The Outcasts of Poker Flat

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"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is a short story by Bret Harte.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story revolves around four "immoral" characters: John Oakhurst, The Duchess, Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy. The four characters are forced to leave town together as part of the townspeoples "cleansing" of bad elements. The party leaves Poker Flats in exile. On the way, they meet Piney Woods and Tom Simson, or Innocent, an old friend from gambling. By the request of the Duchess, the group sets up camp. Oakhurst awakens in the night to find a heavy snow storm raging around him. He also notices that Uncle Billy, the drunk, is gone with the mules that the party used for transportation. Oakhurst ushers the rest of the party into a dilapidated cabin, where they remain, snowed in, with few provisions. After ten days in the cabin, Oakhurst and Innocent venture for help. The "law of Poker Flat" comes to the cabin and sees the Duchess and Piney in a peaceful state, and they are unable to recognize who committed the crime in Poker Flat. Mr. Oakhurst commits suicide and dies beneath a tree. This story is an example of local color and realism during the Gilded Generation. Though born in Albany, Harte was a passionate writer of the west.