I'm currently researching the career of Ernest Morris, who gained fame in the late 1870s and early 1880s as the "boy naturalist" or "boy explorer." Between 1875 and 1884, Morris made 7 trips to the Amazon Basin and British Guiana, collecting orchids for clients and writing travelogues as a special correspondent for the New York World. However, his first journey took place in 1874, when he was 18. He built a long canoe and took it from Indianapolis, down the White River, Wabash River, Ohio, and down the Mississippi to New Orleans (and then along the Gulf Coast to Cedar Key, Florida.) This feat was publicized that year in Indianapolis newspapers only, but after Morris set off for his first Amazon trip in 1875, the account of his previous Mississippi journey appeared in many national newspapers, along with many praises of Morris epitomizing the "plucky" national character. I realize that Twain had a wealth of experience growing up and working on the river, but the timing of the publicity surrounding the voyage of young Morris has me wondering...is it possible that the story helped inspire the central motif of Huck Finn? Jerry Kuntz Warwick NY [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask]