by Bret Harte
The year of grace 1797 passed away on the coast of California in a southwesterly gale. The little bay of San Carlos, albeit sheltered by the headlands of the blessed Trinity, was rough and turbulent; its foam … Read the rest
Category: Bret Harte
The Sheriff of Siskyou
by Bret Harte
On the fifteenth of August, 1854, what seemed to be the entire population of Wynyard’s Bar was collected upon a little bluff which overlooked the rude wagon road that was the only approach to the settlement. In … Read the rest
The Stolen Cigar Case
by Bret Harte
I found Hemlock Jones in the old Brook Street lodgings, musing before the fire. With the freedom of an old friend I at once threw myself in my usual familiar attitude at his feet, and gently caressed … Read the rest
Notes by Flood and Field
by Bret Harte
It was near the close of an October day that I began to be disagreeably conscious of the Sacramento Valley. I had been riding since sunrise, and my course through the depressing monotony of the long level … Read the rest
Prosper’s “Old Mother”
by Bret Harte
“It’s all very well,” said Joe Wynbrook, “for us to be sittin’ here, slingin’ lies easy and comfortable, with the wind whistlin’ in the pines outside, and the rain just liftin’ the ditches to fill our sluice … Read the rest
Stories Three
by Bret Harte
FOR SIMLA REASONS
Some people say that improbable things don’t necessarily happen in India–but these people never find improbabilities anywhere. This sounds clever, but you will at once perceive that it really means the opposite of what … Read the rest
Tennessee’s Partner
by Bret Harte
I do not think that we ever knew his real name. Our ignorance of it certainly never gave us any social inconvenience, for at Sandy Bar in 1854 most men were christened anew. Sometimes these appellatives were … Read the rest
The Convalescence Of Jack Hamlin
by Bret Harte
The habitually quiet, ascetic face of Seth Rivers was somewhat disturbed and his brows were knitted as he climbed the long ascent of Windy Hill to its summit and his own rancho. Perhaps it was the effect … Read the rest
The Devotion of Enriquez
by Bret Harte
In another chronicle which dealt with the exploits of “Chu Chu,” a Californian mustang, I gave some space to the accomplishments of Enriquez Saltillo, who assisted me in training her, and who was also brother to Consuelo … Read the rest
The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh
by Bret Harte
I
The sun was going down on the Dedlow Marshes. The tide was following it fast as if to meet the reddening lines of sky and water in the west, leaving the foreground to grow blacker and … Read the rest