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"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (1869) is a short story written by author of the American West Bret Harte. [1] An example of naturalism and local color of California during the first half of the nineteenth century, the story was first published in January 1869 in the magazine Overland Monthly . It was one of two short stories which brought the author national attention.
The story takes place in a Californian community known as Poker Flat, near the town of La Porte. Following the loss of several thousand dollars and two horses, and the death of a notable resident, the town has formed a secret committee to rid itself of any "improper" people, hanging two and banishing others. On November 23, 1850, four such individuals are exiled from Poker Flat and warned not to return on pain of death. The first of them is a professional poker player, John Oakhurst, who has won large amounts from those on the secret committee. On his way out of town, he is joined by two women, the Duchess and Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy, the town drunk and a suspected robber. These four set out for the Sandy Bar mining camp, a day's journey away over a mountain range. At noon, over Oakhurst's protests, the group stops for a rest.
While on their rest, the group is met by a pair of runaway lovers on their way to Poker Flat to get married, Tom Simson (known also as "The Innocent") and 15-year-old Piney Woods. Simson has met Oakhurst before and has great admiration for him, as Oakhurst won a great deal of money from Simson. Oakhurst had returned the money and urged Simson to quit gambling, as he was a terrible player. Nonetheless, Simson is thrilled to have come upon Oakhurst on this day and decides that he and Piney will stay with the group for a while. They are unaware of the group's status as exiles, and Simson assumes that the Duchess is Oakhurst's wife, to the amusement of Uncle Billy.
A decision is made for everyone to stay the night together, and the group takes shelter in a half-built cabin Simson has discovered. In the middle of the night, Oakhurst wakes up and sees a heavy snowstorm raging. Looking around, he realizes that Uncle Billy has fled with the group's horses and mules. They are all now forced to wait out the storm with provisions that will likely only last for another 10 days. After a week in the cabin, Mother Shipton dies, having secretly and altruistically starved herself in order to give her rations to Piney. Oakhurst fashions some snowshoes for Simson to use in traveling to Poker Flat for help, telling the others he will accompany the young man part of the way. The "law of Poker Flat" finally arrives at the cabin, only to find the Duchess and Piney frozen to death and embracing in a peaceful repose. They look so peaceful and innocent that the onlookers cannot tell which of them had been exiled for her immoral behavior.
Oakhurst commits suicide under a tree by shooting himself through the heart with his derringer. A playing card, the two of clubs, is found pinned to the trunk with a note written on it:
BENEATH THIS TREE LIES THE BODY OF JOHN OAKHURST, WHO STRUCK A STREAK OF BAD LUCK ON THE 23rd OF NOVEMBER, 1850, AND HANDED IN HIS CHECKS ON THE 7TH DECEMBER, 1850.
Harte's story has been brought to film at least five times, including in 1919 with Harry Carey, in 1937 with Preston Foster, and in 1952 with Dale Robertson. The Spaghetti Western Four of the Apocalypse is based on this story and another of Harte's stories, "The Luck of Roaring Camp".
Operas based on The Outcasts of Poker Flats include those by Samuel Adler, [2] Jaromir Weinberger, [3] Stanworth Beckler, [4] and Andrew Earle Simpson. [5]
Bret Harte was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades, he also wrote poetry, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches.
Oakhurst is a census-designated place (CDP) in Madera County, California, United States, 14 miles (23 km) south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. At an elevation of 2,274 ft (693 m), Oakhurst is situated at the junction of Highway 41 and Highway 49, marking the southern end of California's Gold Country. It is part of the Madera metropolitan statistical area.
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh conditions experienced by enslaved African Americans. The book reached an audience of millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and in Great Britain, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. Stowe wrote 30 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential both for her writings as well as for her public stances and debates on social issues of the day.
Maverick is an American Western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins and originally starring James Garner as an adroitly articulate poker player plying his trade on riverboats and in saloons while traveling incessantly through the 19th-century American frontier. The show ran for five seasons from September 22, 1957, to July 8, 1962 on ABC.
Jaromír Weinberger was a Bohemian-born Jewish subject of the Austrian Empire, who became a naturalized American composer.
John Augustus Kelly Jr. was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of Bart Maverick in the television series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962.
Frank Marion Thomas was an American character actor of stage, screen and television.
The Golden Argosy: The Most Celebrated Short Stories in the English Language is an anthology edited by Charles Grayson and Van H. Cartmell, and published by Dial Press in 1955. It is famous for being the favorite book of novelist Stephen King. King, who recalls that "I first found The Golden Argosy in a Lisbon Falls (Maine) bargain barn called the Jolly White Elephant, where it was on offer for $2.25. At that time I only had four dollars, and spending over half of it on one book, even a hardcover, was a tough decision. I've never regretted it." He calls it "an amazing resource for readers and writers, a treasury in every sense of the word... The Golden Argosy taught me more about good writing than all the writing classes I've ever taken. It was the best $2.25 I ever spent."
Mark Twain's legacy includes awards, events, a variety of memorials and namesakes, and numerous works of art, entertainment, and media.
"The Heathen Chinee", originally published as "Plain Language from Truthful James", is a narrative poem by American writer Bret Harte. It was published for the first time in September 1870 in the Overland Monthly. It was written as a parody of Algernon Charles Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon (1865), and satirized anti-Chinese sentiment in northern California.
Dutch Flat is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Auburn along Interstate 80. It was founded by German immigrants in 1851 and was once one of the richest gold mining locations in California. Dutch Flat is now registered as a California Historical Landmark.
"The Luck of Roaring Camp" is a short story by American author Bret Harte. It was first published in the August 1868 issue of the Overland Monthly and helped push Harte to international prominence.
The Outcasts of Poker Flat is a 1919 American silent Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost. The screenplay is based upon the 1869 story of the same name by Bret Harte. Harte's story has been brought to film at least five times, including in 1937 with Preston Foster and in 1952 with Dale Robertson.
"The Rocket" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury. It is also included in The Illustrated Man, a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury.
The Tales of the Argonauts is a volume of short stories published by Bret Harte in 1875. The title is sometimes loosely applied to all Harte's stories of early California.
The Outcasts of Poker Flat is a 1952 American Western film directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring Anne Baxter and Dale Robertson. The screenplay is based on a short story of the same name by Bret Harte. Harte's story has been brought to film at least five times, including in 1919 with Harry Carey and in 1937 with Preston Foster.
The Outcasts of Poker Flat is a 1937 American Western film directed by Christy Cabanne and written by John Twist and Harry Segall. The film stars Preston Foster, Jean Muir, Van Heflin, Virginia Weidler and Margaret Irving. The film was released on April 16, 1937, by RKO Pictures.
Tennessee's Partner is a short story by Bret Harte, first published in the Overland Monthly in 1869, which has been described as "one of the earliest 'buddy' stories in American fiction." It was later loosely adapted into four films.
The Byrne's Ferry bridge was a historic cantilevered covered bridge across the Stanislaus River between Calaveras County and Tuolumne County, California. Originally built during the California Gold Rush, the bridge was located on the O'Byrne's Ferry road between Chinese Camp and Copperopolis. Until the mid-20th century, it was one of the last remaining covered bridges in the state; the bridge was destroyed in 1957 to make way for the construction of Tulloch Dam.
Two Men of Sandy Bar is a 1916 American silent Western Melodrama directed by Lloyd B. Carleton and starring Hobart Bosworth, Gretchen Lederer along with Emory Johnson.
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