The Survivor

About the author: Following a previous life, he has turned his attention to telling stories about the Old West during the 19th and early 20th centuries. He has discovered there are thousands of untold stories to be found in old newspapers, magazines, and sometimes even history books. The stories he writes are mostly made-up fiction, but then so are a lot of history books. He has learned that what people most value are not the bare bone facts of the past, but the stories we tell about them. Steve (whose friends mostly refer to him as "Bart") derives his idea from listening to people, walking around old neighborhoods, and a lot of reading. As for his previous life, he had an undistinguished career in civil service. His first actual job was in the U.S. Army. Someday he may write a book titled "All I Need to Know I learned in the Army." He now lives in a rural part of northern California, where he likes to listen to folks and look at trees.

Hyram and Lisbeth have been living in San Francisco since it was called Yerba Buena. They have been here long enough to meet some strange and sometimes desperate folks. Hyram likes telling their stories. He hopes you will like reading them. The tales are short enough to read while waiting for your horse-drawn streetcar. The first one is about a starving boy who turned up one morning looking for work.