The Slave Girl

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Before they reach their journey's end, homeseeker Bob West and his little daughter Ida are attacked by Indians who kill West, take Ida captive, and keep a letter West had written to his sister in the East--which incidentally bears the imprint of a smudgy little finger. Ida is rescued from the Indians by Morgan, a slave trader who takes her and the letter home to his plantation, where he substitutes the little white girl for a mulatto slave child who has recently died. Ida is put in charge of Sally, a yellow girl, and brutally treated. Some time later Mr. and Mrs. Marks pity Ida and buy her from Morgan. She lives happily with them for 12 years. Fred Gilbert, the Marks' nephew, pays them a visit and falls in love with Ida. His uncle and aunt are horrified, believing that the girl has Negro blood, and the young people are about to part forever when Sally, who has become inflamed by jealousy against Morgan, produces the letter written by West just before his death. By a fingerprint test Ida's identity is confirmed, and her white blood proved. The young people marry. Morgan is hunted down by a posse and is shot dead.