Literature is Terrific Fun! "Outcasts of Poker Flat" Plot Summary.

"The Outcasts of Poker Flats"  A Bret Harte short story.

"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is set near a California mining community during November of 1850. Checking out the effectiveness of vigilante justice, the "good moral" residents of Poker Flat hope to improve the town by expelling a group of undesirables. Among these objectionable characters are professional gambler John Oakhurst; a prostitute known as Duchess; her madam, Mother Shipton; and Uncle Billy, the town drunkard and a suspected thief. The four are escorted to the edge of Poker Flat and "forbidden to return at the peril of their lives." With no other choice, the group heads toward the next settlement, Sandy Bar, However the trip requires them to pass over a difficult mountain trail in the Sierras. Less than half way to their destination , the group becomes exhausted and decides to camp for the night.  The story continues on with the challenges they face while on the trail in a heavy snowfall with very few provisions. In my opinion some of the undesirables exhibited more character traits than the "good citizens of Poker Flats" that placed them in peril on that November day.

My goal in this post is to encourage you to purchase and read this Bret Harte short story on a cold November evening and turn off your TV for an hour of really fun entertainment. Literature is terrific fun! It encourages you to think. It helps you dream. It is full of heroes and villains, suspense and humor, adventure and wonder, and new ideas. It introduces you to writers who reach out across time to say: " Do you want to hear a story I wrote?"