Puck — April 1877 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Loyal of the Road" by Brod Harte, Sierras 1876 This page reproduces a dramatic sketch adapted from Bret Harte's famous short story about stagecoach travel in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. The illustration shows an overloaded stagecoach with multiple passengers precariously perched on top, drawn by struggling horses—depicting the chaotic reality of frontier transportation. The theatrical dialogue between "First Tourist," "Second Tourist," and "Yuba Bill" (the driver) captures Harte's sardonic humor about Western life: tourists marvel romantically at "upland plunges" and olive depths while the practical driver and fellow travelers discuss hunger, dangerous conditions, and a mysterious woman passenger. The stranger's revelation that "she's my wife" provides the sketch's dramatic twist, referencing Harte's exploration of frontier morality and unexpected human connection amid hardship.