Books like The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Harte has written a classic collection of stories about gamblers, miners and fallen wimmen. Though they were unbelievably sad, I enjoyed the first two tales the most. The title story is about a group of unredeemable ne'er do wells booted out of town for loose morals and sinning ways. They quickly band together to survive the wilderness but their efforts may not be enough to save their lives. The other winner is The Luck of Roaring Camp, which concerns the men of a mining camp who adopt a motherless infant. It was sweet, funny and heartwrenching.These stories are not as wonderful as O. Henry's Heart of the West, but most are worth reading all the same.