All ends, however, with a freak flood which destroys the settlement. The next morning, the survivors find Kentuck with the dead child in his arms. With a smile, he accompanies the spirit of Tommy Luck into the unknown.
Bret Harte wrote this story for the OVERLAND MONTHLY, the magazine he edited. It pictured the realism of life in a mining camp but did so within a sentimental framework. His characters are stereotypes, and the resolution of the tale is undeniably maudlin. It remained for Twain to turn similar material into great literature.