Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 669

About this issue

This issue of Beadle and Adams serial features "The Bootblack Bravo in San Francisco" by J. C. Cowdrick, continuing the Broadway Billy stories. Broadway Billy, a nineteen-year-old street bootblack with athletic build and $2,500 in savings, and his thin partner Skinny arrive in San Francisco after a voyage around Cape Horn with a sea captain. They explore the city's streets and landmarks, including the Lotta Fountain and Kearney Street, observing Chinese and Japanese shops. At a Chinese cemetery, they witness an annual propitiation ceremony for the dead, where Chinese participants deposit roasted pigs, fowls, fruits, and liquors at grave altars while firing crackers and firecrackers. They meet Sam Foo Chow, an official at the Chinese consulate, who invites them to share the feast. Billy joins the celebratory festivities enthusiastically. The episode climaxes when approximately thirty to forty armed tramps attack the ceremony gathering, attempting to disperse the Chinese and steal the food offerings. Billy and Skinny decide to fight rather than flee, standing their ground despite the tramps' clubs and the Chinamen's only blank cartridges.