September 6 Tuesday – The following nine local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam:
“Peeping Tom of Coventry,” “A Small Piece of Spite,” “A Promising Artist,” “Turned Out of Office,” “Mechanic’s Fair,” “The Pound-Keeper Beheaded,” “A Long Fast,” “Conjugal Infelicity,” and “Set for Wednesday” [Branch, C of Call 297].

September 7 Wednesday – The voters of Nevada approved a new constitution by a margin as large as they’d defeated the earlier one months before, five to one. The main reason for approval was the removal of the tax on mines, making it a tax only on proceeds [Fatout, MT in VC 149].
The following six local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Terrible Calamity,” “Amende Honorable,” “Christian Fair,” “In Bad Company,” “Police Court Sentences,” and “Come to Grief” [Branch, C of Call 297].

September 7 and 8 Thursday – The Democratic State Convention met in San Francisco to nominate candidates for Congress, and also presidential electors pledged to General George B. McClellan.
James Norman Gillis (1830-1907), Steve’s older brother, was a delegate from Tuolumne County, Calif., a mining district in the Sierra foothills. Sam liked James instantly. James enjoyed a good story, was highly literate and trained as a doctor. Sam covered the convention for the Call.

September 8 Thursday – The following six local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam:
“Democratic State Convention,” “The Ladies’ Fair,” “Captain Kidd’s Statement,” “Earthquake,” “Mark Mayer Ahead on the Home Stretch,” and “Beautiful Work” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 9 Friday – The following four local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Mrs. Hall’s Smelting Furnace,” “Charitable Contributions,” “Democratic Ratification Meeting,” and “Cross Swearing” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 10 Saturday – The following five local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam:
“Curiosities,” “A Philanthropic Nation,” “Race for the Occidental Hotel Premium,” “Discharged,” and “Doing a General Business” [Branch, C of Call 298].

The Golden Era announced that Bret Harte was editor of the magazine. Harte would be editor until Nov. 19, 1864; and again from Dec. 9 to 30, 1865 [Benson 119].

September 11 Sunday – The following two local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Attempted Assassination of a Detective Officer,” and “Large” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 13 Tuesday – The following seven local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “The Camanche,” “An Abolition Outrage,” “Sad Accident—Death of Jerome Rice,” “Lost Children,” “Police Target Excursion,” “Sent Up,” and “Plethoric” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 14 Wednesday – The following two local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Two Hundred Dollars Reward,” and “Board of Education” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 15 Thursday – The following six local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “An Ingenious Contrivance,” “Mining Machinery,” “Interesting Litigation,” “A Specimen Case,” “Strange Coincidence,” and “County Hospital Developments” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 16 Friday – The following eight local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam:
“Suicide of Dr. Raymond,” “More Donations,” “The Alleged Swindling,” “Vegetable Boquets,” “Extraordinary Enterprise,” “Officer Rose Recovering,” “Night Blooming Cereus,” and “For the East” [Branch, C of Call 298].

September 17 Saturday – Sam wrote from San Francisco to William Wright (Dan De Quille) about Sam selling his furniture and about debts. Sam was tired of night work on the Call:

“I don’t work after 6 in the evening, now on the ‘Call.’ I got disgusted with night work.”

Sam’s new deal with George Barnes, owner of the Call, was for shorter hours and less pay [MTL 1: 309]. In his Autobiography Sam related the changes and finding a new assistant to help him with the work:

September 18 Sunday – Sam’s article, “Due Warning,” which identified himself as “Mark Twain” appeared in the Morning Call. The piece was about a stolen hat [ET&S 2: 59; Branch, C of Call 135].
Also, six other local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Cruelty to Animals,” “Theatrical Record: Maguire’s Opera House,” “The Election of Coroner,” “Take One!,” “Suffering for Opinion’s Sake,” and “The Chinese Banquet” [Branch, C of Call 299].

September 20 Tuesday – The following seven local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “The ‘Board’ and the Rincon School,” “Mayhem,” “The Chinese Banquet,” “Camanche Matters,” “Board of Supervisors,” “The Theatres, Etc,: Maguire’s Opera House,” and “The Theatres, Etc,: Wilson-Zoyara Circus” [Branch, C of Call 299].

September 21 Wednesday – The following eight local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Street Obstructions,” “The New Poundkeeper,” “Stabbed,” “A Terrible Weapon,” “Judgments Against a Steamship Company,” “Earthquake,” “Out of Jail,” and “Board of Education” [Branch, C of Call 299].

September 22 Thursday – The following eight local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Strike of the Steamer Employes,” “Very Foolish Policy,” “Weller’s Bust,” “The Consequences of Indefiniteness,” “Queer Fish,” “Trial of a Hackman,” “Female Assault,” and “Stabbing Case” [Branch, C of Call 299].

September 23 Friday – The following three local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Farewell Address of Dr. Bellows,” “Arrested for Riot,” and “Dedication of Bush Street School” [Branch, C of Call 299].

September 24 Saturday – The following three local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Ah Sow Discharged,” “Children at the Fair,” and “Ellen French Fined” [Branch, C of Call 299].

September 25 Sunday – Sam wrote from San Francisco to his mother, and sister Pamela that he had been in San Francisco:

September 27 Tuesday – The following four local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Boat Salvage,” “A Whale Beached,” “Narrow Escape,” and “Nuisance” [Branch, C of Call 300].

NUISANCE

September 28 Wednesday – Sam wrote from San Francisco to Orion and Mollie. He discussed work on a book, which ultimately would become Roughing It, from scrapbooks Orion had kept of the 1861-4 period. He also claimed that Oct. 24 would be the wedding day of Steve Gillis and Miss Emeline Russ “who is worth $100,000, & what is better, is a good, sensible girl & will make an excellent wife” [MTL 1: 315]. Note: Miss Russ decided before that date to marry another.
An article attributed to Sam, “Answer to a Mining Company’s Suit,” ran in the Call [Branch, C of Call 300].

September 29 Thursday – The following four local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “Advice to Witnesses,” “Demonstrative Anatomy,” “The Deaf Mutes at the Fair,” and “After Mortimer” [Branch, C of Call 300].

September 30 Friday – The following six local articles in the Call are attributed to Sam: “For the Santa Barbara Sufferers,” “The Jewish New Year,” “More Children,” “Robbery,” “Day of Atonement,” and “Dog Theft” [Branch, C of Call 300].

October – Sometime between this month and mid-1865, Sam wrote a parody of Poe’s “The Raven,” called “The Mysterious Chinaman,” for the album of Jim Gillis’ daughter, Mary Elizabeth Gillis. Sam wrote at the top of the manuscript, “Written for M.E.G.’s Album.” Sam had read Poe and knew the poem well. He also wrote a prose parody of it in his Dec. 20, 1867 letter to the Enterprise [ET&S 2: 62-3].

October 1 Saturday – Sam’s first contribution to the Californian was published, a piece titled, “A Notable Conundrum,” about the Fourth Industrial Fair of the Mechanics’ Institute of San Francisco [MTL 1: 314; ET&S 2: 66]. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 3 1864, Sam wrote ten weekly articles for the Californian, which paid twelve dollars each [MTNJ 1: 65].
Meanwhile, Sam continued to write local items for the Morning Call. The following two items are attributed to him: “Great Excitement,” and “Damages Awarded” [Branch, C of Call 300].