Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 318

Cimarron Jack, the King Pin of Rifle-Shots This 1883 Beadle and Adams weekly features "Cimarron Jack, the King Pin of Rifle-Shots; or, The Phantom Tracker," a Western tale by Frederick Dewey set in the American Southwest and Mexico. The story follows multiple plot threads: Pedro Felipe, a Mexican servant, journeys through the desert toward the haunted "Land of Silence" to locate treasure hidden by bandits after he rescued his master's abducted daughter; an unnamed desperado pursues him along identical routes; and Joel Wheeler, a failed American businessman, leads a small immigrant wagon train northward accompanied by his daughter Christina ("Kissie"), a beautiful eighteen-year-old, and the foreman Samuel Carpenter, whom Christina favors. The narrative alternates between wilderness scenes and character introductions, establishing a framework for adventure, pursuit, and romantic tension as multiple parties converge upon dangerous terrain.