Neck-Tie Ned, the Lariat-Thrower; or, The Dug-Out Pards

Neck-Tie Ned, the Lariat-Thrower; or, The Dug-Out Pards This serial romance by Major Henry B. Stoddard, ex-scout, follows Ned Parkhurst ("Neck-Tie Ned"), a trapper renowned for his mastery of the lariat. Set in 1850s Colorado near the South Fork of the Republican River, Ned and his partner Old Si Barker inhabit a concealed dug-out dwelling carved into a bluff. When Sioux smoke signals indicate the presence of Indian scouts, Ned ventures to the valley. He witnesses a mounted warrior using buffalo-hide and grass to create signal smoke—a communication system detailed by the text. Ned ambushes and strangles the scout with his fifty-foot braided horsehair lariat, then scalps him. A second Indian attempts to kill Ned with an arrow; Ned shoots this chief. As Ned walks away celebrating his scalps, an additional Indian warrior approaches stealthily with raised tomahawk. The narrative breaks mid-scene.