Beadle's Pocket Library No. 289

# Colorado Nick, the Lassoist; Old Si's Protégé

By Major Henry B. Stoddard, Ex-Scout

This Western frontier story follows Colorado Nick (Nick Parkhurst), called "Neck-Tie Nick" for his deadly mastery of the lasso. He lives in a hidden dugout carved into a Colorado bluff near the Rickaree Forks with his trapper partner Old Si Barker. The narrative opens with tension between them: Si warns against hunting waterfowl, believing Sioux scouts are nearby, but Nick ventures out anyway.

Nick observes Sioux smoke signals—the tribe's method of long-distance communication using controlled fire and buffalo hides. When a mounted warrior appears at a water monument to relay signals, Nick kills him with his lariat, then scalps the corpse. A second Indian attempts to arrow Nick but misses; Nick shoots him down. As Nick approaches the dugout, a third warrior nearly kills him with a tomahawk before Old Si shoots from the loop-hole, saving Nick's life.