Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48

1878 · 16 pages

"The Pony Express Rider" by Frederick Whittaker This serial story is set at Dolores Station on the Pony Express route in Nevada Territory circa twenty years prior. Dick Darling, a neat, disciplined young Pony Express rider, shares the station with Jack Hardin, a rough, tobacco-smoking frontiersman. When Hardin ridicules Darling's refinement, they wager on a marksmanship contest—Darling impressively hits a dollar coin edgewise from distance, winning Hardin's respect. The narrative introduces Chevrette and Levrette, identical half-breed twin sisters (Ute mother, French-Canadian trapper father) skilled in firearms and riding. They arrive to warn that Ute braves Cat's Eye and Crow's Foot pursue them after being refused marriage offers. Both girls have developed romantic interest in the modest Darling, besieging his attention, while numerous Blackfoot and Ute warriors similarly pursue the sisters. The story establishes frontier romance and adventure elements amid tensions with Native American suitors.

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