Synopses & Reviews
Fiction. These fifteen stories bring the California gold rush to life with a boisterous assemblage of rough-clad miners, pistol-packing preachers, iron-willed women, and philosophical gamblers.
Synopsis
These fifteen stories bring the California Gold Rush to life with their boisterous assemblage of rough-clad miners, pistol-packing preachers, iron-willed women, and philosophical gamblers. Theirs was an unpredictable world, filled with gold strikes and freak tragedies, when the wisdom of the gambler sometimes counted for more than that of the preacher. A master storyteller, Harte weaves tales that seem to come directly from the campfire, where the spinning of yarns and swapping of lies were the highest form of entertainment.
Table of Contents
The luck of Roaring Camp -- The outcasts of Poker Flat -- Miggles -- Tennessee's partner -- High-water mark -- The idyl of Red Gulch -- Mr. Thompson's prodigal -- The romance of Madroäno Hollow -- Wan Lee, the pagan -- How Santa Claus came to Simpson's Bar --Bulger's reputation -- A yellow dog -- Dick Spindler's family Christmas -- In the tules -- Lanty Foster's mistake.