Dirty Dan Harris - Paperback

Daniel Jefferson Harris ("Dirty Dan") is frequently portrayed as a jolly old Santa Claus; a happy-go-lucky vagabond; an independent wise man; a friend of children; a captivating storyteller; an "unscrubbed" wanderer; a "colorful character;" a man with a vision; a rapscallion; a shrewd businessman, and today a joyful leader of an annual Fairhaven festival.

Who was he, really?

To begin with, Harris was not just your eccentric old uncle. He was not a Pied Piper, simply telling fun and fascinating stories to neighborhood children. He was not the benign simpleton who founded Fairhaven and sold real estate, that being the end of the story.

As a sailor, Harris distinguished himself as a rule-breaker. He was insubordinate to the captain, disorderly ashore, and quarrelsome to his fellow-mates. As a merchant, Harris bent the rules to his advantage whenever he wanted. He violated laws. He smuggled. He provided what locals wanted-liquor, drugs, fineries. As a neighbor, Harris likewise had a dual mask. He aided John Thomas in Thomas' illness and weakness, but Harris was by all respects a beach bum, a wanderer. As a person, Harris was filthy in bodily habits. As a man of morals, he wasn't; he was the very definition of deplorable. As a storyteller, he could indeed spin a yam that would keep everyone enthralled-from youngsters to the elderly, but it's difficult to imagine parents today allowing their children to be exposed to this man's bigotry, misogyny, profanity, and filthiness. As a real estate tycoon, Harris has been called an astute businessman and a shrewd trader. As a husband, Harris was an immediate failure. As a hotelier, Harris mostly ignored the needs of his tenants. Therefore, we must analyze his reputation with skepticism.

In this book we will investigate this combination of Paul Bunyan, Superman, Goliath, and Al Capone, separating legend from truth.