28? September 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y. (Paraphrase: Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, 7 Oct 70, UCCL 11730)
Mark Twain’s new book is to be all about his experience in California and Nevada and coming to this coast by the Overland stages. It will be a volume of 600 pages octavo. He has started in on it, but at last accounts was two days’ journey the other side of Salt Lake with it;1explanatory note so we need not get excited here about the “chief amang us” for some time to come. His book will be out in April next.2explanatory note
That is, Clemens had written as far as the ninth day of his overland journey (3 August 1861), on which he crossed the Continental Divide, east of Salt Lake City. This became part of the matter of chapter 12 of Roughing It. He had not yet completed what became chapters 10 and 11, however (15 Sept 70 to the postmaster of Virginia City, n. 3click to open link; RI 1993 , 791, 818–19).
Allowing sufficient time both for Clemens to have written about four chapters of his new book since his 21? September letter to Bliss, and for mail to reach Virginia City, Nevada, by 6 October, it is likely that this progress report, doubtless to Goodman, was written around 28 September. In a portion of the letter not paraphrased Clemens may have asked Goodman, and other former colleagues on the Territorial Enterprise, for assistance of the sort he had already requested from Orion Clemens and Hezekiah Hosmer (15 July 70 to OCclick to open link; 15 Sept 70 to the postmaster of Virginia Cityclick to open link).
Paraphrase, “Local Matters,” Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, 7 Oct 70, 3.
L4 , 201.