Bret Harte (1836–1902) was an American author and poet known for his stories and poems set in the American West during the California Gold Rush. His works, including “The Luck of Roaring Camp” and “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” depicted the rough-and-tumble frontier life and contributed to the Western literary genre.
Short Stories written by Bret Harte
A Buckeye Hollow Inheritance 1864 - The four men on the "Zip Coon" Ledge had not got fairly settled to their morning's work. There was the… ... Read more
A Convert of the Mission 1864 - ... Read more
A Drift from Redwood Camp 1864 - They had all known him as a shiftless, worthless creature. From the time he first entered Redwood Camp, carrying his… ... Read more
A Knight-Errant Of The Foothills 1864 - I. As Father Felipe slowly toiled up the dusty road towards the Rancho of the Blessed Innocents, he more than… ... Read more
A Lonely Ride 1864 - As I stepped into the Slumgullion stage I saw that it was a dark night, a lonely road, and that… ... Read more
A Mother of Five 1864 - She was a mother--and a rather exemplary one--of five children, although her own age was barely nine. Two of these… ... Read more
A Passage In The Life of Mr. John Oakhurst 1864 - He always thought it must have been fate. Certainly nothing could have been more inconsistent with his habits than to… ... Read more
A Romance of the Line 1864 - As the train moved slowly out of the station, the Writer of Stories looked up wearily from the illustrated pages… ... Read more
A Vision of the Fountain 1864 - Mr. Jackson Potter halted before the little cottage, half shop, half hostelry, opposite the great gates of Domesday Park, where… ... Read more
A Ward Of Colonel Starbottle 1864 - "The kernel seems a little off color to-day," said the barkeeper as he replaced the whiskey decanter, and gazed reflectively… ... Read more
A Widow of the Santa Ana Valley 1864 - The Widow Wade was standing at her bedroom window staring out, in that vague instinct which compels humanity in moments… ... Read more
A Yellow Dog 1864 - I never knew why in the Western States of America a yellow dog should be proverbially considered the acme of… ... Read more
Adventures Of John Longbowe, Yeoman 1864 - Being A Modern-Antique Realistic Romance (Compiled from several eminent sources) It seemeth but fair that I, John Longbowe, should set… ... Read more
An Ali Baba of the Sierras 1864 - Johnny Starleigh found himself again late for school. It was always happening. It seemed to be inevitable with the process… ... Read more
An Episode of Fiddletown 1864 - In 1858 Fiddletown considered her a very pretty woman. She had a quantity of light chestnut hair, a good figure,… ... Read more
Barker’s Luck 1864 - A bird twittered! The morning sun shining through the open window was apparently more potent than the cool mountain air,… ... Read more
Bohemian Days in San Francisco 1864 - It is but just to the respectable memory of San Francisco that in these vagrant recollections I should deprecate at… ... Read more
Brown of Calaveras 1864 - A subdued tone of conversation, and the absence of cigar smoke and boot heels at the windows of the Wingdam… ... Read more
Bulger’s Reputation 1864 - We all remembered very distinctly Bulger's advent in Rattlesnake Camp. It was during the rainy season--a season singularly inducive to… ... Read more
Captain Jim’s Friend 1864 - I. Hardly one of us, I think, really believed in the auriferous probabilities of Eureka Gulch. Following a little stream,… ... Read more
Chu Chu 1864 - I do not believe that the most enthusiastic lover of that "useful and noble animal," the horse, will claim for… ... Read more
Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff 1864 - It had been a day of triumph for Colonel Starbottle. First, for his personality, as it would have been difficult… ... Read more
Dick Boyle’s Business Card 1864 - The Sage Wood and Dead Flat stage coach was waiting before the station. The Pine Barrens mail wagon that connected… ... Read more
High-Water Mark 1864 - When the tide was out on the Dedlow Marsh, its extended dreariness was patent. Its spongy, low-lying surface, sluggish, inky… ... Read more
How Reuben Allen “Saw Life” in San Francisco 1864 - The junior partner of the firm of Sparlow & Kane, "Druggists and Apothecaries," of San Francisco, was gazing meditatively out… ... Read more
How Santa Claus Came to Simpson’s Bar 1864 - It had been raining in the valley of the Sacramento. The North Fork had overflowed its banks and Rattlesnake Creek… ... Read more
