Under the laws of the district, work of a certain character
must be done upon the claim within ten days after location in order to
establish the right of possession. Mark was called away to the bedside
of a sick friend, Higbie failed to receive Mark's note, and the work was
never done--each thinking it was being properly attended to by the
other. On their return, they discovered that their claim was
"re-located," and that millions had slipped from their grasp! The very
stars in their courses seemed to fight to force young Clemens into
literature. Had Samuel Clemens become a millionaire at this time, it is
virtually certain that there would have been no Mark Twain.
After one day more of heartless prospecting, Clemens "dropped in" at the
wayside post-office. It was the hour of fate! A letter awaited him
there. We cannot call it accident--it was the result of forces and
events which had long been converging toward this end. Samuel Clemens
began his career as an itinerant, tramping "jour" printer.
Pages:
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54