Day By Day Dates

September 1 Sunday – Sam’s “Holy Land Excursion. Letter from Mark Twain Number Four” dated July 1 at “Tangier, Africa” ran in the Alta California [McKeithan 30-36].

September 1–2 Monday – Sam wrote from Constantinople to his mother and family, listing all the letters he had sent to the Alta. He had not seen these in print so asked his mother if they had appeared. He complains that his room mate, Dan Slote, “…had got the stateroom pretty full of rubbish at last, but a while ago his dragoman arrived with a bran new, ghastly tomb-stone of the Oriental pattern, with his name handsomely carved & gilded on it in Turkish characters. That fellow will buy a Circassian slave, next” [MTL 2: 89].

September 2 Monday – Sam inscribed a Bible he took on the trip: “Saml. L. Clemens / Constantinople, / Sept. 2, 1867. / Please return this book to stateroom No. 10 in case you happen to borrow it” [Gribben 66].

September 3 Tuesday – QC passengers, including Sam, visited Scutari, a suburb of Constantinople, during the day; QC departed Constantinople at 10 PM.

September 5 Thursday – QC arrived at Smyrna at 10AM.

September 6 Friday – QC passengers, including Sam, visited Ephesus in the day. QC departed Smyrna at 11 PM. 

September 7 Saturday – Skandera gives this as the date Sam first saw the miniature of Olivia Langdon. Note: She cites Dewey Ganzel, 1968, who cites Sam’s reminiscences, which did not include a date. Still, this may indeed be the very date.

September 8 Sunday – From Sam’s notebook: “Isle of Samos St. Paul. Isle of Patmos St John’s Revelations. Isle of Rhodes, where the Colossus stood. St. Paul. Isle of Cyprus—Be at Beirut Sept. 10” [MTNJ 1: 416].

Sam’s “Holy Land Excursion. Letter from Mark Twain Number Six” dated July 16 ran in the Alta California [McKeithan 41-7].

September 10 Tuesday – QC arrived at Beirut before dawn.

September 11 Wednesday – Clemens, Dr. George Birch, William Church, Joshua Davis, William Denny, Julius Moulton, Dan Slote, and Jack Van Nostrand left Beirut, Lebanon on horseback at 3 PM. They camped that night about ten miles east of the city.

September 12 Thursday – The group broke camp at 6:30 AM and stayed that night near Zahlah, about two thirds of the way between Beirut and Baalbek. From Sam’s notebook:

“Passed up the Valley & camped on l. side under the dews of Hermon. –first passing through a dirty Arab village & visiting the tomb of Noah, of Deluge notoriety” [MTNJ 1: 417].

September 13 Friday – Sam and group broke camp at 6:30 AM and visited Baalbek before returning south to camp at Sirghaya.

September 14 Saturday – Sam and group arrived at Damascus.

September 15 Sunday – From Sam’s notebook:

September 16 Monday – Sam and group left Damascus at noon, and camped that night at Kefr Hauwar. Meanwhile, the QC arrived at Mt. Carmel at 10 AM and left again at noon, arriving at Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv) at 8 PM.

September 17 Tuesday – Sam and group departed Kefr Hauwar in the AM and camped that night at Baniyas, once the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi. From Sam’s notebook:

September 18 Wednesday – Sam and group departed Baniyas at 7:15 AM, and camped that night at Ain Mellahah, near Lake Huleh (now called Bahret el Hule). From Sam’s notebook:

“It was first, ages ago, the Phoenician Laish—a lot of Danites from Sodom, 600, came over, like a pack of adventurers as they were, captured the place & lived there as sort of luxurious agriculturists, till Abraham hazed them in after times” [MTNJ 1: 422].

September 19 Thursday – Sam and group left Ain Mellahah at 7 AM and camped that night at Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee.

September 20 Friday – Sam and group left Tiberias in the AM and camped that night at Nazareth.

September 21 Saturday – Sam and group left Nazareth and camped that night at Janin. From Sam’s notebook:

“Left Nazareth & its chalk hills at 7.30 [AM], came down a high, steep mountain & galloped across the Plain of Esdraelon to Endor, the rustiest of all, almost—a few nasty mud cabin,—many caves & holes in the hill from which the fierce, ragged, dirty inhabitants swarmed. Pop. 250” [MTNJ 1: 427].

September 22 Sunday – Sam and group left Janin at 2 AM and camped that night at Lubban. From Sam’s notebook:

“Camped at 7 PM at an Arab Village—Lubia (Libonia of the Bible). Tents behind. Slept on the ground in front of an Arab house. Lice, fleas, horses, jackasses, chickens, & worse than all, Arabs for company all night” [MTNJ 1: 431].

September 23 Monday – Sam and group left Lubban at 2:30 AM and reached Jerusalem at noon.

September 24 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Jerusalem at the Mediterranean Hotel to Mr. Esais ordering a Bible to be sent to his mother. He forwarded the note with a Mr. Weintraub [MTL 2: 94-5]. Note: this Bible is now at the MTP.

September 25 Wednesday – Sam and group left Jerusalem at 8 AM for a two-day side trip, camping that night near Jericho.

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.