New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-08-17
CHEROKEE BOB.
THE ORIGINAL JACK HAMLIN.

Bret Iarte as is generally known among old
Californians, had no very long experience III the
mines He had the eye for literary values to
catch general effect and color of the mining life
in the three years of boyhOOd that were spent IN
or near the mining region; and lie ai'erwafu
turned TO account in completing his picture tue
great quantity OF mining anecdote that was Ia be
gathered in San Francisco, where IN various
vans" One of these hauntS, at the time Harte
was writing his early and most famous stores was
the Bohemian Club, then in it's early and genuinely
bohemian days-or, as expressed by hlm who tOd
the tale, 1t was in its purity then-twas
cotere of thoroughbred old-style Bohemians
Another was the office of The Overland Month
w. where genial group used to make he9dgua1 lar
Warren Stoddard; and Prentice Milford, ana Moan
Brooks, w. G. BARTLETT DIR. dc Groot;s O Tdpi
twho went around the world with seward, ana
wrote a book about it,, Mark Twain" put ne
City, and belonged TO the 'saGe-brush CROWD.
Some were members of The Overland force;
some of the Intimate habltues OF ne once
some like Twain came IN occasionally, 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 of fellows Wonderful story-tellers
those men WERE The ministers were always there
on Mondays, You know that was theiI regular guar
day" The Pacific" the denoinlnatlonal payer
of the Congregationalists, was printed at The
Overland" office, and this brought these story
tcers into their weekly session there where tney
seem to have discounted all the knots OF miners
and the Bohemians that essayed the same art
Doctor Benton especially, pioneer Of the pioneers
had an exhaustive experience IN tne mDles, anu
appreciated it to the full himself
Among these several groups Of story-tellers
IIarte sat taking visible notes, but ftung IN
all he heard TO his own rendering OF the lie ne
was about TO describe. And 1t Is quite possible
10 one who knew the contributions thus given 10
trace them in his pages He did notZany more
than other story-writers who Know ineir di bi
napes But in a much completer sense than that
in which, for instance, the ORIGINAL OF oman Ia
Morris and Of Hawthornes Hllda nave oee af
identified, the materials out OF whlch some VI
Uarte's most famous characters were dcVejOpeu
can be found supplied by these office story-teilerS
The genlemanly gambler Is perhaps PSI iia fr|,
any single original for a certain outline sug?cs-
ton which could be idealized into him, was widely
present in the mines from tne very na an vos
the case In place where everybody else was
DIGGING in tie soil or wading III mud ana wafer
The gambler was naturally the one clean ana We'll
dressed man: he was by the necessity Oh ile caime
more or less cool, watchful and sua'e anu where
he had any generous dispositions, he showed mem
more whimsically and recklessly than men whose
money he earned Add to these traits the no@
which Harte himself contributed, out OF ltcra1uIe
rather than life and which was the Keynote Vi
his earlier wOrk-that OF picturesque sei-sacIln r.
and we have all that appears in llarte ITst dIait
of tho character Oakhnrst in The OutcaStS oil
Poker Flat" This was published in January,
1869: and in March, 1870, the character re-
appears in Ja& IIamlin, the finished type "h W
thereafter runs through ali Hartes work. We
are so familiar with Jack Hamlin that we read
him back into Oallhurst; but careful Ieaulns
will show that the living qualities OF Jack are
not In the first sketch; Oakhurst is comparatively
only an abstraction
Jack. when he appears on the scene, in Brown
OF Calayeras, is characterized by " hstiess ana
grave Indifference" closely buttoned figure ana
self-contained air." quiet, decisive and prompt
action His coorless face betrayed no sign;
his black eyes, quietly Observant, glanced IN
differently past the legal gentleman. An
1nc.an stoicsln-said to be an inheritance from
his maternal ancestor-stood hiIa in good service
Ha haE, llnHl cia q
JACK. In this first appearance OF HTowh OF
Calaveras' the story turns on the gamblers con-
quest Of Browns beautiful wife although his IN
ielN reputation naturally precluded any open IN
tlrlacy with the family"
Now, in 1869, and therefore in the interval
netween OSkhurst and Jack lIamln, llarte heard
TWO or three times" the following story which
tii IN much the same words as those in which
~ was tOl1 TO hm-at ali events from the same
up NE up 70 1he point Of what Cherokee B3o ana
WIN ms conquest the analogy Is unmistaka6le;
a'er that point the real gambler and the gambler
of literature dverge
rd ne was the most peculiar fellow lie was
pretty as picture. lie was unGt rsize-he was
small put ne was just the prettiest man you ever
saw lie always kept his lair trimmed 50 nice
sGiti straight let-black hair just like woman's.
lie had long, black eyelashes, and his eyebrows
were pencilled right across his forehead i'm
delicate aIch; you know, going of finely al the
tips You'd look al him. and you'd want IA keen
looking at him, just as you'd lock at q pretty
woman lie never wore any beard His mustache
was Jet;back, too, and his face WAS Just as white
~ ~ WAS uuSFN lHulan color, YOU
Know, Just the least coppcry tingc but pale and
Gear, and bis eyebrows and mustache were so
ky-oack they made his face look white
>, lie was very particular about his appearance.
ire Always wore long, fine cloth 0vercoat, trimmed
Nun peaver fur. Price never cut any figure in
ms purchase-the best we had in the store
Ayhe 100 good for him. Always
groves on the street; his hands and feet
were me and little, like a womans, and
f was so proud Of his feet that he was eXtravagant
aoout MS boots, and always had them made 20
.Iuer7pay any price for them-fourteen SIX
right '' 0'''' ''''' ~ ~
His father was one of these Hudson BAY men. a
soyageir you know; tall, handsome Scotchman
saauS mar and beard you gInOw. lie had
iaveIled down until lie came to the Red River
SS1uhuy, and there he married a squaw; and
eheerokee Bob their only child.
A" el he was thorough gamber-a gambler
n every sense of the word lie would take the
last cent you'd got. and smiling Just as pleasant