Many people know Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain, one of the greatest American novelists. He made himself known around the world with some of the most famous works that have ever come out of America. Among these are such volumes as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. "There is no humor in Heaven" (Hodgins 337), said Twain. He certainly shared his humor with the world while he had his chance.
             Samuel Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri on November 5, 1835. His parents were Mr. John M. Clemens (Smith 175), a visionary lawyer, and Jane L. Clemens (Kunitz 159). In 1839 his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. This town inspired most of his writings; he called it by the name of St. Petersburg, meaning "Heaven" (Smith 175)
             After his father died in 1847, Clemens was forced to quit school. He became an apprentice for his brother, Orion, who owned a small country newspaper named The Missouri Courier (Kunitz 159). After his apprenticeship Samuel worked with different newspapers in Hannibal from 1848 to 1854 (Smith 175). After a failed trip to South America (Kunitz 159) he became a cub pilot and steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River from 1857 to 1861 (Smith 175).
             In 1861 Clemens joined the Confederate Army. For two weeks he was a Lieutenant (Kunitz 159) in the Missouri militia (Smith 175). His entire family was staunch Unionists. He somehow managed to muster his way out of the army soon (Kunitz 159).
             After his brief term enlisted, he joined his brother again. Orion was now the Secretary of Nevada. Clemens went along as his brother's secretary, but soon lost interest from lack of duties and salary (Kunitz 159).
             In 1861 Clemens became a prospector in Nevada (Smith 175), he mined mainly for silver but was quite unsuccessful (Hodgins 335), so after about a year he decided to try something else. Clemens worked for The Territorial Enterprise in...