Bonanza Bill, Miner; or, Madam Mystery, the Female Forger

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, published in 1879 by Edward L. Wheeler (author of "Deadwood Dick"), presents "Madam Mystery, the Female Forger," subtitled "A Tale of the City of San Francisco." The narrative opens in San Francisco's dangerous Chinese Quarter, establishing the city's lawless reputation and foreign criminal element. The protagonist, Bill Barclay, a drunken miner from Leopard Lode carrying a leather valise, enters the Crimson Palace saloon on Bush Street. There he meets Edna Earle, the Diamond Queen, an attractive young woman working at the establishment. She engages him in conversation, learns he carries valuable papers and money, and seduces him with declarations of love and marriage proposals. While Barclay becomes progressively intoxicated on champagne and whiskey, Edna Earle reveals her scheme: she escorts the near-unconscious miner into the rainy streets, claiming they'll visit her father's house in the Chinese Quarter for an immediate marriage ceremony—positioning herself to rob him of his valise and documents.