In regards to Sam Clemens returning to St. Louis and on to Muscatine in 1854, there were no trains arriving in St. Louis in 1854. St. Louis was still a river city but the Alton and East St. Louis was chartered in 1850 (not built). Why, I wonder, did Sam return to St. Louis if his goal was to get to Muscatine? Did Sam actually go to St. Louis or was he confusing his later return there? He could have easily gone from New York to Chicago and from Chicago to Rock Island by train, then down river to Muscatine. -- Unaffiliated Geographer and Twain aficionado