December 12 Saturday – In London Sam wrote to Col. Andrew Burt whom he’d met at Ft. Missoula on the American leg of his world tour. As were most of his letters from this period, the stationery bore a black mourning border.

We are miserable in our oldest daughter’s death. She died while Mrs. Clemens and Clara were flying (a figure of speech) to her across the Atlantic. She would not have died if we had been there [Koelbel 64].