The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-08-30
Mark TwafD, nfDer
Fron7 His Own Per

! 4 highly interesting letter written tnir-
ty-four years ago by Mark Twain has
lust been brought to lsht in Elmira, n.
Y. says the New Yoik Herald, where
! Mr. Clemens has a summer home. Not
| far out OF Elmira, atop of East Hill,
overlooking the beautiful Chemung Val
ley, is quarry Farm. where relatives OF
the humorist reside the year round In
& secluded. pretty one-room summer
| house is the authors den, and here
reat deal of his famous work was be
| ;un and finished The little. odd struc-
ture is an octagon, with windows on all
sides but one and that is taken up by
large, oid-fashioned stone fireplace. While
| Mr.. Clemens has not called Elmira his
! home in many years he almost regularly
spent his summers there, dividing his
! time between Quarry Farm. on East Hill.
! and the LanSdon mansion, in town-Mrs.
| Clemens being a member of the Langdon
family
Mark Twain has been pilot. printer,
| miner aud traveler-in fact, many other
| things. and all that concerns his personal
| ity and career is interesting. Now that
he is preparing for another trip abroad.
he is overhauling his literary effects and
| finds letters and manuscripts in out of
the way places, probably forgotten for
many years. He visits Europe by advice
/ of his physician to give his wife the
| benefit Of a warmer winter climate. They
will go direct to Florence. by way of
| Genoa, sailing on the Commonwealth
! late in September Mr.. Clemens says he
H. t,{e NJ TO- hi9
place at Tarrytown is still in the market.
| 1t is an oldfashioned stone mansion,
with spacious halls, wide balconies and
lawns and trees around. The view Of
the river from all parts of the grounds
! Is unsurpassed
AS to the letter recently unearthed in
! Z: Mira, it was written n nctob~-. ;>t9.
two days before the mee<;ng CT he Cali
fornis pioneers at Demonicos That
was a notable occasion, and Mark Twain
letter, read by the chairman, evoked
loud and long applause. To understand
the occasion for that meeting, at which
Horace Greeley made a Brilliant speech
giving the Irish full and deserved credit
for their efforts in building up America,
a few words OF explanation are pertinent.
the Union Pacihc-had been completed
but few weeks. Among the first Cali
fornians 10 make the trip by rail were
nearly two hundred members of the Pho
neers Association of San Francisco. Ever
since the discovery of gold and the in
vasiou of the state In 1873 by thousands
of "Areonauts," the Forty-Niners had
celebrated the event
They made the overland trip by the
Union Pacific in what was considered an
amazingly brief space-eight days-to hold
their annual meeting in New York. They
came by one of those first Grand Pacific
palace car trains with pianos and or
gans on board. reading lamps in every
compartment. panels for poker games
and trained walters. who served daily
banquets from the hotel car accompany
ing the distinguished travellers.
The Herald announced their arrival in
New York and the preparations for the
big dinner at Delmonico's in their honor.
Among their invited guests were Presi-
dent Grant, Generals Sherman and Nc
Dowen and other heroes of the big war,
with leading statesmen of the day. Cen
erals Grant and Sherman detained on
business, sent letters in sympathy with
the movement.
1t is related as a somewhat singular
fact that the worlds outPouring into
America was so great because of the gold
discoveries that the population of the
United States was doubled every year
for ten years. Yet the wealthy Captain
Suffer, on whose property the gold was
discovered, and Mr.. Marshall, the man
who first found the gold, became exiles
and paupers because of It. Captain SUIT
ter lost all his property. which was
stolen and destroyed by the early hon
est miners" and Marshall finally hadn't
a dollar. Later an appropriation was
made by the state for their support.
A still more remarkable fact is that.
Notwithstanding the vastness of the gold
production Of the Pacific coast, the value
of the wheat there equals it. while the
fruit yield doubles the entire mining out
put
In those early days of madness for
gold, when Gan Francisco was saved from
anarchy by vigilance committees farmers
were considered of no account. and fruit
growers ranked with laundrymen and
BARRIERS California was the magnet that
attracted millions, draining Europe of its
gamblers and criminals. who with the
good and the honest became solid citi-
zens and valuable material for building
up new country-after they had learned
to obey the laws.
Later came the literary epoch, with men
of genius singing the praise Of the Go d
en- state-Bret Harte. Charles Dudley
Warner and scores of other gifted men.
Mr. Clemens at one time worked on
John Mackay's paper. the Virginia City
Enterprise He also tried mining. and
his remarkable letter read at the Cali
fornia Pioneers banquet throws new
light on his early California and Nevada
days II runs as follows:
Elmira. October II, 1853.
To the California Pioneers:
Observation-Disclosures render il out
Of my power to take advantage of the
invitation extended to me through Mr..
Sirnonton and be present at your dinner
In New York. l regret this very much.
for there are several among YOU whom I
would have right TO Join hands with on
the score OF old friendship. and I suppose
7 would have a sublime general right TO
shake hands with the rest OF you on the
score OF kinship in California ups and
downs in the search Of fortune.
II were TO tell some Of my experiences
an6 would recognize California hood in
ne. fancy The old. old story woll1
sound familiar no doubt ! have the