Cal, I spoke to Tom Tenney about this and he corrected the term to the
convict-lease abuses of the South, whereby a black person, when arrested,
would be leased out to white men as part or all his sentence. We both agreed
that Cable & Sam had had sufficient interaction prior to Sam's last burst of
energy composing Huck Finn in 1883 for Sam to be informed, if not
influenced, by Cable about such abuses. Sam generally was also aware of the
tenuous nature of freedom. After some reflection, however, we each feel that
no direct influence by Cable is detectible in Huck Finn. Of course, others
might point out evidence we're not aware of.

Respectfully,

David H Fears