Beadle's Pocket Library, No. 97

About this issue

"The Black Steed of the Prairies," by James L. Bowen, is a frontier adventure serial set in 1880s Texas. The story follows Eleazar Roberts, a delicate Eastern youth turned skilled frontiersman who scouts the prairies near Cedarville in Blanco County on his black horse, Ranger. Warned that Comanches are on the warpath and threaten the settlement, Roberts rides out to investigate. He spots suspicious movement near a forest and, circling cautiously, encounters a mounted Comanche scout. The Indian approaches peacefully, but Roberts recognizes it as a trap. When the Comanche moves toward him, Roberts flees—suddenly thirty mounted, painted Comanches burst from the woods and pursue him at full speed. Roberts sets his course for Cedarville, relying on Ranger's superior endurance. The chase intensifies as the Indian horses gradually scatter and fall behind the black steed's pace.