This delightful western novel by Bret Harte is exactly what you'd think it might be by the title -- the tale of a mine gone wrong. Two sets of men make conflicting claims to a single bit of mountain, and alternately one claim and then another prevails -- until the claims reach Washington, and everybody knows the buck stops there. Or does it -- ? Great fun, regardless: highly recommended.

Author Biography

Francis Bret Harte (1836 - 1902) was an American short story writer and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gamblers and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, fiction, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. As he moved from California to the eastern U.S. to Europe, he incorporated new subjects and characters into his stories but his Gold Rush tales have been most often reprinted, adapted and admired.