His real name was Samuel Clemens from Hannibal, Missouri. His Pen name Mark Twain was a form of measurement used on the Mississippi and Missouri Riverboats. A trained crewman would stand at the pilot beam on the craft and on a length of rope was attached a lead weight. On the rope was a pre measured marks and the crewman would toss the weight over the side and yell up to the wheel house the depth. If the craft was free and easy and had plenty of room between the bottom of the steam boat and the bottom of the river he would yell up to the pilot house Mark Twain !! meaning all is clear full speed ahead.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:24:05 +0000