Harte contributed articles as well, and the periodical jumped to the fore among its competitors in the San Francisco Bay Area including the Golden Era.
[4] According to Ben Tarnoff, "Readers expecting tales of honest miners, or lyrical tributes to California's landscape, would be disappointed.
"[4] The publication featured poetry and condensed novels by Harte—these poked fun at the literary styling of authors such as Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon and James Fenimore Cooper.
Several other San Franciscan poets contributed including Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard and Ina Coolbrith.
[4] After a period of rest at Lake Tahoe, Webb resumed editing duties in November 1864.
By 1866, however, Webb disassociated from the publication and returned to the East Coast after his irreverent tone and burlesque style which frequently targeted California life and Californians did not endear him to his audience.