September 26 Thursday – Sam and group left Jericho at 2 AM and visited the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Sam swam in the north end of the Dead Sea and tried to ride his horse into it, but fell off [Rasmussen 107]. That night they camped at Mar Saba.

At two in the morning they routed us out of bed—another piece of unwarranted cruelty—another stupid effort of our dragoman to get ahead of a rival. It was not two hours to the Jordan. However, we were dressed and under way before any one thought of looking to see what time it was, and so we drowsed on through the chill night air and dreamed of camp fires, warm beds, and other comfortable things [IA Ch. 55].

Sam’s “Holy Land Excursion. Letter from Mark Twain Number Nine” dated July “Abroad in Italy” ran in the Alta California [McKeithan 66-71].