Beadle's Pocket Library No. 136: Old Rube, the Hunter

# Museum Catalog Note

This 1886 Beadle and Adams dime novel installment contains "Old Rube, the Hunter; or, The Crow Captive" by Captain Hamilton Holmes. The narrative follows three Eastern gentlemen—wealthy Willie Mason, delicate Rudolf Strong (an exceptional horseman), and the unnamed narrator—who depart Leavenworth seeking buffalo hunting on the Great Plains. Unprepared for the dangerous territory, they encounter a grizzled plains hunter named Rube and his Black companion Jake. Rube agrees to guide them, recounting a five-year-old incident involving settlers he encountered, including a beautiful dark-haired woman and a Crow guide named Meton, whom Rube recognized as a treacherous scout responsible for previous ambushes. The narrative combines frontier adventure with detailed descriptions of prairie landscape, horses, weapons, and frontier dialect, establishing the foundation for action involving Native American conflict and captured settlers.