By Shore and Sedge

In "An Apostle of the Tules," and the two other stories of the far West that make up By Shore and Sedge ("Sarah Walker" and "A Ship of '49"), Bret Harte (1836-1902) tells of the hopeful souls convinced of the glories to be won in the Gold country -- and of the hardened ones who must struggle to raise themselves above the desperate and toilsome life of the pioneer.