May 10 Friday – At Princeton University, Sam made a few remarks at the Harvard-Princeton debate [Fatout, MT Speaking 669].

George V.W. Duryee of Adirondack Park Co. wrote to Sam acknowledging his of May 4 (not extant) and enclosing the lease of the camp for signature; Duryee assured him he could move in by June 4; most of the furniture had been ordered and the road to the camp had been “put in good condition” but advised not sending freight until the end of May. Could he suggest an appropriate name for the camp? It was “still a nameless Eden” [MTP].

Sam returned to New York, where he signed a lease indenture for a cottage that he would name “The Lair” (it would later be called “Mark Twain Camp”) on Saranac Lake, N.Y. The lease to run from June 1 to Oct. 31, 1901 for a total of $650, with $150 at the signing and $250 on July 1 and $250 on Aug. 1. Sam and George V.W. Duryee, owner of the Adirondack Park Co. signed, with Olivia L. Clemens signing as witness. The camp was built in 1900 by architect W.L. Coulter, “either as a speculation or as a rental house.” The Clemens family was the first to rent the camp. The Adirondack Park Co. was incorporated with Duryee, and Frank Creesy [www.hsl.wikispot.org/Mark_Twain_Camp (display by Bobbie Learner)].