Beadle's Pocket Library No. 311

Frio Fred in Texas; or, Old Rocky to the Front Published by Beadle and Adams, this dime novel by "Buckskin Sam" (Major Sam S. Hall) opens in the Rio Llano bottom-timber of Texas, circa twenty years prior to the narrative frame. Chapter I, "Saved," depicts a settler family—a father and his two children, Lorine (sixteen) and Louis (fourteen)—encamped with enslaved workers while awaiting Mr. Jackson. A succession of wildlife encounters escalates the tension: a buzzard, a fleeing coyote that Louis kills, and finally a panther poised to attack Lorine. The father shoots the panther, and Louis dispatches it with his bowie knife. Chapter II, "Into the Depths," shows the family's relief and discussion of the incident. A horseman arrives asking about gunfire, suggesting complications ahead. The narrative emphasizes frontier peril, survival skill, and family bonds amid the unsettled Texas landscape.