Delaware gazette and state journal., 1902-11-13
MAnK rWAlN As 4 pRINrnn.
"Reminiscences of Ono Who Was with Hir
in Days Gone By.

in Days Gone isy.
Baltimore Sun.
1t was in the office of the Courier, a
small paper printed in Hannibal, Mo-,
that Samuel L. Clemens MARK Twain |
began to earn his own living some five
and forty years ago. 1t may be that
young Sam, even at that early stage of
what was destined to be a remarkable
career, dreamed of fame and fortune |
yet to come, but il he did it was while |
he was busily engaged in something |
more practical, for the duties of the |
future noted humorist in those days |
were numerous and varied. They in
cluded milking the EDITORS cow, cut
ting his wood, building fires, sweeping
out the office and all the various small
and dirty jobs that fall to the lot of
the devil in country print shop. In
the same Office at that time was COM
positor named Van de Lashmutt, "just
out Of his timeh and still in his teens.
Mr.. Lashmutt is now a we'll -to-do
mining operator of Spokane, Wash.
This early life of the humorist and
some of his strange adventures as q
reporter on the Enterprise Of Virginia
City, New, during the early days of
the mining excitement are thus enter
tainingly told for the first time by Mr..
de Lashmutt:
During his apprenticeship on the
Courier Clemens had to board in the
family Of the editor and proprietor,
who lived we'll out in the suburbs Of
the town, and in the morning was sup
posed to milk the COW and cut enough
stove wood for the day while waiting
for his breakfast, which must on week
days be served in time for the men to
get to their sork by O'Clock. He had
to get to the office a little earlier to
sweep out, build the fire, bring in a
bucket or two of water and later on to
out and bring in sufficient firewood to
last over the following day. The arrival
of the stage was Samuel's opportunity.
1t was the only bright spot in his
monotonous routine work, for it gave
him an opportunity to go to the post
Office and frequently wait for two or
three hours until its arrival In the
meantime, he had to tell every other
man he met about what time to come
around in order to catch the editor in
his office. When not thus engaged he
usually found time to play little ball
or game or two of marbles with his
| dummies.
| hllcI o " ClOCh IN L0b morning,
when the actual work of the day began,
he was kept alternating between his
| case in the .offioe where he was under
going the rudimentary lessons of learn
ing to set type, and the nearest saloon,
whittier he went at intervals in quest
of the editor, in order to get more copy
or at the request of some subscriber,
or, more likely, someone with bill to
collect, who would always sit down in
the EDITORS sanctum and look over the
exchanges while he was bringing him.
This latter task was no easy matter
and called for a great deal of diplo-
macy, for the editor was sure to be in
the midst of a game of pool or cards or
standing Up at the bar with party OF
friends endeayoring to show them why
it was that Thomas Jefferson was en-
titled to the honor of being called the
Father of democracy or why Andrew
jackson was justified in annulling the
bank act. ~
In the meantime he had to stand
demurely by and await his opportunity
to speak to the editor without disturb.
ing him; had to catch his eye at the
end of q game or after round ol
drinks or at the end of sentence, and
it frequently took him an hour or two
to get his man. 1t was thus that his
duties caused him to be regarded in
the community as a sort of private
secretary to the editor, and people
would hand him their correspondence
and say to him: Now, sonny, if you
will get the old man to publish this
I'll buy you a new Barlow knife with
horn handle, &c. Advertisements
were most generally handed to him fol
the reason that they were more certain
to reach the hands of the printer. The
old man was not to be relied upon in
matters of business, and frequently
carried them around in his pockets
for week or two before handing them
to the printer.
"The office employees all got tickets
to all the balls and Shows 'and
public entertainments, and frequently
some old farmer would invite him
out to spend Sunday with him oil
to come out at any time and help him,
self to all tine fruit he wanted This
latter invitation boy of his keer
appreciation never overlooked and,
along with other boys, he frequently
dropped into the orchard at IL or
o'clock at night and accepted it. The
following morning the farmer was un
able to detect the difference twixt hi.
footprints and those of Tom Sawyer Of
Huckleberry Finn.
after leaving the printing Office ht
served for time as pilot on the Mis-
sissippi River, and from heaving tn,
lead in taking the soundings he is sale
to have obtained the idea of his futur,
cognomen, Mark Twain In 1861 hi
brother Grin was appointed secretar,
of the Territory of Nevada, and in tina
year Sam went thither with him. II,
naturally drifted into journalism, ant
for number OF years was local re
porter on the Virginia City Enterprise
While thus engaged l also worked OIL
the same paper.
"There we're two other reporters OF
the paper at that time, one of whom
Dan de Quille, enjoyed quite a repu
tation as clever writer, but th
public did not detect in Sam any evi
dence of his then unknown genius. II
was a droll and hail fellow we'll me
with everybody, but somehow one go
the impression that he was little in
clined to be lazy. Virginia City wa
thsn in the very zenith of its brilIian
! existence. Sam had to be rather swii
! to maintain his standing as live re
porter of a live newspaper in liv
CITY, but do not remember that an
charges we're ever preferred against hill
for failing to keep up with the pre-
: cession. -