Buffalo Bill's Swoop by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham

Buffalo Bill's Swoop: The King of the Mines This serialized western romance by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham follows the criminal career of Carter Creighton across fifteen years. In the opening chapter, Creighton poisons his devoted wife Clarice's coffee at a seaside pavilion, then sets her adrift in a boat during a storm to clear his path toward marrying a wealthy cousin. The narrative then jumps ahead, revealing Creighton now imprisoned in Montana alongside other captives guarded by Sergeant Nicodemus Toby and Chinese horsemen. Buffalo Bill leads the cavalcade as chief of scouts, accompanied by two young gunmen nicknamed Old Nick's Kid and Deer-Eye Dick. Remarkably, Clarice—saved years earlier by a China-bound vessel—rides beside Buffalo Bill. She has spent years pursuing Creighton through his criminal western refuge. The chapter concludes with Creighton's death in a mountain torrent, though shot before drowning.