Slinking in San Francisco: Day By Day

August 13 Sunday – S. Browne Jones’ seventh article appeared in the Era [Fatout, MT Speaks 19].

August 26 Saturday – Sam’s article “The Facts” ran in the Californian. By now Sam was writing daily letters to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, and had not contributed to the weekly literary Californian for seven weeks [ET&S 2: 250].

August 27 Sunday – S. Browne Jones’ eighth article appeared in the Era [Fatout, MT Speaks 19]. Note: Fatout claims eight letters by Jones to the Era between July 2 and this date. Other sources list only the first three.

August 4 Friday – Pamela Moffett’s husband, Sam’s brother-in-law, William Anderson Moffett, died. Widowed just short of 38 years of age, Pamela never remarried. Daughter Annie was thirteen, son Sammy, not quite five [MTL 1: 382].

August 6 Sunday – S. Browne Jones’ sixth article appeared in the Era [Fatout, MT Speaks 19].

Fitz Smythe & Corrupt Cops – Sandwich Islands –Volcanoes & Captain Cook
Sacramento Union Letters – Anson Burlingame – Hornet Disaster
Hymns on the Smyrniote – “Trouble begins at 8”– First Lecture tour
Virginia City Homecoming – Robbed on the Divide – San Francisco Lectures
Isthmus with Ned Wakeman – Cholera Aboard

December 1 Friday – Sam’s article “How is That?” another poke at Albert Evans, ran in the San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle [ET&S 2: 509].

December 10–31 Sunday – Sam’s item, “A Graceful Compliment,” in which Sam is introduced to the income tax, was probably part of Sam’s regular San Francisco letter. The item ran during this period in the Enterprise [ET&S 2: 388].

December 12 Tuesday – Sam took on the police for a “Shameful Attack on a Chinaman” in the article “Our Active Police” which ran in the San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle [ET&S 2: 511].

December 13 Wednesday – Sam wrote from San Francisco to Orion and Mollie. Another hope and plan to sell the Tennessee Land came to naught. This time Sam had entertained an offer to sell the land for $200,000 to Herman Camp, an early locator on the Comstock Lode, who wanted to turn it into a vineyard and make wine. Orion’s “temperance virtue was suddenly on him in strong force.” The deal fell through and caused great friction between the Clemens brothers [MTL 1: 326].

December 13–15 Friday – Sam’s article, “Christian Spectator,” taken from Sam’s San Francisco Letter, dated Dec. 11, was printed in the Enterprise. Sam commented indirectly on the “incendiary religious matter about hell-fire, and brimstone, and wicked young men knocked endways by a streak of lightening while in the act of going fishing on Sunday,” as espoused by Rev. Fitzgerald of the Minna Street Methodist Church in a publication by the same name as the article. Other segments from Sam’s S.F.

December 16 Saturday – “Jim Smiley and the Jumping Frog,” was reprinted by Bret Harte in the Californian. Uncertain about the fate of the story he’d sent George W. Carleton, Sam showed Bret Harte (editor of the Californian) a version that renamed the central character Greeley instead of Smiley and also used Angels camp, the real name, instead of Noomerang. Harte liked the story. Along with the changes, the story got a new title: “The Celebrated Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County” [Schmidt].

December 16–17 Sunday – Sam’s San Francisco Letter dated Dec. 13 ran in the Enterprise: “Managerial” (about Edwin Forrest,) and “Not a Suicide” [ET&S 2: 209].

December 1865–January 1866 – Sometime this month, or at least before Jan. 20, 1866, Sam recalled years later:
“I put the pistol to my head but wasn’t man enough to pull the trigger. Many times I have been sorry I did not succeed, but I was never ashamed of having tried” [MTL 1: 325].
Fanning claims this act was a “direct result, evidently, of something his elder brother [Orion] had done [p. xv]. There is nothing “evident” however, about Orion’s influence creating suicidal thoughts in Sam, rather those of the murderous variety.
Portion of San Francisco Letter: Those Oysters.

December 19 Tuesday – Sam’s San Francisco Letter with this date ran sometime later in the month in the Enterprise. Sections: “Thief Catching,” “Caustic,” “I Knew It,” “Macdougall vs. Maguire,” “Louis Aldrich,” and “Gould and Curry” [Schmidt: The last four items are known to have existed but no text is available].

THIEF-CATCHING

December 19–21 Thursday – Sam’s sketch, “Grand Fete-Day at the Cliff House,” was printed in the Enterprise and reprinted on Dec. 23 in the San Francisco Examiner [ET&S 2: 399].
The following celebrated artistes have been engaged at a ruinous expense, and will perform the following truly marvelous feats:

December 2 Saturday – The Napa County Reporter published another of Sam’s letters, which included “Webb’s Benefit” [MTL 1: 325; ET&S 2: 380]. Sam’s article, “Mark Twain Overpowered” was printed in the Californian [reprinting of “Uncle Lige” from the Territorial Enterprise]. [Schmidt].

December 22–23 Saturday –Sam’s San Francisco Letter, included “Macdougall vs. Maguire” was datelined the 20 and printed in the Enterprise [ET&S 2: 402]. Also included: “The New Swimming Bath,” “Buckingham,” “The ‘Eccentrics’,” – and the following texts not available: “Mining Operations,” “Major Farren,” and “Sam Brannan” [Schmidt].

December 23 Saturday – Sam’s original sketches, “The Christmas Fireside. For Good Little Boys and Girls. By Grandfather Twain,” and “The Story of the Bad Little Boy That Bore a Charmed Life” and “Enigma” were printed in the Californian [Budd, “Collected” 1006]. These stories were the germ for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Once there was a bad little boy, whose name was Jim—though, if you will notice, you will find that bad little boys are nearly always called James in your Sunday-school books. It was very strange, but still it was true, that this one was called Jim.

December 24 or 26 Tuesday – (the Enterprise did not publish on Mondays) – Sam’s San Francisco Letter, dated Dec. 20, included, EDITORIAL POEM, FACETIOUS, MAYO AND ALDRICH, FINANCIAL, PERSONAL, MOCK DUEL—ALMOST, AND “MORE WISDOM!.” The letter contained more scattered attacks on Albert Evans [ET&S 2: 336].

December 25 Monday – Christmas – The following articles supposed to be by Twain, ran in the San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle:
OUR NEW JUDGE

December 26–27 Wednesday – Taken from Sam’s San Francisco Letter, dated Dec. 23, were “Gardner Indicted,” “Extraordinary Delicacy,” “Shooting,” “Another Enterprise,” and “Spirit of the Local Press,” printed in the Territorial Enterprise [ET&S 2: 413].

December 29 Friday – Sam’s San Francisco Letter given this date was published in the Enterprise sometime in Jan. 1866. Sections: “Busted,” “Inspiration of Louderback,” “A Pleasant Farce,” “Personal,” (no text available for the last two items) and:

THE BLACK HOLE OF SAN FRANCISCO

December 31 Sunday – “Convicts” is part of a San Francisco Letter dated Dec. 28 and published in the Enterprise. On Dec. 10 a group of five Comstock reporters sat for a group portrait at Sutterly Brothers in Virginia City, afterwards making the rounds of saloons and ordering a banquet at the International Hotel. All five men were old friends of Sam. Some one (I do not know who,) left me a card photograph, yesterday, which I do not know just what to do with. It has the names of Dan De Quille, W. M. Gillespie, Alf. Doten, Robert Lowery and Charles A.

December 5 Tuesday – Sam’s article “Delightful Romance” ran in the San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle, a summary of an Albert Evans article which appeared the day before in the Alta California [ET&S 2: 510].