Jan McCutcheon
English 48B
Journal on Twain/Tahoe

Author Quote: “Sam Clement’s literary reputation was once again in shambles, and he literally fled Nevada in moral fear. What went wrong? What self-destructive demons had seized him?” (Lankford 133).

Internet Quote: “We published a rumor, the other day, that the moneys collected at the Carson Fancy Dress Ball were to be diverted from the Sanitary Fund and sent forward to aid a "miscegenation" or some other sort of Society in the East. We also stated that the rumor was a hoax. And it was - we were perfectly right. However, four ladies are offended. We cannot quarrel with ladies - the very thought of such a thing is repulsive; neither can we consent to offend them even unwittingly - without being sorry for the misfortune, and seeking their forgiveness, which is a kindness we hope they will not refuse. We intended no harm, as they would understand easily enough if they knew the history of this offense of ours, but we must suppress that history, since it would rather be amusing than otherwise, and the amusement would be at our expense. We have no love for that kind of amusement - and the same trait be longs to human nature generally. One lady complained that we should at least have answered the note they sent us. It is true. There is small excuse for our neglect of a common politeness like that, yet we venture to apologize for it, and will still hope for pardon, just the same. We have noticed one thing in this whole business - and also in many an instance which has gone before it - and that is, that we resemble the majority of our species in the respect that we are very apt to get entirely in the wrong, even when there is no seeming necessity for it; but to offset this vice, we claim one of the virtues of our species, which is that we are ready to repair such wrongs when we discover them” (reprinted in Mark Twain of the Enterprise, (Univ. of California Press, 1957), pp. 197-98).

Summary: When the Civil War stopped river traffic and ruined his career as a riverboat pilot, Sam Clements moved to Carson City with his brother, and then to Tahoe with his friend John Kinney. He enjoys one of the most wonderful periods of his life floating around in a canoe on Lake Tahoe. They decide to stake a timber claim and seek their fortune in the logging industry. After accidentally burning the trees to the ground, he moved on to any job he can get, including writing for the local paper. After meeting Artemis Ward and continuing in his rollicking bad boy bachelor behavior culminating in “accidentally” releasing a scandalous article on “miscegenation.” If not already in enough trouble, he then challenging the editor of the Union to a duel. Escaping that alive, he sneaks out of town and moves to San Francisco. The question remains, was he a closet Confederate or just a bad boy who recklessly fails to consider the consequences of what he says.


Response: I think Sam Clements was the Robert Downy Jr. of his time. He was brilliant but also reckless and self destructive. When his alter ego Mark Twain got out, it sometimes caused him trouble, but later in life he learned to control it and it might have been the muse that helped him write. As he got older, he got better at controlling his impulses but retained the ability to criticize some of society’s most sacred ideas such as wealth, slavery, religion and war. I think like most artists, he had a dark side. He was able to see the bigger meanings and contradictions in many things that other people did not bother to think about. He saw the hypocrisy of man and through his writing and lectures found a way to satirize man’s follies without getting into trouble. Fortunately for us, he managed to channel this energy into writing that we can still enjoy today.