Buffalo Bill's Decoy Boys

# Buffalo Bill's Decoy Boys

This serialized Western fiction by Col. Prentiss Ingraham, appearing in Beadle and Adams' dime novel weekly (Vol. XXXIX, No. 1000), follows the struggle between two pioneer families, the Wynkoops and Duncans, whose Kansas vendetta has relocated to the frontier settlements. Willis Wynkoop, consumed by hatred for Ned Duncan (who killed his brother Ralph in self-defense), attempts to murder Duncan in ambush with accomplice Hal Halpine. Buffalo Bill—Chief of Scouts at Fort Fetterman—intervenes repeatedly, having learned of both settlements' proximity. The narrative encompasses family feuds, attempted murder, Indian attacks on emigrant trains, and a renegade guide. Buffalo Bill's primary mission becomes preventing the feud's escalation through forced reconciliation while protecting settlers from hostile indigenous warriors. Duncan and Bill ride to rescue the very youths who nearly killed him, revealing the scout's strategy to resolve the generational conflict.