Scott -- as to that Feb. 7 entry in DBD -- that could be based on a
misdated letter. It would be necessary to read those two separate letters
side-by-side that SLC wrote to Olivia that are catalogued online as Feb. 6
and Feb 7 and see if they are referring to only one train trip.  Perhaps
one letter was a draft and revised or just sent along with another. You are
right that taking secondary sources literally is hazardous.

Barb

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 6:47 PM Scott Holmes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Your point is well taken.  I have been unable to locate an on-line copy
> of any Lafayette paper for that date.  I was actually trying to find
> train schedules, such  as I found for the Fort Wayne departure. My
> reference to Scharnhorst was not about the interview but about his
> paragraph in "The Middle Years" page 446.  One needs to be careful about
> all secondary sources, however.  This particular entry has them
> departing Fort Wayne before 6am, the Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, February
> 6, 1885 has the train departing at 6:30 am.  I'm still bothered by the
> DBD entry for February 7th - why would he need to take a train to
> Indianapolis at 7am if he was already in Indianapolis.  This would make
> more sense if he actually woke up in Lafayette that morning.As an
> asideregarding the interview, I enjoyed Twain's description of the canal
> and its comparison with Venice.
>
> On 8/8/23 15:30, Barbara Schmidt wrote:
> > Scott -- a couple of things to consider -- the two letters catalogued by
> > MTP described as from Lafayette or en route from Lafayette may have been
> > written on the same date or several hours apart but misdated or mailed
> > separately.  I have found no convincing evidence that Clemens and Cable
> > lectured in Lafayette. They may have and the news accounts of it just
> have
> > not surfaced.
> >
> > Yes, there is that interview in Scharnhorst (#37) from the Lafayette
> > COURIER newspaper.  Footnote 1 indicates a paragraph has been omitted
> > because it appeared in an earlier interview. The question that arises for
> > me — Was this an authentic interview or a reporter’s spoof or hoax with
> > Clemens quoting poetry, drinking beer, and commenting on the mayor and
> tax
> > issues in Lafayette?   To nail down whether the Lafayette interview is
> > authentic and if Clemens and Cable did lecture there, it would help to
> take
> > a look at issues of that paper for the week before and after the
> interview
> > was published to see if any lectures were advertised or reported.
> >
> > Barb
> >
> > On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 10:31 AM Scott Holmes<[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >
> >> While tracking the trains between Fort Wayne, Lafayette, and
> >> Indianapolis, I became confused over the Day  By Day entries for
> >> February 6 and 7.  It appears that both "Chronology of Known Mark Twain
> >> Speeches,..." and "Touring with Cable and Huck" missed the Lafayette
> >> Lecture on February 6th of 1885.  Gary Scharnhorst did not.  What caused
> >> me to stumble was the February 6th DBD entry that goes on to describe
> >> the February 7th lecture in Indianapolis and then the February 7th entry
> >> that notes Sam had to get up a 7am to take the train to Indianapolis.
> >> Why would he need to do that if he was already in Indianapolis?
> >>
> >> --
> >> /Unaffiliated Geographer and Twain aficionado/
> >>
> --
> /Unaffiliated Geographer and Twain aficionado/
>