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Is it true that the dime novel hero, Deadwood Dick, was really a black cowboy named Nat Love?

by | Aug 1, 2004 | Inside History

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Is it true that the dime novel hero, Deadwood Dick, was really a black cowboy named Nat Love? Marina Bender Mesa, Arizona When aspiring writer Ed Wheeler decided to seek his fortune writing dime novels, he was in desperate need of a hero. Wild Bill Hickok, Kit Carson, Jesse James and the rest were all taken, so he invented his own hero, calling him Deadwood Dick. He gave his hero real life supporting characters, such as Calamity Jane, which convinced readers Deadwood Dick was real. In 1926, duri


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