The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps

1897 · 16 pages

This September 1897 Beadle and Adams dime novel installment features "The Boy Hercules: The Prairie Tramps," a Dakota romance by Oll Coomes. Frank Morton, a young Indian Agent, loses his horse during a winter journey across snow-covered plains and becomes lost in a blizzard while traveling to his wedding. Lost and freezing, he encounters a mysterious figure driving an enormous elk-drawn sledge with another person inside, which vanishes into the storm. After the weather clears, Morton discovers the Good Samaritan Ranch, a legendary frontier cabin that provides free shelter and provisions to all travelers—hunters, trappers, Indians, and outlaws alike—supplied mysteriously by unknown benefactors. The narrative establishes the ranch's reputation as a neutral sanctuary where enemies never clash, sustained by provisions secretly ordered from a post-trader. Morton enters the cabin seeking refuge.

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 1 of 16 — 1 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

The Boy Hercules; The Prairie Tramps — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16