THE BOYS' LIFE OF MARK TWAIN
manner, but the size of the loss was magnified in Roughing It, to make a good story. There was never a fortune in "Wide West," except the one sunk in it by its final owners. The story as told in Roughing It is a tale of what might have happened, and ends the author's days in the mines with a good storybook touch.
The mining career of Samuel Clemens really came to a close gradually, and with no showy climax. He fought hard and surrendered little by little, without owning, even to the end, that he was surrendering at all. It was the gift of resolution that all his life would make his defeats long and costly—his victories supreme.
By the end of July the money situation in the Aurora camp was getting desperate. Orion's depleted salary would no longer pay for food, tools, and blasting-powder, and the miner began to cast about for means to earn an additional sum, however small. The "Josh" letters to the Enterprise had awakened interest as to their author, and Orion had not failed to let "Josh's" identity be known. The result had been that here and there a coast paper had invited contributions and even suggested payment. A letter written by the Aurora miner at the end of July tells this part of the story:
My debts are greater than I thought for. . . . The fact is, I must have something to do, and that shortly, too. . . . Now write to the Sacramento Union folks, or to Marsh, and tell them that I will write as many letters a week as they want, for $10 a week. My board must be paid.
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