Beadle's Pocket Novels: The Scioto Scouts

This frontier adventure novel by Edward Willett, published by Beadle and Adams, follows two scouts in 1790 Kentucky. Buck Hardnett, a rugged "State spy" selected to guard against Indian attacks, and Red Hawk, a noble Delaware chief who has aligned himself with white settlers, work as partners despite their different races. When Hardnett discovers fifty armed Shawnee warriors planning to ambush emigrant boats descending the Ohio River—and finds a brutalized white captive among them—he and Red Hawk undertake a dangerous mission upriver to warn approaching settlers. The narrative emphasizes their mutual respect, woodcraft skills, and cautious tactics as they work to expose the Shawnees' ambush while evading detection. The Shawnees dispatch scouts upriver, forcing Hardnett and Red Hawk to hide and observe from concealment along a river bend.