2? March 1867 • New York, N.Y. (Paraphrase: Wallace et al., 333, UCCL 10992)
One day the proprietors of that journal were astonished to receive from him this curt message: “Send me $1,200 at once. I want to go abroad.”1explanatory note
The proprietors of the Alta at this time were Frederick MacCrellish, William Augustus Woodward, Orlando M. Clayes, and John McComb. MacCrellish (1828–82) went to California from Pennsylvania in 1852 and was first associated with the San Francisco Ledger and Herald. In late 1854 he became the commercial editor of the Alta and, two years later, part owner. Woodward (1829?–85), also originally from Pennsylvania, went to San Francisco in 1856 and two years later became MacCrellish’s partner. The two men were also brothers-in-law, having married sisters. Woodward remained a part owner of the Alta until it was sold in 1884. Clayes (1837–92) was a native of Illinois who moved to California in 1855 and was for many years associated with the Independent, a paper published first in San Andreas and later in Stockton; in 1864 he was elected state printer (Langley 1867, 132, 313, 508; masthead, San Francisco Alta California, 2 Mar 67, 1; “Death of Frederick MacCrellish,” San Francisco Morning Call, 1 Nov 82, 1; San Francisco City and County 1867, s.v. “Woodward, William Augustus”; “Death of a Former Proprietor of the Alta California,” Sacramento Union, 18 Apr 85, 1; Kemble, 190, 331; “Orlando M. Clayes,” San Francisco Morning Call, 24 June 92, 8). Noah Brooks (1830–1903), then “managing editor” of the Alta, recalled the perplexity caused by this telegram, the surviving text of which may be incomplete. When the owners came to Brooks
with a proposition that the office should advance to Clemens the sum needed to pay his expenses on a trip into the Mediterranean, on condition that he should write letters to the paper, I was not surprised that they should regard the scheme with grave doubt of its paying them for their outlay. But the persuasiveness of Clemens’s fast friend and admirer, Colonel John McComb (then a member of our editorial staff), turned the scale, and Mark Twain was sent away happy on his voyage. (Brooks 1898, 98)
The first extant sign that the owners had taken this decision occurred on 9 April, when they published the Alta letter written on 2 March, which concluded its report of the trip as follows: “I expect to go on this excursion to the Holy Land and the chief countries of Europe, provided I receive no vetoing orders from the Alta—and against all such I fervently protest beforehand.—[No veto. He has been telegraphed to ‘go ahead.’—Eds. Alta.]” (SLC 1867). Although written on 2 March, this letter must not have left New York until the steamer of 11 March; it therefore arrived in San Francisco on 2 April aboard the Montana (“From Panama,” San Francisco Alta California, 3 Apr 67, 1). Clemens clearly had time to write a longer letter of explanation, but no sign that he did so has been found.
“Mark Twain,” chapter 51 of Living Leaders of the World, edited by Lew Wallace et al. (Chicago: Hubbard Bros., 1889), 333, which quotes the text, probably incompletely. The author of chapter 51 has not been identified.
L2 , 17–18; none known except the copy-text.
unknown.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.