June 24 Wednesday – Sam wrote to an unidentified person that the “Mark Twain” nom de plume was one used by Captain Isaiah Sellers, and that Sam used it after Sellers died [MTL 6: 166]. Note: The trouble with that explanation is that Sellers died a year later (1864) than Sam adopted the name, and that no record can be found where Sellers ever used the handle for his river news as Sam claimed. The bar tale about two drinks on the tab seems to fit better, but that explanation wouldn’t fly to respectability, which Sam craved, married into, and protected. See 1863 entries for more theories.