The Outcasts of Poker Flat (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Bret Harte
- First Published: 1869
- Type of Plot: Regional
- Time of Work: 1850
- Setting: The gold-mining camps of the Sierra in California
- Principal Characters: Mr. John Oakhurst, The Duchess, Mother Shipton, Uncle Billy, Tom Simson, “The Innocent of Sandy Bar,”, Piney Woods
- Genres: Short fiction, Regional fiction, Adventure
- Subjects: Values, Gambling, Murder or homicide, Prejudices or antipathies, Prostitution or prostitutes, Pretensions, Gold mines or mining
- Locales: California
The Story
Mr. John Oakhurst notices on November 23, 1850, that there is a change in the moral atmosphere of Poker Flat, a California gold-mining settlement. His premonition is correct, as a secret committee has determined, in its local prejudice, to rid the community of certain undesirable people. Two men are executed, and four alleged reprobates are banished, including Oakhurst. The other exiles are two prostitutes, known as the Duchess and Mother Shipton, and a thief called Uncle Billy.
After an armed escort abandons them on the outskirts of the settlement, with a...
[The entire page is 1974 words long]
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