The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1903-09-09
MARK TWAIN
AS A MINER
Old Letter Unearthed Written
by Him to CaIifOrnians
Who Had Won

has a summer home. Now that he is
preparing for another trip abroad, he
is ov~criauling his literary effects and
finds letters and manuscripts in out
of tie way places, probably forgotten
foy murray years.
As to the letter recently unearthea
in Elimira, it was written in Ocsoper
1860, two days before the meetiae uf
the California pioneers at Delmonicos.
That was a notable occasion and Mark
Twain's letter. read by the chairman
evoked loud and long applause.
The first railroad across the CONT
nent-the Union Pacifc-had been
completed only a few weeks. Among
the first Californians to make the trip
by rail were nearly 200 members of
the Pioneers association of San Fran
cisco. Ever since the discovery of gold
and the invasion of the state in 1S49,
forty-niners has celebrated the event.
Preparations were made for the big
dinner at Delmonicos in their honor.
Among their invited guests were Pres
ident Grant, General Sherman and
General Mcdowell and other heroes of
the big war, with leading statesmen of
the day. Grant and Sherman detained
by business, sent letters in sympathy
with the movement.
Mr.. Clemens at one time worked on
John Mackey's paper, the Virginia
City Enterprise. He also tried min
ing. and his remarkable letter, read
at the California Pioneers banquet,
throws new light on his early Cal
fornia and Nevada days. 1t runs as
follows:
Elmira, Oct. II, 1S69.-To the Cali
fornia Pioneers. Gentlemen: Circum-
stances render it out of my power to
take advantage of the invitation ex-
tended me through Mr.. Simonton, and
be present at you dinner in New
York. | regret this very much, for
there are several among you whom /
have a right to join hands with on the
score OF old friendship, and l suppose
l 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 for
tune.
If | were to tell some of my exper-
fences you would recognize California
blood in me, | fancy. The old, old
story would sound familiar, no doubt.
/ have the usual stock of "reminiscences
For instance, / went to Esmeralda
early. l purchased largely in the Wide
West, the Winnemucca and o.ner fine
claims, and was very wealthy. / Jared
sumptuously on bread when flour was
$500 a barrel and had beans every
day when none but bloated a~ristocrats
could afford such grandeur. But l fin
ished by feeding batteries to a quartz
mill at SIS a week and wishing / was
a battery myself and had somebody to
feed me. My claims in A4smeralda are
there yet.
l suppose l could be persuaded to
sell. / wen to the Humboldt district
when it was new. | became largely in
terested in the Alba Nueva and other
claims with gorgeous names and was
rich again in prospect. l would not
have sold out for less than $500, 600 at
that time-but will now. Finally 1
walked home-some 200 miles-partly
for exercise, and partly because stage
fares were expensive.
Next l entered upon an affluent ca
reer In Virginia City, and by a judic-
iCus investment of labor and the capt.
tai of friends became the owner of
about all the worthless mines that
were in that part of the country.
Assessments did the business for
me there. There were III assessments
to one dividend and the proportion of
income to outlay was a little against
me. My financial thermometer went
down to 80 degrees f~arenheit, and the
touootl lbCl vas 1IOLCH Out. lOOh up
extensions on the mainland
sions that reached to British America
in n direction and to the Isthmus of
Panama in the other-and | verify be-
lieve hat | woula have been a rich
man If | ever found those Internal ex-
tensions. But | didn't. l ran tunnels
till l tapped the Attic ocean, and /
sunk shafts till | broke through the
roof of perdition, but those extensions
turned up missing every time.
am willing to sell all that property
and throw in the Improvements. Per-
haps you remember the celebrated
North Ophir? l bought that mine. 1t
was very rich in pure silver. You could
take it out in Jumps as big as a flDert.
But when it was discovered that those
Jumps were melted half dollars, and
hardly melted at that, a painful case
lN4 ss-olffnfs xuan anna.ak ,rl - -