Bret Harte was the first American writer from the West Coast to gain an international reputation. He was instrumental in introducing frontier literature to eastern audiences. His stories established many of the basic characteristics of the western genre: rough, sarcastic humor, rustic dialect, and character types such as good-natured gamblers, greedy bankers, and prostitutes with hearts of gold.We selected seven short stories from this author so that you can know and appreciate his work:The Luck of Roaring CampThe Outcasts of Poker Flat Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff A Convert of the MissionA Widow of the Santa Ana Valley A Yellow DogMelons