Mark Twain in Buffalo, 1869-1871
MarkTwainonlylivedinBuffalofortwoyears,butitwasatimeofbothgreatsuccessand personaltragedyforTwain.His Innocents Abroad wasbecomingabestseller,moving 30,000copiesinonlyafewmonths,butpersonaltragedieswouldforceTwaintoleave BuffalobytheSpringof1871. Buffalomarkedaturningpointinhislife. Whilehere,he realizedthathewasawriter,notajournalist,andneverlookedback.
The Buffalo Express
Inearly1869,TwainwasengagedtoOliviaLangdon,andhad decidedtopurchaseashareinanewspaper.Aftersurveying papersinClevelandandHartford,hepurchasedaone-third shareofthe Buffalo Express,andwasabletoborrowhalfofthe $25,000salepricefromhisfuture-father-in-law,JervisLangdon. Twainlivedinaboardinghousedowntown,notfarfromwhere thelibrarystandstoday.InthesamehouselivedGrover Cleveland,whowouldlaterbeelectedMayorofBuffalo, GovernorofNewYork,andeventually22nd and24th Presidentof theUnitedStates.Twainwaswritingregularcolumnsforthe Express,rangingfromabsurdisthumortohumanrights.
Onesuchhumorous piecewasthecoverof the Express on September17,1870. Twainspenttwodays carvingouta“map”of thefortificationsof Pariswithapenknife athisdesk.He neglectedtodrawit backwardstobe printedproperly,soit cameoutlookingas thoughyou’dneeda mirrortoreadit.Thegeographicintegrityofthemapitselfisjustascompromised,as JerseyCitycanbefoundjustwestoftheSeine,andtheErieCanalappearstobeoneofthe
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greatriversofParis.TwaindrewthismapasaresponsetotheAmericannewsofthe Franco-PrussianWar,whichhadjustbeguntogetcoverageinthe Express andmanyother papers.Themapwasprintedinthe Express toparodythebarrageofinformation Americansreceived.
Mark Twain Lives Here
InFebruaryof1870,TwainmarriedOliviaLangdon inElmira,NewYork.Aftertheweddingtheentire LangdonfamilywenttoBuffalotocelebrate.Twain believedtheywouldbestayingataboardinghouse temporarily,asTwainhadfairlymodestmeansto supporthisnewbride.Instead,aftermeanderingall aroundthecity,thecarriagedriverstoppedinfront of472DelawareAve.Itwastheirnewhome,a surprisegiftfromOlivia’sfatherJervis.(Anoriginal mantelfromtheirhomedecoratesthebackwallof theMarkTwainRoom.)ItissaidthatTwainhunga plaqueoutsidethehomereading“MarkTwainlives hereandmyfather-in-lawpaystherent.”Atthis point, Innocents Abroad,Twain’ssatiricaltravelbook, hadbecomeabestseller,selling30,000copiesinonly afewmonths.
Shortlythereafter,tragedyslippedintoTwain’slife. Inthespringof1870,Olivia’sfatherLangdondied. Thishitthefamilyespeciallyhard,sinceLangdonhadpurchasedtheClemens’home,and loanedTwainhalfthemoneytopurchasehisshareofthe Express.Inaterribletwist,a closefriendstayingwiththeClemens’inBuffalotohelpOliviarecoverfromherloss, becameillanddiedonlyafewweekslater.Twainwasdevastated,andthefactthathe neededtobefunnyinprintforthenewspaperonlymadethisperiodofhislifeworse.In hislastcolumnatthe Express,inApril1871,Twainwrote:“Tobeapirateonalowsalary andwithnoshareoftheprofitsinthebusinessusedtobemyideaofanuncomfortable occupation,butIhaveotherviewsnow.Tobeamonthlyhumoristinacheerlesstimeis drearier.”
For Mr. C.M. Underhill
TwainleftBuffaloinMarchof1871,butwouldreturntoitinhisbooks,contributing“The FirstAuthenticMentionofNiagaraFalls”toThe Niagara Book in1893.Thebook, publishedbyTwain’sfriendCharlesUnderhill,wasasouvenirforvisitorsoftheFalls. Twain’spiecewasanexcerptfrom“Adam’sDiary,”afunnypiecepresupposingthatAdam
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andEve’sgardenwasfoundatNiagaraFalls.The diarybegins“Thisnewcreaturewiththelong hairisagooddealintheway.”
WhenTwainwroteletterstoCharlesUnderhill regardingpublication,hecouldnevertrust himselftorememberhisBuffaloaddress,so insteadhewouldtryandnarrowitdownby givingparticulars:“inthecoalbusiness”or“used tobehandsome”or,betterstill,“alittlebaldon topofhishead.”Hisletterswerealways deliveredwithoutissue.
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