"I seed a black b'ar comin' outer Daves' woods," said Jimmy excitedly to the master of Indian Springs School in Tuolumne County, California. "Nigh to me as you be, big as a hoss, and snarlin'! and snappin'! -- like gosh! Kem along ker-clump at me, and reckoned he'd skeer me! Didn't skeer me worth a cent. I heaved a rock at him -- I did now!" Exciting as that report was, in the old schoolhouse with falling plaster and broken windows, there was other news of the day from another child, to cause a little stir: Cressy McKinstry was returning from Sacramento, and would be back sitting at her desk soon! The young schoolmaster wondered at this news. Something he himself had said had prompted her haughty withdrawal from the school . . . and as attractive and bright as the girl was, age 16 the last time he saw her, he wondered if this boded well -- or ill -- for his future. Bret Harte (1836-1902) gained national fame during his lifetime for his novels of the colorful Far West of the Gold Rush days.

Author Biography

Francis Bret Harte (1836 - 1902) was an American short story writer and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gamblers and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, fiction, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. As he moved from California to the eastern U.S. to Europe, he incorporated new subjects and characters into his stories but his Gold Rush tales have been most often reprinted, adapted and admired.