In the Tules 1864 - He had never seen a steamboat in his life. Born and reared in one of the Western Territories, far from… ... Read more
Jimmy’s Big Brother from California 1864 - As night crept up from the valley that stormy afternoon, Sawyer's Ledge was at first quite blotted out by wind… ... Read more
Lanty Foster’s Mistake 1864 - Lanty Foster was crouching on a low stool before the dying kitchen fire, the better to get its fading radiance… ... Read more
Melons 1903 - As I do not suppose the most gentle of readers will believe that anybodys sponsors in baptism ever wilfully assumed… ... Read more
Miggles 1864 - We were eight, including the driver. We had not spoken during the passage of the last six miles, since the… ... Read more
Mliss 1864 - CHAPTER I Just where the Sierra Nevada begins to subside in gentler undulations, and the rivers grow less rapid and… ... Read more
Mr. Macglowrie’s Widow 1864 - Very little was known of her late husband, yet that little was of a sufficiently awe-inspiring character to satisfy the… ... Read more
Notes by Flood and Field 1862 - PART I--IN THE FIELD It was near the close of an October day that I began to be disagreeably conscious… ... Read more
Prosper’s “Old Mother” 1864 - "It's all very well," said Joe Wynbrook, "for us to be sittin' here, slingin' lies easy and comfortable, with the… ... Read more
Stories Three 1864 - I FOR SIMLA REASONS Some people say that improbable things don't necessarily happen in India--but these people never find improbabilities… ... Read more
Tennessee’s Partner 1864 - I do not think that we ever knew his real name. Our ignorance of it certainly never gave us any… ... Read more
The Convalescence Of Jack Hamlin 1864 - The habitually quiet, ascetic face of Seth Rivers was somewhat disturbed and his brows were knitted as he climbed the… ... Read more
The Devotion of Enriquez 1864 - In another chronicle which dealt with the exploits of "Chu Chu," a Californian mustang, I gave some space to the… ... Read more
The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh 1864 - I The sun was going down on the Dedlow Marshes. The tide was following it fast as if to meet… ... Read more
The Idyl of Red Gulch 1864 - Sandy was very drunk. He was lying under an azalea bush, in pretty much the same attitude in which he… ... Read more
The Indiscretion of Elsbeth 1864 - The American paused. He had evidently lost his way. For the last half hour he had been wandering in a… ... Read more
The Luck of Roaring Camp 1864 - There was commotion in Roaring Camp. It could not have been a fight, for in 1850 that was not novel… ... Read more
The Man of No Account 1864 - His name was Fagg--David Fagg. He came to California in '52 with us, in the SKYSCRAPER. I don't think he… ... Read more
The Mermaid of Lighthouse Point 1864 - Some forty years ago, on the northern coast of California, near the Golden Gate, stood a lighthouse. Of a primitive… ... Read more
The Outcasts of Poker Flat 1869 - As Mr. John Oakhurst, gambler, stepped into the main street of Poker Flat on the morning of the 23d of… ... Read more
The Right Eye of the Commander 1864 - The year of grace 1797 passed away on the coast of California in a southwesterly gale. The little bay of… ... Read more
The Sheriff of Siskyou 1864 - On the fifteenth of August, 1854, what seemed to be the entire population of Wynyard's Bar was collected upon a… ... Read more
The Stolen Cigar Case 1864 - By A. CO--N D--LE I found Hemlock Jones in the old Brook Street lodgings, musing before the fire. With the… ... Read more
The Youngest Miss Piper 1864 - I do not think that any of us who enjoyed the acquaintance of the Piper girls or the hospitality of… ... Read more
Three Vagabonds of Trinidad 1864 - "Oh! it's you, is it?" said the Editor. The Chinese boy to whom the colloquialism was addressed answered literally, after… ... Read more
Uncle Jim and Uncle Billy 1888 - They were partners. The avuncular title was bestowed on them by Cedar Camp, possibly in recognition of a certain matured… ... Read more
Under the Eaves 1864 - The assistant editor of the San Francisco "Daily Informer" was going home. So much of his time was spent in… ... Read more
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Bret Harte Western - Bret Harte (1836–1902) was an American author and poet known for his stories and poems set in the American West during the California Gold Rush. His works, including "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," depicted… ... Read more
