February 6 Saturday – Lewis Griswold wrote from Centerville, Mont. after reading RI:

Mark Twain, / Sir. I have just been reading your “Roughing It,” And I have laught untill the tears run down my cheeks at your confounded Oddities and lies. Beemis’es adventures with his Buffalo bull, fir-instance And Jim Blaines story of the Old ram Oh! get out, its enough to make a monkey laugh—And that land slide case of Hyde and Morgans its bully. But I was sorry that you hadent got a little “tighter” and spun us a good yarn about the “maid of the milky way” or the “man in the moon” Their courtship fir instance. Or a yarn about the “Mermaid and Man”—You could have dovetailed them in somewhere and made it interesting, but never the less you will have his enough to account for any how. God have mercy uppon your soul. But I am afraid Mark you are a poor Reformer you aint good at the stick, witness when you threw away your pipe in the snow drift with poor Bllou and Ollendorff—But you aint alone in that respect. Then I think you are a very little lazey, or else you would have done that days work, and been a “Millionaire” If I were “Cal Higbie” I would curs you as long as I lived.—Mark do you think you would know a “Genuine Mexican Plug” from an American if you were to see one now? Ha, ha, ha. Oh! my buttons, Well Mark, to sume you up all in all, I think you have depicted yourselfe pretty well on page 557—God have mercy on your Soule

Your description of California Life and cenes are good, I am an Old California Tramp myself and can appreciate the “eternal fitness of things” to a nicety—Your Old Friend Claggett is over, in Deer Lodge, Mining and lecturing once in a while, if he dident freese to death last winter.—Now Mark I want you to send me your Autograph and Likeness, that I may have it to say: that I have the Picture of the funniest man and the D——Dest liar in the World— / Lew. Griswold

P.S. I had to swallow two Whales an a young Porpoise to get up Brain material for this effort, and if I don’t get that Picter I shall week and (Whale) for a thousan years / L.G.— / Excuse pencil, had no ink in cabin [MTP]. Note: Clemens was evidently put off by this letter as he wrote on it, “Respectfully declined.”

Hurd & Houghton Co. wrote an offer to Clemens.

Confidential

Dear Sir: We should like to ask your favorable consideration of a scheme which we have formed, in carrying out which your cooperation would be of great value. We have been struck with the comparatively slight attention paid by American publishers to American fiction. In the various “libraries of select fiction” American authors find small place, and the general style of presentation is rarely such as to attract public notice. We ourselves have published but few novels, except the standard ones, of Dickens & Cooper, but it is our wish, having no entanglements with modern British novelists, to make a specialty of the publication of bright, short American novels, giving them all the prominence which very careful attention to the printing and binding can secure, making them cheap, advertising them widely and securing thus popularity for the several books and all possible reputation as well as profit for the authors.

….

Pray set down any excessive to our enthusiasm and not to any spirit of brag, and let us ask if we may not count on you for No I in this series? We trust you will give this matter favorable consideration and we should be glad to confer further with you, either personally or by letter. Meanwhile have the kindness to regard our communication as confidential as we wish to perfect our plans before any part of them become public [MTPO]. Note: Sam declined on Feb. 12.

February 6 or 7 Sunday – In Hartford, Sam sent the first of five telegrams to attorneys Frank Tilford & A. Hagan about an announced, unauthorized Gilded Age play about to be performed in Salt Lake City. Willie Gill was to play the part of Col. Sellers. The writer of the adaptation was unknown. Sam claimed that there had been three piracies of his play. The U.S. Marshall canceled the show with a writ of injunction on Feb. 8 [MTL 6: 371-3].

Around Feb. 6, Sam sent $20 to Will Bowen for his brother Sam Bowen, who had asked for a loan [MTL 6: 423n1].