The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1915-06-03
IN MARX TWAIN'S HOME
BY @. U. H.


Hannibal, Missouri. is a notable
plaee-hcs aszz..=.. S5ossl. know II.
A few people in Hannibal appreciate
the fact, but only q few.
Hannibal was the boyhood home
of Mark Twain.
1t was in Hannibal that Tom Saw
yer and HuckeIberry Finn lived. and
had their remarkable adventures
disguised in the books as st. Peters
burg. Anyone familiar with these
books and interested In Mark Twain
will find much Of interest in and
around this old town.
Down at Columbia i met a friend
from New York.. Clyde Oswald.
publisher OF The American Printer.
who had come out there to deliver
a lecture on BENJAMIN Franklin. He
proposed a pilgrimage to the boyhood
home OF Mark Twain SO / Joined him.
Its SO much easier for two people TO
do a thing like this than for one.
probably would never have found
bal IL only about $50 miles from Col
umbia, 120 miles up the mississippi
river from St Lou1s, but IL took
US nearly all day to 60 there and We
changed cars at Centralia, Mexico
and Louisiana. 1t is q pretty coun-
try in the spring time that you travel
through going there-through green
fields and Towering woods. over roll
ing hills and along vine covered
river banks
Hannibal In . thriving city with its
commerce and manufacturing enter
prises. but We saw little Of that We
went to see the old town where Tom
Sawyer lived and played-And where
the great writer. Mark Twain grew
up to young manhood.
The life OF Tom Sawyer was drawn
largely from the boyhood experiences
OF the writer. Mr.. Clemens modest
ly says that Tom Sawyer was drawn
from life. being "A combination Of the
characteristics OF three boys whom
knew But all through the books
you see that Tom Sawyer was Sam
Clemens himself.
The old home that Sam Clemens
lived in as n bog is the home des-
cribed In the book as Toms home,
and Toms aunt was really Mr..
Clemens mother. Brother Sid was,
probably. Orion Clemens. an older
brother. Huckelberry Ffnn's real
name was Tom Blankenship. Han
nibal boy OF that day and Becky
Thatcher was a Laura Hawkins who
still lives in Hannibal-Mrs- Laura
Hawkins Frasier.
We spent several hours In the old
Marx Twain home Il u little tuo
story house. three small rooms on the
ground floor and two small rooms up
stairs. You can see every detail just
little bed room m which Tom and Sid
slept is In the back with an outside
door and steps leading down over the
wood-shed which made It easy Tor
Tom-to make his frequent midnight
getaway. The fence that Tom got
whitewashed SO easily Is gone. but
the alley II bordered and In which the
boys played. Is still a playground for
othes boys
The country all around is Tom
Sawyer's country.
Sunday morning we took n launch
for a ride down the river and around
Tom Sawyer's island IL is a long.
fat island. a couple OF miles below
Hannibal. Just such q place as a gang
OF boy pirates would enjoy. We tried
to 20 around but found shallow water
ON the Illinois side and had to back
oui-the same shallow water that
Tom waded through when he went
home that night and found the folks
planning his funeral.
After a pleasant hour on the river
we landed on a rocky point few
miles down the river to look for
the cave. We couldn't find anybody
who knew anything about Tom Saw.
yer's cave, but negro showed us
where we could find the entrance to
Mark Tyain's cave.
In the book the cave is an import.
ant factor. You remember that Tom
and Becky Thatcher got lost In the