Fred, This stuck in my mind as being much prior to 1904, so I did a search of my current WIP (Mark Twain Day-by-Day) and found I'd referenced this remark by Wecter, _Sam Clemens of Hannibal_ page 154. However, Wecter references the following on this page: --- _Autobiography_, I, 109 and II, 99-102; MTP, Paine 154, "Concerning a Reformed Pledge," dated Hartford, Christmas 1886; MTP, Paine 255, "Conversations with Satan," written in Vienna about 1898. His most explicit statement about the use and benign effects of tobacco, dated March 14, 1882, was written for _Study and Stimulants_, ed. A. Arthur Read, pp. 120-22. -- AS with many Western slang words and expressions, Sam may not have been the first to coin them, but gave them currency. A great article from 1947 that lists the many expressions credited to Sam (such as "like rolling off a log") and traces their early use, is: "The Background of Mark Twain's Vocabulary," by Charles J. Lovell, _American Speech_ Vol 22, No 2 (April, 1947) pp 88-98. Available on JSTOR.