December 30 Saturday – Sam signed a contract in Hartford for the play Ah Sin. Bret Harte and Charles Thomas Parsloe signed on Jan. 5, 1877 in New York [Duckett 127-8]. The three men were to share equally in the gross profits after deductions for certain expenses, such as printing and agency contracts with stage managers [See Duckett, p 128-9 for the main details].

Xantippe (Tip) Saunders probably left the Clemens home about this day.