Barb The note on this page says Edward "Ned" Howard had been Sam's "reluctant travel companion in Hawaii in June 1866." Howard was a guest at the Volcano house (and perhaps even the "stranger named Marlette" Sam wrote about in Roughing It. ) Check volume 1 of the letters, p 346 note 10. In June of 1866 Sam stayed at the Volcano House from Sunday, June 3rd to Thursday, June 7th. From the 8th to the 15th of June, Sam rode 200 miles by horseback all around the island. Anson Burlingame's son was a companion for part of this trip. I don't find any other references to Howard, so I have to conclude that he only accompanied Sam a short time. It's possible too that he was among those who did not want to continue to the lava beds with Sam and the "stranger" Marlette. I've suspected for some time that either Sam invented Marlette or changed the name. David H Fears