The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-12
ORIGINAL OF BRET HARTE's JACK HAML1N.

ORIGINAL OF BRET
Bret Harte, a. ID generally known among
old Californians, had no very long expert
enoe in the mines. He had the eye Tor lit
erary values to catch general effect and
color Of tho mining life in the three year,
Of boyhood that were spent in or near the
mining region, and he afterward turned "a
account in completing his picture the great
quantity Of mining anecdote that was to be
gathered in San Francisco, where, in vari-
ous haunts, the early-day people gathered
and ..swapped yarns" Ono of those haunts,
at the time Harte was writing his early and
most famous stories, was the Bohemian
Club, then in it's early and genuinely Bohe-
milan days as expressed by him who
told the tale, ''It was in its purity then
'twas coterie Of thoroughbred cid style
Bohemians."
Another was the Office of the Overland
Monthly. where genial group used to make
headquarters, and sit and tell stories by the
hour. Charles Warren stoddard, and Prem
tioe Milford, and Noah Brooks, ". q. Bart
lett, DR.. de Grow, Col. Cremony, Of Apache
memory, Arthur 8. Evans (who went around
the world with Seward and wrote book
abohtft), Mark Twain-"but he was differ
emit from the rest; he was from Nevada City,
and belonged to the sage brush crowd -
Some were members Of the Overland force,
some were Of the intimate hsbitues Of the
office; some, like Twain. came in OCCASION
ally, when visiting the city. But "the
greatest set Of fellows to tell stories you ever
saw in your life was the ministerial crowd
Benton and Mooar and Warren-that crowd
4of fellows. Wonderful story tellers those
men were! The ministers were always there
on Mondays, you know; that was their reRu-
lar day." The Pacific, the UNCONVENTIONAL
paper Of the ConQregationalists, was printed
let the Overland Office, and this brought these
story tellers into their weekly session there,
where they seem to have discounted al the
knots Of miners and Bohemians that essayed
the same art. DR.. Benton especially, q
pioneer of the pioneers, had an exhaustive
experience III the mines, and appreciated it
b the full himself.
Among these several groups Of story tell
ers Harte sat, taking no visible notes, but
fitting in all he heard to his own rendering
iof the life he was about to describe. And il
10 quite possible to one who knew the con-
tributions thus given to trace them in his
pages. He did not-any moro than any
other story writer's who know their art
transfer characters or incidents bodily to
ibis pages. But in much completer sense
than that in which, for instance, the origi-
|nal Of Dinah Morris and Of Hawthorne,s
MA. have he.n ;dart;Aaa tha root.r;.,.
....>.a :. '.a. :. Ns rI.S.-, . es .".s
characters were developed can be found
supplied by these Office story tellers.
Tha oantlemanlv gambler "a. narhana
~, e 1900 s:-4::..I:'.s .-s..: =, e.
last'es moss ula''nu.lse olse.lon' 40 ulu
aot come from any SINGLE original, Tor GER
AIN outline eu0geetion, wnich could be ideal
zed INTO NM IN vas wiaely present IN the
piaoS wnere eveIyDooy eve Was oig0ing IN
ne eoll OF wading IN muo ana water the
amber was natufaMy me ono clean and
v NJ enseo man; ne was ~ gne neGeesity q
IaS e. ~ ~ coU, ana AZ
o:ttions, ne showed them more ENTHUSIASTICALLY
No a9cAlsssiy snnn mcn Mn1se money We
y 1saeI nuu - suesS tlai'e sae uSe walon
~ 70 4ilnsola ConslsDGssI. IVY y nteratuIe
SiH.l .n1a o Hn1 ~ NE sao AsvnGte
..;S sas.a - ha.,N III p4S~I ~ eo!a
IstnsS go 49, W x.yo ~ snss ~
..ML 1 n u.a.' y, - n !,
,nhlishsS ~ Ia~norv $50 rS = W. Ms wss
s7N the nh ~ 49,, "nu 4, M M'
1V, sae a cldtaGt e aeapRean q JACK Ham
hro ..S 1880 sii | runs
n;I;er v;th Iact Homi;r th,t .aos 81 20,
saas 49,; ~ nnh,,~s4. LII snas w scau nlm
I'll 49, thst the ;y;,o ss1st;a. lssaIInE
~ 1nx ny sue th '4 a.. n9 SuaaaSses cI yac y:
o s vs sao L.eS s.sSvn. OaAnu1s' ~
Oupa1assey ony ~ aueelace ~
I0ocH, w4 ~ 70 appvmsis IN tne scene IN
i nsuwn =. gataveaasi ss xcaataos1Iazeo py
sass.o.s "9u grave 1nnan s ci0eely
su!so e se9 9Gole ana eet.contained Ar,
tuleo: oeclssy ano pt9mps ection. dls
ololless iacG ue1aayeo no s1gn; Ms plaok
YEP duaesly oDseIvans, Rlance9 incHerently
ya.e !ne 'eka5 HeIoleMan. An 4noian
toicism, saio 20 DO an inheritance from his
!ase,nH1 ances.ol: seooo ,nam ~, 9ooo ser
w., ne mas marrow Oo0t. ana No ID
alleo Oomancne JACK. IN TINS nrst ap-
seaTance OF brown OF CaIaveras," the story
0fns On tne Ramplers conquest OF broWn's
.eAuol1uI Wme' altn0uel ms 1n1ellx reputa-
lo ea1 naturalIy pfecluoed any open intimacy
nLn the 1amliy.
NOW, IN looS, ana therefore ~ the interval
esween Oakhurat ana lack Hamltn, HArte
Eeafd Two or three tiMes' the following
tory, wnlcn tel IN much the same words
tnose IN wnicn " was told TO him-at all
tenss, from 1shn me same 4ps. Up g the point
what Cherokee Bob did with HE conquest
ne analogy V unmistable; after that point
az real gambler ana sne gambler OF htera-