Mister Ron's Basement #878

Tue, Oct 16 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #878



Author William Wright was much better known during his productive career as Dan De Quille. From the 1860s onward, he covered the fascinating stories of miners and prospectors in Virginia City, Nevada during the height of the silver mining boom, for the Territorial Enterprise newspaper. His stories were both factual and humorous.

In 1862, he was joined by another writer for the paper, a young Samuel Clemens, who would not adopt the name of Mark Twain until a year later. The two stayed friends for years, and in 1876, Twain helped De Quille publish (and wrote the introduction to) 'The Big Bonanza,' a book that details the history and exploits of the miners who discovered and ran the famous Comstock Lode, and other mining operations.

This week, we will read some of the humorous stories from this book. Today we learn what happens to a donkey that gets a bit too greedy in 'The Washoe Canary.'

Time: approx ten minutes

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