Bret Harte
1) Devil's Ford
Cultures collide in the novella Devil's Ford from Bret Harte. City-bred and professionally trained engineer Philip Carr decides to seek his fortune in the mountains and moves himself and his grown daughters to the Devil's Ford mining camp, where he pits his advanced techniques against local practices—and where his daughters cause a commotion among the camp's denizens, including beloved recurring character Whiskey Dick.
One of Bret Harte's chief strengths as an author was his ability to focus on the outcasts of society and find a way to make them sympathetic. In this short story, the despised Elijah Martin escapes from a brush with death only to find his whole life transformed.
In this compelling story from American author Bret Harte, a rough-and-tumble pioneer town is torn asunder by the arrival of outsiders, warring rivalries, romantic triangles, duels, and double-crossing in the aftermath of a daring heist. Will justice prevail?