The Cary House, Placerville. "It Was Here That Horace Greeley Terminated
His Celebrated Stage Ride With Hank Monk"

Middle Fork of the American River, Near Auburn, and Half a Mile Above
Its Junction With the North Fork

An Apple Orchard, Grass Valley, "The Trees Growing in the Grass, as in
England and the Atlantic States"

The Western Hotel, Grass Valley. "The Well and Pump Add a Quaint and
Characteristic Touch"

A Bit of Picturesque Nevada City, Embracing the Homes of Its Leading
Citizens



Foreword



In California's imaginary Hall of Fame, Bret Harte must be accorded a
prominent, if not first place. His short stories and dialect poems
published fifty years ago made California well known the world over and
gave it a romantic interest conceded no other community. He saw the
picturesque and he made the world see it. His power is unaccountable if
we deny him genius. He was essentially an artist. His imagination gave
him vision, a new life in beautiful setting supplied colors and rare
literary skill painted the picture.