Tennessee's Partner

“Tennessee’s Partner” is a short story by Bret Harte (1836-1902), an American writer and editor. Harte’s stories about rugged, romantic figures participating in the California Gold Rush have inspired many theatrical and film adaptations and make him an eminent figure in the local color style, a 19th-century American literary movement concentrating on local dialect and experience. “Tennessee’s Partner” was originally published in the Overland Monthly in 1869 and explores themes of The Transcendent Nature of Friendship, The Pros and Cons of Self-created Justice, and The Utility of Humor.

This guide refers to the text from the 2003 Western Classics e-book, freely available on Project Gutenberg.

The story, told from a first-person point of view, begins with an unnamed narrator in the California mining camp of Sandy Bar describing a man he only knows as “Tennessee’s Partner.” In Sandy Bar, townsfolk eschew legal names in favor of nicknames based on appearance, behavior, or notable relationships.

The narrator pieces together Tennessee’s partner’s backstory based on town legend and gossip. The partner was born in Poker Flat, set off for San Francisco to find a wife, married a woman he met in Stockton, and returned with her to the home he shared with Tennessee. Tennessee ran off with his partner’s wife and took her to another town, where she eventually found someone else. When Tennessee returned to Poker Flat, the townsfolk expected violence or a duel, but the partner greeted Tennessee with affection and resumed their friendship.

Recently, however, the Sandy Bar townsfolk have grown increasingly hostile toward Tennessee, who gambles, drinks, and (they suspect) steals. Tennessee finally crosses a line when he flagrantly robs a stranger on the way to the town bar. The townsfolk make common cause against him and dramatically hunt him through town. He fires his revolver at a crowd in the saloon and flees into Grizzly Cañon. There, he encounters a man on a horse who also happens to be the town’s judge. Tennessee and the judge compare weapons. The judge is more heavily armed, so Tennessee forfeits and rides back to town with his captor.

The townsfolk begin deciding Tennessee’s fate while night falls against a dark, isolating landscape. The thrilling, emotional atmosphere of the day’s chase dissipates, and a more subdued mood takes over as the townsfolk shift into discussions of justice. Because the townsfolk are relatively certain that Tennessee is guilty and deserves to be hanged, they agree to listen to a hearty and thorough defense. Tennessee defiantly, though good-naturedly, refuses to participate.

Tennessee’s partner arrives wearing rugged, patchwork clothes to speak in defense of Tennessee. He explains that he knows Tennessee well and that though he does not always agree with him, he understands him; he suggests that Tennessee might have resorted to robbery rather than ask to borrow money from his partner. Tennessee’s partner then drops a pile of gold and a watch on the table in an attempt to square the debt Tennessee stole from the stranger and seek clemency for Tennessee’s life. The perceived bribe offends some of the townsfolk, who leap up with their weapons, threatening to throw the partner from the window. The judge stops them and tells them to settle down. The judge decrees that money cannot offset Tennessee’s transgression and that he will have to face justice. Tennessee smiles at his partner, good-naturedly jokes that his partner has lost as though at a game of euchre, and they briefly take each other’s hand before the partner leaves. The judge sentences Tennessee to be hanged the next morning on Marley’s Hill.

The execution occurs against the backdrop of a cheery, sunny day, which the narrator notes the town paper did not describe. The paper instead presents the hanging as a warning to potential criminals. Tennessee’s partner arrives after the hanging with a donkey and cart that he usually uses to tote dirt around his homestead. The partner takes the body and asks if any townsfolk would like to join in a funeral for Tennessee. Two-thirds of the attendees accept the invitation, with a sense of irony and jest.

Tennessee’s partner has prepared a coffin and decorated his cart with fragrant flowers. The crowd walks alongside the cart, initially snickering and joking but gradually falling into a more solemn, formal procession. Tennessee’s partner’s remote cabin is cheerless and unkempt, with an overgrown garden seemingly leftover from his brief marriage. The partner has dug a hole to bury Tennessee in the remains of this garden.

Tennessee’s partner lifts the coffin, deposits it in the shallow grave, and delivers a eulogy for Tennessee. Rubbing a quartz stone on his sleeve, he describes how he carried Tennessee home drunk many times throughout their friendship. As the crowd disperses, they see Tennessee’s partner with his face buried in his red handkerchief and argue about where the red face ends and the handkerchief begins.

The townsfolk secretly investigate Tennessee’s partner’s complicity in his partner’s crime, clearing him of wrongdoing but wondering why he would remain friends with a man like Tennessee. Meanwhile, they notice Tennessee’s partner’s health and strength visibly declining; by the rainy season, he takes to his bed. During a storm one night, Tennessee’s partner experiences delirium and expresses his desire to go find Tennessee. He wants to rig up his donkey and cart and search for Tennessee on the trail like he has in the past. He hallucinates riding with the donkey until he spots Tennessee coming toward him with his face reflecting the light. Tennessee and his partner meet again.