St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-10
MARK TWAIN,S ESCAPE.

cnlne SHOPS OI Jilo ROAD, Killing several per-
sons and wounding number.
MARK TwAIN,s ESCAPE.
How he Came Near Becoming a Boz
nanza King.
From the San Francisco Alta
Mark Twain's narrow escape from be-
coming pocket miner has never been told
1t is worth recording, as it gave him the
story of the jumping Frog" and sent him
off along the line of the literary lode and
set him to searching therein for pockets of
fun.
In 1865, Mark wearied of Bohemian life
in San Francisco and went up into the mining
regions of Calaveras county to rusticate with
some old friends-Steve, Jim and Billy
Gillis. Jim Gillis was, and still is, one of
the most expert pocket miners in California.
Although educated with a view eventually
to fight the battle of life as physician. and
though still finding solace in his leisure
moments in the works of Greek and Latin
authors repOsing on shelf in his cabin, Jim
Gillis is booked for life as pocket miner.
The business has charms for him that he
cannot break away from-he is bound to it
in chains Of gold. Show him particle of
quartz gold ON the side of mountain. and
if it came to where it was found through
the processes of accidents of nature, undis-
turbed in any way by the interference of
man, he will as unerringly trace it to it's source
as the bee-hunter will follow the bee to it's
hoard of sweets.
Mark Twain found the Bohemian STYLE of
mining practiced by the ''Gillis boys" much
more attractive than those more regular
kinds which call for large outlay of mus
oJo md +oo h IL
search of golden pockets, and spent some
an undiscovered deposit. They were on
the golden 'sbee line'' and stuck to it faith
fully, though it was necessary to carry
each sample of dirt a considerable distance
to small straem in the bed up a canyon
in order to pan it out. Each step made
sure by golden grains, they at last came
upon the pocket which had thrown these
grains off. 1t was cold, dreary. driz-
zling day when the ''home depositv was
found. The first sample carried to the
stream and washed out yielded but a few
cents. Although the right vein had been
discovered, they had as yet found but the
''tail end' of the pocket. Returning to the
vein, they dug sample from new place
and were about to carry it down to the ra-
vine and test it when the rain began to pour
down heavily. With chattering teeth.
Mark declared he would remain no longer.
He said there was no sense in freezing to
death, as in day or two, when it was bright
and warm, they could return and pursue
their investigations in comfort. Yielding
to Marks entreaties, backed as they were
by his blue nose, bumped back and gener-
ally miserable and detected appearance.
Jim emptied the sacks of dirt upon the
ground, first having hastily written and
posted up notice of their claim to a. GER
tain number of feet on the vein. which no
tice would hold good for thirty days. An
gels camp being at no great distance from
the spot, while their cabin was some miles
away, Mark and Jim struck out for
that place. The only hotel in
the little mining camp was kept by one
Coon Drayton, an old Mississippi river pi-
lot, and at his house the half-drowned
pocket miners found shelter. Mark Twain
having formerly followed the business of
pilot on the Mississippi river he and Coon
were soon great friends and swapped scores
of yarns. 1t continued to rain for three
days, and until the weather cleared up
Mark and Jim remained at Coon's hotel.
|, The story of the Jumping Frog"was one
of the yarns told Mark by Coon during the
three days session, and it struck him as be-
ing so comical that he determined to write
it up. When he returned to the Gillis cabin
Mark set to work upon the frog story.
He also wrote some sketches of life in the
mountains and the mine for some of the
San Francisco papers.
Mark did not think much of the frog
story, even after it had received the finish
ing touches. He gave the preference to
o4b 4bo,.c cir H.
papers for which he was writing. Steve
ellis, however, declared that the frog story
was the best thing Mark had written, and
advised him so save it for book of sketches
he was talking of publishing A literary
turn having been given to the thought of
the inmates Of the Gillis cabin, month
passed without a return to the business of
pocket mining.
While the days were passed by Mark
and his friends in discussing the merits of
the jumping Frog" and other literary
matters, other prospectors were not idle
A trio of Austrian miners who were out in
search Of gold-bearing quartz happened
upon the spot where Mark and Jim had dug
into their ledge. 1t was but few days
after Twain and Gillis had retreated from
the place in the pouring rain. The Aus
trians were not little aStOniShed at seeing
the ground glittering with gold.
Where the dirt emptied from the sacks
had been dissolved and washed away by the
rain, lay some three ounces of bright
quartz gold. The foreigners were not
long in gathering this, but the speedy dis
covery of the notice forbade their delving
into the deposit whence it came. They
could only wait and ''watch and pray"
This hope was that the parties who had
posted up the notice would not return while
it held good.
The sun that rose on the day after the
trians in possession of the ground with
notice on their own conspicuously and de-
family posted. The new owners cleaned
out the pocket, obtaining from it, in a few
days, little over $780,
Had Mark Twain's backbone held out
little longer, the sacks of dirt would have
been washed and the grand discovery made.
He would not then have gone to Angels
camp and would probably never have heard
OF written the story of the Jumping Frog
story that gave him his first boost in the lit
erary world, as the Heather Chinee" gave
Bret Harte his first lift up the ladder. Had
Mark found the gold that was captured by
the Austrians he would have settled down
as pocket miner. He would never have
given up the chase, and till this day, gray as
badger, he would have been pounding
quartz, with Jim Gillis for his ''pard, I"
in cabin somewhere in the Sierra Nevada
mountains.
Wants to Retire.
NUvv HAVEN Conn Nav Q-Rnv T