Nick, the Scout

# Catalog Note: Nick, the Scout; or, The Death Man of the Navajos

This 1878 Beadle and Adams dime novel by W. J. Hamilton opens with scout Nick O'Connor discovering a domestic conflict between Navajo Chief Adanta and his wife Kara, a Mexican-blooded woman of rank within the tribe. Kara has attempted to help White Sunbeam—a captive white girl of significance to Navajo prophecy—escape to white settlements. Adanta exiles Kara from the tribe permanently, separating her from their young son. O'Connor, moved by her anguish, pledges to rescue the boy from the Navajo village. He brings Kara to his camp in a hidden valley, where his companion Ned Dangerfield joins him. Their preparations are interrupted by a wounded warrior who arrives fleeing Navajo pursuers. The narrative climaxes in Chapter II with a battle in a mountain pass as armed Navajo warriors charge the valley, with O'Connor and Dangerfield defending the position while Kara readies her bow.