Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 431

The Mountain Witch by Philip S. Warne features a complex disguise plot set in a Wild West mining camp. An actor disguises himself as a Mexican cavalier named Don Diablo with assistance from an elderly Black woman (rendered in dialect as "Granny Goggle-eye") who stains his skin, applies false hair, and provides period costume. The story follows Californy Kit, a remarkable frontiersman arriving at the Mountaineer's Rest saloon in Slabtown, where his friend Lan Lanslow greets him. Kit has recently abandoned mining for want of excitement and learns of a stagecoach arriving in camp. An imbecile witness observes the disguise preparations, later encountering the transformed Don Diablo. The narrative blends Western adventure with melodramatic elements including theatrical disguise, mystery, and frontier vernacular.