Dashaway of Dakota; or, A Western Lad in the Quaker City

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, published May 29, 1883, features "Dashaway of Dakota; or, A Western Lad in the Quaker City" by Charles Morris. The story follows Dick Dashaway, a twenty-one-year-old, broke and friendless Dakota drifter newly arrived in Philadelphia. Presented as a reckless, quarrelsome type, Dick provokes and defeats an angry citizen in verbal sparring, then encounters portly John Blossom on Eleventh and Jefferson Streets. Dick retrieves Blossom's dropped wallet and returns it, but Blossom suspects the "drop game" con. Afterward, Dick extracts a ten-dollar reward from the recovered wallet and uses it to purchase an extravagant meal at a restaurant, entertaining the nervous waiter with wild Western tales. The narrative emphasizes Dick's bold independence, his violent temperament, and his unscrupulous opportunism. Chapter II begins as Blossom arrives at his Market Street store, preparing to recount his encounter to an awaiting associate.