Carson City daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1907-1930, 1910-04-23
ANECDOTES
OF TWAIN
Alfred Chartz Tells of HumOriSt
When He Lived on
The COmStOck
Editor Appeal :

There will be many who will writ
OF Mark Twain. The more the mer
rier. He was a jolly good fellow
He smoothcd millions OF wrinkle
upon millions of brows, and place,
| broad smiles in lieu
The articles | have read of the be
! ginning of his literary career ar,
wrong, if | am correctly informed
He began his literary WORK while en-
ployed as a miner at Aurora. then the
county seat of ESmeralda County
Nevada, writing sketches OF the condi-
tons OF that camp, to the Territorial
Enterprise at Virginia City, Nevada
then owned, edited and published by
Joe Goodman and Dennis Mccarthy
the father of our present State Print
er, J. G. Mccarthy. They recognized
the ability of their correspondent,
and offered him position as report
cr on the Enterprise, which he ac-
ccpted, and he worked with Dan De
guile (Wm. Wright, who also
earned fair reputation As humor-
ist, both working side by side on the
same paper,
Mark Twain earned 4 splendid rep
utatiOn in writing sketches, the
dumping Bullfrog' being credited as
the best. However, his first book iS
entitled "Rouehing It," That work
contains most OF his sketches former
" written. and stories heard and re
peated on &C" Street, in Virginia
City. Nevada. during the early six
ties. and at Pipcr's Opera House.
and at Steamboat Springs, where the
convivials of that time Convivcd, il |
may be permitted the use ot the word.
James w. F. Townsend. whom we
used to know in Carson As Lying
Jim" always claimed the credit of
having told Mark Twain the story OF
The Jumping Frog" However that
may be. Mark Twain was the man
who embalmcd it in pr"saic song. |
intend no reflection against Mr.
Townsend He was one of the very
brightest of our Pacific Coast spirits
of the early sixties. having rounded
the Horn in lS4o But he cOntcnted
himself by telling his experiences in
a very humorous way, and Mark
Twain wrote his experiences, and
published them.
1t is my belief that the reputation
of Mark Twain (S1mucl l.. Clemcno)
as a humori,t. will not last long As
such; but | firmly believe that his
writings will finally estblish his name
as one of the pleaSantest and sound
est of philosophers Of the century in
which he wrote.
For instance, the following con
tains sample of his humOr, sarcasm
and philosophy, combined:
When Twain first met Artcmus
Ward at Virginia City, in the early
sixties, Mr.. Ward attempted to eN~
plain to Mr.. Twain the then momcn-
tous question. what is vein:' Mr..
Ward was making 4 very bad inst
at it. when Mr. Twain interrupted:
"Confound my wooden head, MIR.
Ward, but the clearer you make 1t,
the less I understand it."
Adam Smith. John Stewart Mill.
John Lock. Des Carte. Kant, nor
Spencer ever said more in less than
chapter.
One of the peculiar characteristics
of Mark Twain told me by Dennis
Mccarthy. then one OF the publish
ers Of the Enterprise, and by {. y.
V. Putnam, Pete Meyers and Steve
Gillis, type settlers on the Enterprise.
and who set the type from the copy
of Mark Twain. is to the effect that
whilst Mr.. Twain considered the
whole world as his oyster to make
fun of, he would get red hot if any
one poked fun at him
ALFRED CHARTZ