I can see a strong case being made for Twain's admiration for the pastoral
and his fascination with the natural world, but what would be the evidence
for comparing him to John Muir or Rachel Carson?

When I wrote a lengthy magazine article on Thoreau, I had "Twain on the
brain" and drew several comparisons (they both wrote great "river books" for
example that provided a narrative thread upon which to weave stories of
spiritual reckoning). His sunrise passage in HF is one of his best lyric
moments, but I have a fragment of Twain ms from an unidentified work
(perhaps a letter or notebook?) in which he turns positively purple while
prosing about red roses and green leaves on glistening white snow. Nature
could inspire his best writing, and his worst.

His library certainly reflected an interest in the pastoral. I have his
copies of PASTORAL DAYS, PARABLES FROM NATURE, UNTRODDEN PEAKS AND
UNFREQUENTED VALLEYS, MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN, and MAKING OF A COUNTRY HOME.
And he was fascinated by the behavior of social insects. I also have his
WASPS AND THEIR WAYS, NATURE'S CRAFTSMEN, and WASPS SOCIAL AND SOLITARY.
Gribben lists many more, including some works by John Burroughs.

So, Twain liked bugs and birds (and Jean was a serious birder, with Twain's
encouragement) and he admired the pastoral. I could not find any studies of
Twain and the pastoral (there's a subject for a Twain Conference paper!!!)
but I'd love to read one, and if somebody can go one step further and build
a solid case for Twain as a proto-environmentalist, I'll buy them a granola
bar and a bottle of sparkling mineral water to wash it down.

Kevin Mac Donnell
Austin TX