The Coolidge examiner., 1935-02-22

But Hannibal IA DOT the oniy Missouri town
that honors the memory Of Mark Twain. For the
little town Of Florida. Mo. where he was born
November 30. 1896. has a monument sur
nounies' by bust Of It's famous son. standing
In a square plot Ia the center u he town. Near
the town. too. Is the Mark Twain Memorial park.
which was dedicated as q state park In 1904
Later the cabin 10 which he was born was
moved from the village TO this park and a per.
manent shelter house was built for H. Restored
to It's original condition II contains furniture Of
an early day and other mementoes OF the time
when Il was occupied by the Clemens family.
Another reminder OF Mark Twain In Florida is
the old cemetery which contains the graves OF
two OF his sisters and of John Quarles his uncle.
at whose farm home n few miles from the VII.
lage the youthful sam Clemens spent his sum
mers.
when young Sam vas twelve years old his
father died John Marshall Clemens impro.
Yldent storekeeper and lawyer a dreamer ana u
chaser of ranbows who had drlfted from bis
birthplace In Virginia 20 Kentucky where he
married Jans LamptoL then Il Tennessee and
anally 90 Missouri where be was a failure 20 the
end Of his days So the boy had TO go to work
10 help support the family of eight brothers and
sisters lie started 10 work In a printing Office
where he stayed for two years. Then be worked
the Hannibal Journal. for several years.
Seeing no future in Journalism. young Clemens
at the age Of nineteen lef' home to seek his for
tune elsewhen He first went TO New York and
then TO Philadelphia. but. becoming hou'esck he
started west again. lie went to Keokuk. Iowa.
where bis brother. Orion. then living and
stayed for while with him There he read a
book which fired him with desire 10 visit South
America. The only drawback that he had no
money. BY some strange chance a yagrant wind
dropped a $50 bin at his feet lie advertised IN
the paper for It's owner But no one claimed II
So three days later, be left town. as be said. TO
take tha, money out OF danger
Clemens next drified to Cincinnati and. travel
ng on a boat down the Ohio, he persuaded the
pilot 10 teach him how to steer H. Continuing
on 10 New Orleans. stu with the idea OF going
10 South America. he found that the next boat
would not be leaving for that continent for sev
eral years So he decided TO make plotting hts
life work an idea which had taken root In his
mind when. as a boy IN Hannibal he had played
along the banks OF the Mississippi and watched
the steamers 20 up and down that stream.
Ills pilots license which is still preserved In
the files OF the steamboat inspection service Of
the United States Department Of Commerce. wa,
issued To him on April O. 1859. On an April dag
two years later occurred an event which was des
tined TO end his career as a pilot Fort Sumter
was fred upon and the War Between the State:
began. Clemens is said TO have been 'he las
pilot TO bring his boat up the river after tbs
opening OF hostiltles. He shot at and haulet
In for examination at St Louis. after which h'
went on to Hannibal where he Joined Confed
crate home guard company whose members
called themselves by the imposing name OF the
salt River Tigers" The story OF Mark Twain
brief military career as a member of this organ
ization, as told In the book "Absalom Grimes
Confederate Mail Runner" (Yale University
Pressl Is almost as funny a story as any whicr
Clemens himself wrote.
After three or four weeks service with tbs
Tigers" Clemens went on TO keOkuk to yis
his brother again. Orion had just been appointed
secretary OF Nevada territory and was startin2
for his new post He took Sam along with hin
TO be his secretary and this trip overland from
Hannibal 10 Nevada furnished the material FOL
one OF Twain's most famous books, "Roughinl
H." Offered a job as city editor OF the Daily
Territorial Enterprise In Virginia City. MARI
Twain again took up the pen which he was no
again to lay down for tong
From Nevada Mark went on 20 San Francisco
and began writing for the newspapers there. The
same ability which had been noted in his boy
hood. as being such liar that his family coulC
believe nothing he said," was turned to tellinl
the kind Of tall yarns which the West and West