August 15 Thursday – The Clemens party of five traveled to, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and took rooms at the Hotel Vancouver. They learned that their ship, the Warrimoo, which was to have sailed Aug. 16, had been delayed by running aground on Aug. 9. Sam faced a week with no engagements after this of Aug. 15 in the Vancouver Opera House. Pond thus scheduled an extra lecture in Victoria, B.C. From Pond’s diary:

Thursday, August 15th, Vancouver, B.C. — The Vancouver.

“Mark’s” throat is in a very bad condition. It was a great effort to make himself heard. He is a thoroughbred — a great man, with wonderful will power, or he would have succumbed. We had a fine audience, a crowded house, very English, and I think “Mark” liked it. Everything here is English and Canadian. There is a rumor afloat that the country about us is beautiful, but we can’t see it, for there is smoke, smoke everywhere, and no relief. My eyes are sore from it. We are told that the Warrimoo will not sail until Wednesday, so I have arranged for the Victoria lecture Tuesday [Eccentricities of Genius 221].

Note: Livy to Rogers of Aug. 17 claims the lecture in Victoria was initially planned for the evening of Aug. 17, but the doctor did not allow it, so that it was then postponed again to Tuesday, Aug. 20.

Sam also cabled H.H. Rogers: “Steamer does not sail until the twentieth” [MTP]. Note: the Warrimoo did not leave until Aug. 23. Paine writes that Sam “had five thousand dollars to forward to Rogers to place against his debt account by the time he reached the Coast, a fine return for a month’s travel in that deadly season” [MTB 1004]. Fatout quotes Sam’s notebook with a total slightly over $5,300, which he calculates is “over $200 a performance, a better return than he had averaged on previous tours” [Lecture Circuit 252].

H.H. Rogers also cabled Sam about Livy sending authorization for the Harper’s contract. This cable is not extant but mentioned in Livy’s Aug. 17 to Rogers as being received upon reaching Vancouver.