Wetzel, the Scout is set in the Ohio River valley where the Shawnee Indian tribe lived. It begins when Captain Parks angrily accuses his black slave, Pompey, of discharging a rifle. This has made Parks very angry and left Pompey very fearful. They are on their way to meet a flatboat that is sailing down the Ohio River where the real adventure awaits.

Edward S. Ellis (1840-1916) was an American teacher, school administrator, journalist, and the author of hundreds of books and magazine articles that he produced by his name and by a number of pen names. Ellis is best known for his westerns and dime novels.