August 1 Thursday – Sam left the family at Lake Saranac, N.Y. and traveled to N.Y.C. arriving late in the evening [July 31 to Rogers]. He took rooms on the first floor of the Grosvenor Hotel, and complained that “the bed was hard as Maryborough” [Aug. 2 to Livy].
Check # Payee Amount [Notes]
292 George VW Durquee 250.00 Saranac Cabin rent
August 2 Friday – At 3 p.m. in N.Y.C. Sam wrote from Rogers’ office to Livy in Lake Saranac, N.Y.
August 3 Saturday – H.H. Rogers’ yacht Kanawha returned to N.Y.C. at 10 a.m. Sam went ashore to shop. At noon he wrote Livy aboard the yacht, just before they sailed.
August 4 Sunday – Sam’s ship log:
August 4, Sunday. Reached Fairhaven in the forenoon. Took on board Rev. Dr. Collyer & Rev. Minot Savage. The ship has been searched [for the umbrella], but without result. Rain. Laying of the corner-stone of the Memorial Church post-poned a day, in consequence [MTP].
Note: Rev. Dr. Robert Collyer (1828-1912), pastor of Rogers’ NY Church of the Messiah, and Rev. Minot Judson Savage (1841-1918), Unitarian minister, were likely guests on the Kanawha; they are not mentioned thereafter on the ship’s log.
August 5 Monday – The Kanawha stopped in Fairhaven, Mass. There, they attended the laying of a cornerstone for the Unitarian Memorial Church, which Rogers was donating in memory of his mother. Sam gave a speech honoring H.H. Rogers. The Hartford Courant covered the ceremonies on Aug. 8, p. 10.
MARK TWAIN’S LATEST SPEECH.
It Was at a Religious Ceremony in Massachusetts.
(New Bedford Standard, Tuesday.)
August 6 Tuesday –The Coes, Benjamins, and Mary Benjamin Rogers stayed in Fairhaven. The next twelve days were filled with excursions from port to port, poker, some light horseplay, good conversation, and jokes [MTHHR 468n1].
August 7 Wednesday – Sam’s ship log:
Went to Bar Harbor [Maine], & cast anchor. Drove about the region, acquiring information by pumping it out of the driver. The pump was manned by Col. Payne, spelled by Messrs. Rogers & Reed, subordinates.
Rain.
Dumplings.
Reflections upon the perils of property when it goes down to the sea in ships & encounters certain of the wonders of the deep.
August 8 Thursday – At Bar Harbor, Maine at 2:30 p.m. on the Kanawha Sam wrote to Livy.
“Livy dearest, the anchor is just down, & we shall go ashore presently. I shall telegraph you where to telegraph me—Halifax, probably. We still cannot make an itinerary. We shall leave word here (as we did in Portland) to hold letters & telegrams till we know of some sure point to send them to.”
August 9 Friday – In St. John, New Brunswick on the Kanawha, Sam wrote to Livy.
Livy darling, I got your telegram here yesterday afternoon, & was very glad indeed to hear from you. Give aunt Sue my love, & now that you’ve got her, hang on to her.
August 10 Saturday – The Kanawha anchored all day at St. John, New Brunswick [Aug. 11 to Livy].
Sam’s ship log: August 10, Saturday. St. John.
Reversible Falls. They have been discontinued, there not being tourists enough this season to make it pay [MTP].
August 11 Sunday – The yacht Kanawha was now headed for Digby, Nova Scotia, across the Bay of
Fundy from St. John. Sam kept a log of the trip, which reflects the high jinks among the passengers:
Sam’s ship log:
August 12 Monday – Sam’s ship log: August 12, Monday. Yarmouth.
Fog-bound.
Trip in the launch.
Poker. No results [MTP].
August 13 Tuesday – On Rogers’ yacht Kanawha Sam wrote from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Livy.
There is nothing to say, dearheart, except that I love you. So I will say that, & repeat it, then go ashore with the gang & take a drive—for the fog is still prevailing outside the harbor, & will continue to do it until the wind changes—if that ever happens.
August 14 Wednesday – On Rogers’ yacht Kanawha en route from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Bar Harbor, Maine, Sam wrote two letters to Livy. Sam’s first letter puts him at sea, his second at Bass’s Bay near Bar Harbor.
August 15 Thursday – The Kanawha stopped in Rockland, Maine, 40 miles n. of Bath [MTHHR 468n1].
Sam’s Ship log: August 15, Thursday. Bass’s Bay.
Fog.
August 16 Friday – The Kanawha was nearing Bath, Maine at noon on its return leg to N.Y.C. when Sam wrote to Livy. The letter was postmarked Aug. 17 from Bath.
August 17 Saturday – The Kanawha stopped in Portland, Maine where Thomas B. Reed disembarked.
Then it sailed directly for N.Y.C. [MTHHR 468 n1].
Sam’s log: August 17, Saturday.
Sailed early.
August 18 Sunday – The Kanawha arrived in New York City.
Sam’s last entry in his log: (insert drawn by Harry Rogers 1901)
New York. Cast anchor off the Recreation Dock in the evening. A final search for the umbrella produced nothing, except regret.
August 19 Monday – The estimated date of the Kanawha’s arrival in N.Y.C. Sam’s Aug. 16 to Livy expressed hope that he would find a letter from her at the Grosvenor Hotel. He spent one night there and took a delayed trip back to Saranac Lake the next day, Aug. 20.