October 11 Tuesday – In Kaltenleutgeben, Austria, Sam wrote to the Paul E. Wirt Fountain Pen Co., Bloomsburg, Penn. with what appears to have been a prepared testimonial:

With a single Wirt Pen I have earned the family’s living for many years. With two, I could have grown rich. / Mark Twain [MTP].

Note: See insert: 1904 advertisement claimed that Sam used the Wirt pen for 25 years, or since 1879.