CONTENTS Mrs. Skaggs's Husbands How Santa Claus came to Simpson's Bar The Princess Bob and her Friends The Iliad of Sandy Bar Mr. Thompson's Prodigal The Romance of Madroño Hollow The Poet of Sierra Flat The Christmas Gift that came to Rupert
Bret Harte (born Francis Brett Hart; August 25, 1836 – May 5, 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, 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 the works most often reprinted, adapted, and admired.