Bernard L. Stein, a former associate editor with the Mark Twain Project, was the first to suggest reprinting these several Hannibal writings together, for which he has our—and we trust the reader’s—thanks. On behalf of the CSE, Kay Seymour House inspected the printer’s copy for this reprinting, as well as the textual apparatus prepared for “Letter to William Bowen” and “Hellfire Hotchkiss” but not published here. Our thanks to her for this careful, conscientious, and always helpful scrutiny. Thanks are also due to Sam Howard, who uncovered the editorial confusion over the ending of “Villagers of 1840–3” (now corrected), and unhesitatingly shared his discovery with the editors. Special thanks are likewise due to Michael B. Frank, an associate editor with the Mark Twain Project, whose discerning and meticulous review of the printer’s copy contributed materially to the annotation. The editors are also grateful to: Coralee Paull, whose research at the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, made a number of important contributions to the Biographical Directory; Henry H. Sweets III, curator of the Mark Twain Museum, Hannibal; Roberta Hagood, also of Hannibal; Jerry P. Sampson, recorder of deeds for the Marion County Circuit Court, Palmyra, Missouri; Ralph Gregory, former curator of the Mark Twain Birthplace Shrine, Florida, Missouri, and of the Mark Twain Museum, Hannibal; and four editorial assistants in the Mark Twain Project, David J. Goodwin, Janice E. Braun, Daniel J. Widawsky, and Craig Stein. Fran Mitchell, our production coordinator at the University of California Press, and Wilsted & Taylor Publishing Services, Oakland, California, were again unfailingly patient and helpful with every aspect of the technical production for this volume. Editorial costs were met jointly by the Research Materials Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency, and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

Robert H. Hirst

General Editor, Mark Twain Project

June 1988