. . . .
ladies [othe at] the other end, [whe who], when they had finished their meal, came by & asked me to come into the parlor after dinner. I accepted, gladly, thinking I had my new friend “in the door” then—as the faro players say—but I was mistaken, you know. He proceeded with me to the parlor door—but for the sake of his friends & his innocence, I said nothing uncivil to him, but turned away & went up town, he still following. He staid with me bravely, until I had gone all my usual rounds & a few unusual ones, too, although a fearful snowstorm was raging at the time—and came back to the office with me, where he staid until 8 or 9 o’clock & then went out to feed his oxen—since which time I am happy to inform you, Madam, I have neither seen or heard of him. Remember me kindly to his folks, & especially to Mrs. Dr Douglas.1
Bully for Mrs Holliday—she owes me five or ten dollars. Tell Uncle Jim2 I don’t write, simply because I am too lazy. Nothing but that deep & abiding sense of duty which is a second nature with me, prompts me to write even to my gay & sprightly mother. It is misery to me to write letters. But I say, Ma, don’t let your [y kind] heart be exercised about Poor John Anderson, because in that case I shall get the benefit of it in your next, you know. This country will take the “soft solder” out of him—just let him alone.
Why, certainly, if [m Mr.] Moffett will [l advance] you money on my account Ma, draw liberally—I’ll foot the bill some day.
But I can’t write any more. They have “struck it rich” in the “front ledge” in Gold Hill the other day, & I must go out and find out something more about it. The “front ledge”3
. . . .
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
The recent discovery at Gold Hill has materially advanced the rates
of the claims on the main range, and is really of great importance. The discovery consists of a newly
developed ledge, of surprising richness, immediately in front of what has been supposed to be the front vein
in that locality. Should the new ledge prove to be permanent and continuous, it will doubtless be claimed as
a portion of the main Gold Hill possessions. (SLC
1863, 1) On 24 April the Enterprise, recalling the “fearful
excitements” caused by the “front ledge” and other discoveries of the “past
week,” reported: The grand climax of the epidemic fell yesterday, and in the shape of another mineral
discovery. Mr. Mark Twain and the Unreliable made it, somewhere in B street, and established their lines of
location so ingeniously as to take in the Ophir, the Spanish and other of the richest claims on the Comstock
lode. The croppings of the ledge especially taken up by these gentlemen look very imposing
. . . look as natural as if they had been dumped on the spot from a
cart. . . . The location “Notice” reads as follows: “Mr. Twain and
the Unreliable claim several thousand feet on this, the Mark Twain ledge, with the Comstock and all other
spurs, dips, angles, variations and sinuosities, together with all the Crown property therein, thereupon,
thereabouts, or remotely adjacent thereto. The company shall be known as the Unreliable Auriferous,
Argentiferous, Metaliferous Mining Company.” (“The Climax,” clipping in Scrapbook 1:41,
CU-MARK) The Enterprise article concluded with a lengthy burlesque assay of
“specimens” from the Mark Twain ledge.
Source text(s):Previous publication:L1, 251–252; MTBus, 79.
Provenance:see McKinney Family Papers, pp. 459–61. The MS was incomplete in
1946 when Webster printed the fragment given here with the comment that
“the head and tail of the next letter are missing” (MTBus, 78).
Emendations and textual notes:
othe at • [‘at’ over ‘othe’]
whe who • whoe [‘o’ over ‘e’]
y kind • [‘k’ over ‘y’]
m Mr. • [‘M’ over ‘m’]
l advance • [‘a’ over possible ‘l’]
