October 14 Thursday – Sam’s letter to the California Pioneers of Oct. 11 ran in the New York Tribune [Camfield, bibliog.].

October 11 Monday – Sam wrote from Elmira to the California Pioneers regretfully passing on their invitation to a banquet at Delmonico’s in New York City. About 200 Californians had traveled across country from Sacramento a week before [MTL 3: 371-2].

October 9 Saturday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Schuyler Colfax, vice president under Grant. Colfax was returning to Washington from a visit to the Pacific states. Sam asked for letters of recommendation for Charles Langdon and Darius Ford, who were traveling to the West Coast.

October 8 Friday – Sam wrote to the Polar Star Mason Lodge of St. Louis, asking for a “demit,” an official release of membership to non-affiliate status [Jones 366]. Note: this letter not found in the MTP letters, and specifies Sam wrote from Buffalo, when he was in Elmira on this date, so the date is suspect.

October 7 Thursday – Sam wrote from Elmira to an unidentified person about a humorous article sent burlesquing Baron Alexander von Humboldt. Sam wrote he would lecture in Pittsburgh on Nov. 1 and then lecture in New England until Jan. 15 [MTL 3: 366-7].

October 2 Saturday – Sam’s signed article ran in the Express: “The Latest Novelty Mental Photographs.” A list of questions were received that were to “ferret out the most secret points of a man’s nature.” Here are a few: What is your idea of Happiness? – Finding all the buttons on. / Your idea of Misery? – Breaking an egg in your pocket. / What do you believe to be your Distinguishing Characteristic? – Hunger. / What is your Aim in life? – To endeavor to be absent when my time comes. / What is your Motto?

October 1 Friday – “Engineer Griffin,” attributed to Sam, appeared in the Express [McCullough 60].

September 30 Thursday – “The Ticket—Explanation” a signed article ran in the Buffalo Express [McCullough 59]. Note: this referred to by Reigstad in Sept. 29 entry.

September 29 Wednesday – The New York State Republican convention met in Syracuse. Josephus N. Larned telegraphed Sam with the results of the convention, “the slate of nominees for nine Republican posts for November’s nongubernatorial election. Twain had only to write it up. Knowing nothing about state politics, and swamped with supervisory chores, Twain crafted a humorous ‘noncommentary’ on the Republican choices that Buffalonians remembered for years afterward” [Reigstad 57]. Note: see Sept. 30 entry, and source p.

September 27 Monday – In Buffalo, Sam finished the letter to Mrs. Fairbanks, mentioning the brief visit to Buffalo of Prince Arthur, Queen Victoria’s third son.

“…none of his acts in Buffalo were noisy enough for future historical record. It was Veni, Vidi, Vici, with him. He came—he saw that lunch—he conquered it” [MTL 3: 356, 361n8].