February 27 Sunday – The Aleck Scott arrived in St. Louis
Sam Clemens on the Mississippi: Day By Day
March 1 Tuesday – The Aleck Scott left for New Orleans.
March 8 Tuesday – The Aleck Scott arrived in New Orleans
March 9 and 11 Friday – In New Orleans, Sam began a long letter to sister Pamela Moffett, that he finished on Mar. 11. He wrote of the Mardi Gras, and Maria Piccolomini, an Italian “princess” singer
Here, in part:
. . . . [first part not extant]
March 11 Friday – In New Orleans, Clemens finished the Mar. 9 letter to his sister:
New Orleans, Friday 11th.
March 19 Saturday – The Aleck Scott arrived in St. Louis
March 21 Monday – The Aleck Scott left for New Orleans.
March 27 Sunday – The Aleck Scott arrived in New Orleans
March 31 Thursday – The Aleck Scott left for St. Louis
April 8 Friday – The Aleck Scott arrived in St. Louis
April 9 Saturday – Sam was granted a license as a full steamboat pilot from the Department of Commerce in St. Louis. Until May 1861, Sam had the “best job in the world.” Note: Until copies of Sam’s pilot license surfaced in the late 1930s, it was thought by Paine, DeVoto and others (from Sam’s autobiographical estimates of eighteen months from his apprenticeship under Bixby,) that the date was Sept. 9, 1858. Sam may have recollected being allowed to pilot crafts without passengers prior to the issuance of his license, which would have been lawful at that time [The Twainian, Nov. 1939].
May 4 Wednesday – Now a full pilot, Sam left St. Louis on the Alfred T. Lacey, copiloted by Bart Bowen (brother of Sam and Will Bowen), under Captain John P. Rodney, for New Orleans. “A pilot, in those days, was the only unfettered and entirely independent human being that lived in the earth” [LM; MTL 1: 14].
May 8 Sunday – Sam used the pen name of “Sergeant Fathom” and wrote a piece parodying Isaiah Sellers, the river’s “only genuine Son of Antiquity” [LM, Ch. 50]. Sellers had been a fixture on the Mississippi since Missouri became a state. He wrote “river intelligence” for various newspapers. According to Andrew Hoffman, Sam thought Sellers was “egotistical, long-winded, and incapable of trimming a tale to his audience—the last sin unforgivable in Sam’s eyes” [58]. No story another pilot could tell was beyond being outdone by Sellers.
May 10 Tuesday – Alfred T. Lacey arrived in New Orleans.
May 14 Saturday – Alfred T. Lacey left for St. Louis.
May 17 Tuesday – Sam’s Isaiah Sellers satire “River Intelligence” was published in the New Orleans Crescent, signed by “Sergeant Fathom.” Sellers were so offended he vowed never again to write for the newspapers [ET&S 1: 126]. Sam would use “Sellers” as the name of his main character in the Gilded Age, another know-it-all, if somewhat more sympathetic.
May 21 Saturday – Alfred T. Lacey arrived in St. Louis.
June 25 Saturday – Sam piloted the J.C. Swon, (678 tons) under Captain Isaac H. Jones. Left for New Orleans.
July 1 Friday – J.C. Swon arrived in New Orleans
July 3 Sunday – J.C. Swon left for St. Louis.
July 6 Wednesday – Sam wrote to John T. “Tom” Moore from Memphis. Moore was a mud clerk on the Roe when Sam was a cub pilot there. The letter appeared in the Arkansaw Traveler July 14, 1883; the original has not been found and its authenticity is in doubt, though many elements argue for it being Sam’s [MTL 1: 91-2, n2; MTB 156]. Note: this may be the same Tom Moore that presented Sam for Masonic membership.
My Dear John:—
July 9 Saturday – J.C. Swon arrived in St. Louis
July 13 Wednesday – J.C. Swon left for New Orleans.
July 19 Tuesday – J.C. Swon arrived in New Orleans.
July 21 Thursday – J.C. Swon left for St. Louis. A sketch, “Soleather Cultivates His Taste for Music,” appeared in the New Orleans Crescent, signed by “Soleather,” attributed by Branch to Samuel Clemens [Branch, “A Chronological”; MTL 1: 93n2]. (See July 11, 1857 entry for Sam’s comments about the Rufus J. Lackand, and a note on Marleau’s recent research disputing these dates)