Thought you might be interested in this reference to Twain
in connection to a Virginia City excavation.

University of Nevada, Reno archaeologists working in historic Virginia
City, Nev., have moved their latest excavation project from the
Barbary Coast to the original site of Thomas Maguire's Opera House on
D Street. The project is intended to shed light on life in the fabled
town during the time when Mark Twain called the place
home. Students working on excavation are part of a summer field
school from the Department of Anthropology and the Extended Studies
office at the University. The project is made possible through
volunteer and student labor, although a National Park Service grant
supports a few professional archaeologists to manage the excavation.
"Maguire opened one of the West's most important theaters in July
1863," said state historic preservation officer Ron James, whose
agency is providing the federal funds to support the project. "Mark
Twain rushed back from San Francisco to Virginia City so he could
attend the premiere act, which featured the best actors of the day
including a brother of the future presidential assassin, John Wilkes Booth."
Short URL: http://snipr.com/3d99w
http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/templates/details.aspx?
articleid=4476&zoneid=40
--
Arianne Laidlaw