"Frontier Stories" by Bret Harte Bret Harte was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. This book showcases his propensity for the frontier by showcasing multiple short stories that have settlers as main characters. Flip: A California Romance, Found at Blazing Star, In the Carquinez Woods, At the Mission of San Carmel, A Blue-Grass Penelope, Left out on Lone Star Mountain, and A Ship of '40 are the tales in this collection.