The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). rn VOLUME XVII. Later National Literature, Part II.
XIV. Travellers and Explorers, 1846–1900§ 17. Mark Twain
About the same time there appeared on this remote and primitive literary stage another genius who was dubbed the “Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope.” He tried mining with no success and then turned to his pen. The Jumping Frog (1867) carried the name of the former Mississippi pilot to the outer world, and “Mark Twain” became a star among the literary lights of the United States. Further mention here of either of these brilliant members of the American literary fraternity is unnecessary except perhaps to note Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi (1883) and his Letter to the California Pioneers (1911), in the second of which he describes his life as a miner. An early literary explorer to the Pacific Coast was Theodore Winthrop, who wrote The Canoe and Saddle, Adventures Among the Northwestern Rivers and Forests; and Isthmiana (1862).