Beadle's Pocket Novels No. 175: Border Bessie

Border Bessie: A Romance of the Kanawha by Mrs. Henry J. Thomas

This serial romance follows Bessie Ryan, an educated Atlantic coast woman who joined her pioneering brother John in the Kanawha Valley settlement. The narrative opens with scouts John Ryan and Will Bently hearing unusual sounds on the frontier road near Fort Kyle. They witness Bessie performing a daring equestrian stunt—standing upright on a galloping unsaddled horse—before she falls and is discovered by Bently.

Characterized as "Queen Bess," Bessie is a fearless, skilled horsewoman and rifle-shot who has become a beloved figure among the rough settlement. When reports arrive of renewed Indian attacks on unprotected settlers, Bently departs with a scouting party. John Ryan returns with grave news: the Shawnees and Delawares have begun hostilities. The family faces mounting danger as the frontier descends into violence.