Red-Skin Tom; or, The Demon's Trail

This weekly pulp magazine from November 1883 features "Red-Skin Tom: or, The Demon's Trail" by Harry Hazard. The frontier adventure serial follows an emigrant wagon-train traveling across the plains in 1854, piloted by two guides: the elderly Tom Maxwell and the suspicious Dusky Dick (Richard Rouzee). When Dusky Dick makes unwanted advances toward Clara Calhoun, the captain's daughter, and threatens that she will "crouch at [his] feet" and call him master, Clara reports the incident to her father. Major Calhoun consults the seasoned Maxwell, who characterizes Dusky Dick as skilled but dangerous—a snake-like man who harbors hidden malice and will strike treacherously if crossed. The narrative establishes mounting tension between the guide's dark intentions and the train's vulnerable position on the trail.