The Mad Hunter

"The Mad Hunter; or, The Giant Scourge of the Kickapoos" This frontier romance by Harry Hazard follows Ambrose Wraxall, a tall, strong hunter famed for his ferocity during recent Indian troubles, as he seeks Ellen Todd's hand in marriage. At the Todd homestead, he encounters rival suitor Tony Ingo, a slight, gentle youth. When Wraxall proposes to Ellen outside the cabin, she rejects him, declaring she cares only as a brother would, but values his friendship. Wraxall responds with emotional anguish, eventually claiming he must leave the region rather than witness her loving another. He impulsively kisses her before departing into the woods. Ellen returns inside conflicted, where the keenly observant Ingo examines her changed expression with penetrating intensity. The narrative captures frontier courtship tensions amid the backcountry social world.