Beadle's Pocket Library No. 171

Frank Morton, the Boy Hercules; or, The Prairie Tramps

A Dakota romance serialized in this Beadle and Adams weekly (Vol. XIV, No. 98) by Oll Coomes. Young Indian Agent Frank Morton, a robust and courageous man of twenty-five, journeys on foot across the Dakota prairie toward The Corners to meet his bride-to-be, Florence Sheldon. After his horse is crippled, he encounters a severe blizzard and becomes hopelessly lost. During the storm, he witnesses a mysterious figure driving an enormous elk-harnessed sledge with a muffled passenger aboard. Morton reaches the enigmatic Good Samaritan Ranch, a remote sod-built cabin maintained as a free hospice for travelers, hunters, trappers, and Indians alike. The ranch's true operator remains unknown, supplied mysteriously through a post-trader. Morton finds the place warm and provisioned, takes shelter, and begins exploring the building alone.