The Edward T. LeBlanc Memorial Dime Novel Bibliography

Item - Silver-Mask, the Man of Mystery; or, The Cross of the Golden Keys. A Romance of New Mexico

Please log in to manage your collection or post a review.

(Beadle's Half-Dime Library edition - source: NIU Libraries)
(Beadle's Pocket Library edition - source: NIU Libraries)

Combined Summary

Online Full Text: Northern Illinois University (Beadle's Half-Dime Library edition) (Note: Smudge of ink on page 2 obscures some text.)
Northern Illinois University (Beadle's Pocket Library edition)
Series: Beadle's Half-Dime Library — no. 360
Beadle's Pocket Library — no. 321
Alternate Title: Billy, the Kid from Texas; or, Silver-Mark's Clew
Subjects / Tags: Bandit, outlaw, and highwayman stories
Billy, the Kid
Brigands and robbers
Chinese
French
Gold miners
Gold mines and mining
Indians of North America
Mexicans
Mining camps
New Mexico
Scouts (Reconnaissance)
Soldiers
Spaniards
Stagecoach robberies
Ventriloquists
West (U.S.)
Western stories
Women
Author: Cowdrick, J. C. (Jesse C.), 1859-1899
Dates: June 17, 1884 (Beadle's Half-Dime Library edition)
March 5, 1890 (Beadle's Pocket Library edition)
Publishers: Beadle's Half-Dime Library edition: Beadle and Adams (1872-1898) (New York (N.Y.): No. 98 William Street) -- United States
Beadle's Pocket Library edition: Beadle and Adams (1872-1898) (New York (N.Y.): No. 98 William Street) -- United States
OCLC Numbers: 07848239 (Beadle's Half-Dime Library edition)
51052423 (Beadle's Pocket Library edition)
user_reviews's Thoughts:

“Silver-Mask, the Man of Mystery” was written by J. C. Cowdrick in 1884. This narrative mostly takes place in the mining town of Golden Egg in New Mexico. The majority of characters in this narrative are either white or Spanish, with Native Americans, African Americans, and Chinese being mentioned as well, and treated according to the ideas of racism at that time. Some of the evident messages that this story contains relate to that time period’s ideas of racism, the ideal frontier hero, and the New Woman Movement. Another major ideas in this narrative is the type of man and woman that make a “perfect” or fairytale marriage.

Several of the men in this narrative play into the time period’s ideas of gentlemen and the frontier hero. Throughout this story, Raymond Wilmont is shown to be humorous, respectful, hard-working, determined, honest. He doesn’t back down at the idea of a fight when Jarvis Black mentions that one might begin in the saloon. Raymond makes sure to treat Stella with the utmost respect at all times, and asks her if he can keep her glove to remember her by, as she is unable to wear it anymore on account on its being trampled by a horse’s hooves. In these ways, Raymond embodies the ways and characteristics of a gentlemanly Western man.

Silver-Mask, the title character, appears to be this story’s embodiment of the ideal frontier hero. As Silver-Mask saves various characters, such as Jarvis Black and Stella, he shows that he is a capable fighter, which is a valuable characteristic of a frontier hero. This character is also loyal and resourceful, which is evident as Silver-Mask uses his wits and knowledge to keep his promises to the order he left behind in Spain and obtain the treasure of the Lost City. In true frontier hero style, Silver-Mask has no real place to call home in the West, or even in the Americas, and wanders the land with his sister and their Indian friends while he searches for both the treasure of the Lost City and the whereabouts of the Rosario children. Silver-Mask appears to be this story’s embodiment of the frontier hero character.

Jarvis Black, another character in this narrative, appears to be a mix of Silver-Mask and Raymond Wilmont; that is, the frontier hero type and the gentlemanly Western man. Black portrays characteristics such as endeavoring for justice but not being unnecessarily violent. This characteristic is evidence when he stops the racist town bully from hanging the Chinese men that came in on the coach. Black doesn’t kill the bully, even though he has several chances to and is expected to by others; instead, Black merely renders him weaponless with his excellent marksmanship. Black’s marksmanship is another characteristic that aligns him with the frontier hero type of characters that is prevalent in dime novels. However, Black also has characteristics of a Western gentleman. Black settles down in Golden Egg and takes up a prominent position in that town, which illustrates his hard-working mentality, and he eventually obtains other prominent position out of that area. Additionally, and unlike most frontier heroes, Black seeks romance and, at first, finds it in Stella Wilmont. In this narrative, Black embodies characteristics of both the frontier hero and the Western gentleman.

This narrative also has very apparent ideas of the type of woman that is required to make an ideal marriage. Julia Wilmont is the story’s “New Woman” and she comes across as irritable and peculiar, as she wear trousers, which is touched upon several times, and her love interest is a man that seems to be described as “unmanly” in some instances. In contrast to this “New Woman” character type are several “Old Woman” characters. Namely, Stella Wilmont (discovered to later be Stella Rosario), Nina, and Song-Bird. These young women are written and described in a stereotypical manner with characteristics which include overall, and at times excessive, weepiness and emotional behavior, the need to be protected and rescued, fearful, and delicate and beautiful. Stella needs to be protected by several men from Billy the Kid multiple times throughout the story, and Nina is prone to weeping whenever her brother, Silver-Mask, leaves for a time or when she finds out that Song-Bird is in love with her brother. While all of these young women hold these characteristics to some extent, Stella and Nina are the most prevalent examples of the “Old Woman”, which the story idealizes.

At the conclusion of this narrative, all of the above-named men and women characters are paired off with each other. The three pairings of Raymond Wilmont and Stella, Jarvis Black and Nina, and Silver-Mask and Song-Bird are all touted to live in perfect happiness and harmony. While “Silver-Mask, the Man of Mystery” does present some variety to its cast of male and female characters, it still holds the ideas of the “perfect” men and women of that time and illustrates the time period’s ideas about what types of men and women are required to create an “ideal” marriage.

--Brooklyn O'Dell

More reviews by user_reviews

Known Editions

Beadle's Half-Dime Library edition
Beadle's Pocket Library edition

Please log in to manage your collection or post a review.