I have a friend teaching a course on Rivers in Literature, and it obviously includes "Life on the Mississippi." He has become interested in the disaster of the "Sultana"--the worst maritime wreck in US history in which a Confederate ship carrying US POWs exploded with over 1800 lives lost. He wonders if Mark Twain ever cited this. I don't recall any such reference, and the disaster occured in 1865 shortly after Lee's surrender, which may have shoved the disaster onto the back pages. That and the fact that Mark Twain was in Nevada may have precluded his knowing about the event. I told Henry I would ask the forum if anyone knows such a reference, and this marks that question. As always, thanks to the wonderfully knowledgeable people on the forum. dennis eddings