Beadle's New Dime Novels: Single Eye, the Scourge

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, Single Eye, the Scourge by Warren St. John, depicts King Philip's War in colonial Massachusetts. The narrative centers on Peter Simpson, a one-eyed frontier hunter of unusual appearance but warm character, and his friendship with Assawomset, a Mohigan warrior. When Assawomset arrives late to their meeting with an arrow wound, he warns Simpson that Philip has united multiple tribes—Pokanokets, Wampanoags, Narragansetts—and abandoned peace negotiations to launch warfare. The story then shifts to William Hendrick's remote farmstead, where messenger Robert arrives with urgent news: an Indian convert who had informed Plymouth's Governor of Philip's conspiracy has been murdered in Assawomset pond; three Indians were tried and executed for the killing. Robert urges the Hendrick family to flee to a cave for safety as Philip's forces march toward their settlement. The narrative establishes tensions between colonial expansion and indigenous resistance.