The narratives Der Scout (The Scout), together with Deadly Dust are, in some sense, forerunners of the later Winnetou novels. This volume presents the translation named, The Scout. Karl May saw his narrative Der Scout published in the magazine ‘Deutscher Hausschatz’ (German Home Treasures) in 1888/89. Between 1881 and 1889, Karl May had successfully produced his Oriental Odyssey, following which he proceeded to accomplish the same for the Wild West of his imagination. In so doing, he incorporated some aspects of The Scout in Volume II of his Winnetou Series.
May’s Scout, a first-person narrative, plays before a historical background, shortly after the American Civil War and the battle for power between the forces of Juarez and Maximilian, supported by the French, in Mexico, in the years 1865/66. He, furthermore, uses the opportunity to insert and express his beliefs about the then recently founded Ku-Klux-Klan.