The Mountain Demon by John F. Cowan
May 2024
Originally published in the 1870s as a dime novel and then re-published in 1908 as a nickel weekly, The Mountain Demon: An Indian Tale of Thrilling Interest is number 16 of the beloved Beadle’s Frontier Series.
This particular issue is a story about the long-term consequences of a bloody Apache raid on and murder of a group of white settlers. One survivor who has lost his wife and two children, becomes so enraged at the Indians’ perfidy and cruelty that he embarks upon a course of revenge of many years’ duration, earning him the superstitious fear of his Indian enemies who come to consider him a demon. Meanwhile, unknown to him and unknown to each other, both of his children actually survived, and the story herein begins when they are both adults and all three of them become involved in the same exciting events.
At more than 29,000 words, this work of fiction, besides being an interesting and fun read, gives the reader a taste of what the masses were reading in the late 19th and early 20th century time period.
This particular issue is a story about the long-term consequences of a bloody Apache raid on and murder of a group of white settlers. One survivor who has lost his wife and two children, becomes so enraged at the Indians’ perfidy and cruelty that he embarks upon a course of revenge of many years’ duration, earning him the superstitious fear of his Indian enemies who come to consider him a demon. Meanwhile, unknown to him and unknown to each other, both of his children actually survived, and the story herein begins when they are both adults and all three of them become involved in the same exciting events.
At more than 29,000 words, this work of fiction, besides being an interesting and fun read, gives the reader a taste of what the masses were reading in the late 19th and early 20th century time period.