Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1032

About this issue

This issue of Beadle and Adams' dime novel features "Cowboy Chris, the Man of Caliber; or, Hot Times in Hot Hole" by Wm. West Wilder. The story, set in a mining camp in New Mexico's San Juan Valley, opens in the saloon "Whoa Ema" where a Black banjo player named Pete performs for a rough crowd of miners, gamblers, and desperadoes. A confrontation nearly erupts between the musician and a brutal ruffian called Whisky Jim, but Nevada Mike intervenes. The narrative introduces Fred Walker, an Eastern tenderfoot, and Round-up Rube, a seasoned cowboy who mentions his friend Cowboy Chris—a young man of exceptional character. The scene culminates with the appearance of Old Rattlebrain, a mysterious, powerful madman with gray hair and beard, who compels the Twin Toughs to dance while he himself dances in a frenzy. Round-up Rube explains Rattlebrain's dangerous nature to Walker, establishing the story's frontier setting and cast.