June 17–23 Thursday – The article “‘Mark Twain’ in the Metropolis” was probably first printed sometime between these dates in the Territorial Enterprise, copies of which were lost [ET&S 2: 9]. (See June 26 entry)

The Morning Call

Sam’s stay at the Morning Call was from June 7 to Oct. 11, 1864. As the primary local reporter during these four months, it is estimated the Call published approximately 5,400 local items, ranging from one-sentence notices to lengthy articles. Listed here are 471 items, from Clemens of the Call, by Edgar Branch, [24] attributed to Sam. Local items were not signed, yet for a great part of this period Branch believes Sam was the only local reporter (though Sam limited his hours at one point, so this is not clear, nor it is clear how much local material others contributed.) Certainly after Sept. 17 (see entry) other reporters were used. Editors may have also written some items. In 1906 Sam remembered his position as the sole city reporter.

The paper had increased circulation to about 10,000 from its beginnings in December 1856, the largest of any daily. James J. Ayers (1830-1897) and George E. Barnes (d.1897) were the primary owners when Sam applied for work. The newspaper was called “The Washerwoman’s Paper,” since it was the cheapest daily (every day except Monday) at 12 & ½ cents per week. It consisted of four eight-column pages, 18 ½ by 23 ½ inches. The Alta California and the Bulletin sold at 50 cents per week. Sam took the job to get a stake together, and almost from the beginning he hated the drudgery of routine and the late working hours. There was not the freedom of the Territorial Enterprise. After four months, Sam was let go [24].

From TwainQuotes, Barbara Schmidt’s website: “It is safe to speculate that there are many, many more articles by Twain that were written for the Call that are not listed—articles that are simple and mundane daily news reports—often one sentence in length—that do not have the ‘snap’ that is often an unmistakable characteristic of Twain’s authorship. That spectacular Twain ‘snap’ was often an emotional release fired off amidst the drudgery of a job that Twain himself described as ‘killingly monotonous and wearisome . . . fearful drudgery, soulless drudgery, and almost destitute of interest.’ (Twain’s reminiscences of his work on the Call appear in Mark Twain in Eruption, p. 254-260.)”