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Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 750
Museum Catalog Note This issue of Beadle and Adams's weekly dime novel (No. 750, Vol. LVIII, March 5, 1893) features "Custer's Shadow: A Romance of the Great Cavalryman's Wyoming Campaign" by Major Dangerfield Burr. The serial opens with General George Custer rescuing a mysterious white girl from a desperado on a mountain trail near the Black Hills. The girl, dressed in beaded and quilled Indian garb with elaborate ornaments, refuses to reveal her identity despite Custer's inquiries. She cryptically warns him of danger from the "Gold Ghouls of the Overland," a bandit gang led by Clint Carl. Custer's horse is killed protecting him. The narrative continues as Buffalo Bill encounters the same girl in a mountain valley, then discovers a dead Gold Ghoul member who has fallen from a cliff. The girl directs Buffalo Bill toward Custer's location while continuing to evade questioning about her origins and purpose.