Evening star., 1902-05-06
Sketch Of His Career.

Francis Bret Harte was a native of AL
bany, n. Y, and the date of his birth was
August %. 1889. He received a common
school education. His father died when the
boy was quite young and the latter removed
with the family to California Living In the
rude mountain settlements of the interior
and mingling with the rough character
there, the boy obtained from actual expert
ence many of the incidents which were
afterward embodied in his writings.
During the first three years Of his life In
California he turned his hand to whatever
offered him a livelihood From San Fran
cisco he Is said to have walked to Sonora
where he opened a small school, which was
1ailure- he was subsequently a compost
| tor In a newspaper office In Eureka; later
| a miner and an express messenger
In 1897 he went to San Francisco and be-
came a compositor in the office of the
| Golden Era There few sketches from his
| pen OF Bohemian nature attracted the at
| tention and favorable notice of the editor
| and he was taken from the case and put at
! the desk as one of the editorial writers for
| the paper.
For time he was associated in the man.
agement of the Californian, a literary
| weekly. in which he printed his CONDENSED
| novels" 1t had, however but a brief ex-
istence. In 1863 he first became known in
| the east by one of his sketches. In 1864,
| having in the meantime held some minor
| political appointments, he was made secre-
| tary of the United States branch mint, a
| pDSlliOH WHICH lie continued TO mold for six
| years.
| Some Of His Productions.
During this time he wrote John Burns
of Gettysburg" "Pliocene Skull" The So
ciety Upon the stanislaus" and other
poems which had wide circulation. In
1858 the Overland Monthly was begun with
Mr.. Harte as editor. 1t is said that the
| fact that the first number of this publiea-
| tion had no dstinctively California ro-
| nance in its pages attracted his attention,
| and having the plot and general idea of one
! in his mind, he determined to write it out
for the following number
The result was THE Luck of Roaring
Camp which contained much pathos and
rude natural beauty. Oddly enough the
story was generally disapproved in the Of
flee. being even considered immoral, and
of character likely to be Injurious to the
general public, not to speak of it's possible
Monthly.
The proof reader young woman, was
with difficulty induced to continue reading
it after having risen from it's perusal with
disgust. Mr.. Harte was requested to with
draw the manuscript but this he absolutely
refused to do, making its publication de-
termine the question of his remaining the
editor of the magazine
1t was dolefully admitted and the num-
Der containing it sent out with many mis-
givings on the part of the publishers. In
California the story made little impression,
and what it did make was unfavorable but
in the east it aroused the whole reading
public.
Letters and complimentary notices came
flooding in with the mails, among them a
request from the Atlantic Monthly for
similar story. Mr.. Harte threw off in an
hours idleness one day the poem of the
Heather Chinee and tossed 1t carelessly
into his desk. Some months later the print
er of the Overland Monthly needing a lit
tie copy Mr.. Harte hunted among his man
uscripts and collected this. 1t was pub
lished and became a household word wher-
ever the English language was read.
Some More Famous Sketches.
There followed "The Outcasts of Poker
Flat" "Miggles." "Tennessee's Pardner,"
"Mliss," and FLYNN of Virginia." also
Dickens in Camp" and THE Greyport
Legend. two Of his sweeter poems that
never fail to touch the heart.
In 1870 Mr. Harte was appointed professor
of recent literature in the University of
California, but he resigned the following
spring, and. retiring from his editorial po-
stion returned to New York Later. an
Chicago under his direction proved a fail
ure, and he devoted himself to writing for
the Atlantic Monthly, and lecturing
throughout the country.
In 1873 he was appointed United States
consul to Crefeld, in Germany, and was
transferred to Glasgow, Scotland in $780,
where he continued for five years. Since
able extent and devoted himself to litera-
ture. 1t would take a great deal of space
to tell of the amount of literary work pro-
duced by Bret Harte.