The Wrong Man

# "The Wrong Man"

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, set in early Ohio frontier settlement, features a western hunter and a Connecticut Yankee peddler. The hunter, described as tall and muscular with keen black eyes and frontier dress (linsey-woolsey shirt, buckskin leggings, ornamental knife), pursues a deer along the Ohio River but falls during the chase. A Yankee peddler appears, laughing at the mishap. The hunter resents the intrusion, muttering about "d—d Yankees," while the peddler, florid-faced and good-humored, carries a willow staff and engages in banter. Their dialogue establishes sharp regional contrast: the hunter dismissive and aggressive; the peddler quick-witted and verbose, launching into tall tales about his ninety-seven-year-old father's hunting exploits in Connecticut, including implausible claims about snow and apples.