SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2010
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from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick Sam’s Life A new direction
Sam worked as a printer in different cities for almost 10 years. But working on the Mississippi River, where he had had so much fun as a child, was an exciting idea for him. Before railroads and airplane flight,
rivers were important to business and travel.Young men looked up to glamorous steamboat pilots.
Exploring the west
Sam and his brother, Orion, headed west for Carson City, Nev. Sam worked as a silver miner for a time. In 1862 he moved to Virginia City, Nev., to write for The Territorial Enterprise. At this newspaper, Sam Clemens
first used the name Mark Twain. He got the name from his riverboat days, when a marked rope helped pilots judge how deep the water was. “Twain” meant “two,” so “mark twain” meant two fathoms, or 12 feet.
California and beyond Sam later wrote for The San
When hewas 22,Sam became an apprentice, or beginner, river pilot. Two years later hewas a licensed pilot. Sam guided boats up and down the Mississippi River until 1861, when the CivilWar began. Both North and South wanted control of the river, so there was much fighting along the way. Riverboat traffic almost stopped.
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Ready Resources The Mini Page provides ideas for websites,
books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics. On the Web: •
www.marktwainmuseum.org •
www.marktwainhouse.org/students/homework_help.php •
www.pbs.org/marktwain/scrapbook/index.html At the library: • “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Prince and
the Pauper” by Mark Twain • “River Boy: The Story of Mark Twain” by William Anderson
TM
Francisco Call and The Sacramento Union in California. He was sent to the Hawaiian islands by the Union and returned to give lectures about his trip. Next he sailed to Europe and the
Middle East with more than 100 other passengers. His stories of this trip were later gathered in his book “The Innocents Abroad.”
Sam Clemens and his family on the porch of their home in Hartford, Conn., in 1885. Left to right: Clara, Olivia, Jean, Sam and Susy. Their dog was named Hash.
Marriage and family While on his long journey, Sam
met and became friends with Charley Langdon, a young man from New York. Langdon showed Sam a picture of his sister, Olivia. After Sam and Charley returned home, Sam met her. In 1870, when Sam was 34, they were married. Sam and Olivia (Livy) had four children: Langdon (who died as a baby), Susy, Clara and Jean. Only Clara lived to old age.
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick Mark Twain TRY ’N FIND
Words that remind us of Mark Twain are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find: ADVENTURE, BOOK, CLEMENS, CONNECTICUT, COPYRIGHT, FAMILY, FUN, HALLEY, HUCK, HUMOR, MARK, MINER, MISSISSIPPI, MISSOURI, PRINTER, RIVERBOAT, SAMUEL, SLAVERY, TOM, TRAVEL, TWAIN.
TOM TELLS TALL TALES!
BJ W A C O N N E C T I C U T MO L B D O Z U L E V A R T A IG O X C V
P F Y L I M A F O
SQ Y K L H E Y L E U M A S B SL A V E R Y N R J LK N M R OD R O M U H K T I C L I O E UM I N E R G W R U G H A T V RR E T N I R P H A R H W H I I
P P I S SIS SI M E T J R © 2010 Universal Uclick Happy 175th Birthday! Meet Mark Twain Have you ever heard of a couple
of boys named Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? These two characters were brought to life in the late 1800s by author Mark Twain. In his famous books “The Adventures
of TomSawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,”Twain gave readers of all ages a look at what life was like for kids living near the Mississippi River in the 19th century. Mark Twain was born on Nov. 30,
1835. His 175th birthday is coming up this month. The Mini Page celebrates by learning more about Mark Twain and some of his best-loved writings.
A sign in the sky?
Mark Twain’s real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens.He was born in the town of Florida, Mo., two months early, and he was sick for much of his early childhood. In the fall of
1835, Halley’s comet appeared in the sky over North America. This comet comes close to Earth only about every 76 years. Sam’s mother hoped the comet signaled that he was charmed, or lucky.
Halley’s comet
After his father died in 1847, 12-year-old Sam went to work as a printer for the Missouri Couriernewspaper in Hannibal.
Sam would hold a small stick, called a compositor’s stick, in one hand and drop in metal letters to spell out words. The words were set backward, so that they would be printed forward on the page.
Once the lines of a story were complete, the compositor would lock the sticks into a frame the size of a newspaper page. Then ink was put onto the type, and paper was pressed onto the wet ink.
In this photo, 15-year-old Sam is holding his compositor’s stick with his name spelled on it.
November 14, 2010 from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
photo courtesy Mark Twain Project, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Sam’s family and childhood along the river Sam was the sixth of seven children
born to John and Jane Clemens. However, only Sam, his older brother, Orion, and his older sister, Pamela, lived into adulthood. The family moved to Hannibal, Mo.,
on the banks of the Mississippi River, when Sam was 4.
For a little boy, the river was nothing but fun: Unusual people, chugging boats and tempting cargo to explore kept Sam and his friends busy. Many of the experiences he had as a child became stories in his books, including some of his real friends and family members.
Basset Brown The News Hound’s
photo courtesy The Mark Twain House & Museum
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