Sierra Sam's Pard; or, The Angel of Big Vista

This Beadle and Adams weekly (Vol. pf, No. 25) contains "Sierra Sam's Pard; or, The Angel of Big Vista," an installment of a Western serial by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick and Rosebud Rob novels. In the featured chapters, a gaunt man named Junius Brutus Dunk arrives from Big Vista at the mining camp of Flumeville seeking Sierra Sam, a dashing California prospector and miner. Dunk attempts to blackmail Sam with knowledge of a wealthy maiden aunt who plans to bequeath gold mines to one of her nephews. Sam, however, anticipates Dunk's scheme and reveals he knows the entire plot. Using electrified furniture, Sam paralyzes Dunk and orders him back to Big Vista with a warning. Later chapters introduce a young woman passenger boarding a stage bound for Big Vista, suggesting further complications ahead.