Beadle's Pocket Novels No. 230: The Golden Belt

About this issue

By Colin Barker, published by Beadle and Adams (1880), this adventure narrative opens with an elaborate hunt through the tropical forests of the province of Cahay. A young Spanish cavalier of Moorish descent pursues a hind with bloodhounds across varied terrain—dense swamps, savannahs, and rocky ground—for over an hour. The exhausted deer, fleeing the savage pack, leaps down a steep bank and crosses a flower-strewn meadow where an Indian dwelling stands. There, a beautiful Indian maiden rests in a hammock, adorned with gold rings and fine muslin. When the dying hind reaches the girl seeking refuge, her brother—a youth polishing javelins nearby—witnesses the hounds closing in on his sister. Simultaneously, the Spanish huntsman crests the ridge above, seeing the peril unfold. The narrative combines romantic description with adventure elements as multiple characters converge at this critical moment.