland Trail. Arthur St. Ledger leads his family—his wife, eighteen-year-old daughter Blanche, and son Harry—accompanied by guide Jake Darle and Irish teamster Teddy Muldoon. Camped on the South Platte River, Teddy discovers Darle signaling mysteriously to figures on the prairie. When a Pawnee warrior approaches, Teddy kills him, but a larger war party attacks. The mysterious "Wild Raven"—a legendary frontiersman introducing himself as Wilmere Ravennaugh—intervenes, killing several savages. He immediately identifies Jake Darle as a notorious renegade traitor who has orchestrated the assault. Wild Raven advises repositioning their wagon as a defensive breastwork against further attack.