When Most people think of Mark Twain, they think of the Mississippi, or gold mining, or such things. But few people have come to realize the free-spoken and often foreboding side of Twain. Twain did much more than write fiction about a boy's youth or a frog. Today, few people know Mark Twain's true beliefs on many subjects.

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida Missouri. Twain's father died in 1874, and he was forced to go to work for a newspaper and printing firm. Twain left Missouri in 1853 and for the next 5 years moved from city to city, earning poor wages in various print shops. When the Civil War broke out, (1861-1865) Twain served for two weeks with a Confederate volunteer company, even though this seemingly went against his later beliefs. He chose not to become involved in the war. He traveled to Carson City, Nevada, in 1861, and unsuccessfully attempted to prospect gold for two years. On Feb. 2, 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, and in 1872, his infant son, Langdon, died. In 1882 Mark Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper. Re

2. Twain, Mark. World Book Encyclopedia, Alan Gribben.

Twain calls Leopold slayer of 15,000,000, interview with the New York World (Dec. 3, 1905)

A Defense of General Funston, by Mark Twain, North American Review, 174 (May 1902).

Thomas Brackett Reed, by Mark Twain, Harper's Weekly (Dec. 20, 1902)

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