The Mustang-Hunters

Catalog Description "The Mustang-Hunters: A Tale of the Staked Plains" is a frontier adventure novel by Frederick Whittaker, published by Beadle and Adams in 1862. The narrative follows Frank Weston, a young Texas planter's son reduced to poverty after his father's death in a poker-game shooting by the desperado Austin. Desperate to win the hand of Gabrielle Moreau, daughter of a wealthy French planter, Frank accepts her impossible condition: capture the legendary Black Mustang of the Prairies for her to ride. He encounters Pete Wilkins, an aging frontier hunter who becomes his ally, and learns that the wild stallion—leading herds of mustangs near the Colorado and Brazos rivers—has eluded countless pursuers including Mexicans, Native Americans, and soldiers. Frank possesses one advantage: a thoroughbred descended from Lexington, capable of nearly matching the mustang's speed. The story blends romance, frontier pursuit, and the culture of wild-horse hunting on the Texas plains.