Roughing It

The secretary is really Twain’s older brother, Orion, but he is never mentioned by name in the novel. Orion has taken the post of secretary to the governor of the Nevada territory. However, like his brother, he finds that his future expectations are to be contradicted. Orion must not only arrange his own lodging in Carson City but also provide his own office space to fulfill his duties as secretary. He pays for many items out of pocket that the government fails to reimburse. The secretary disappears from the story once Twain embarks on his short-lived career as a miner.

The Overland Stage Line is the only way to quickly cross America in 1861 before the transcontinental railroad is completed. Consequently, Twain marvels at the speed and efficiency of the operation. It can transport passengers and mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Carson City, Nevada, in less than 20 days. The cramped quarters inside the stage are made worse by bulky mail bags, rain and snow can never be completely prevented from entering the cabin, and the station stops are often manned by criminals. Nevertheless, the stagecoaches run through all manner of difficulties and maintain a connection between the East and West.

The Pony Express only operated for a brief period before the railroad era, but the riders are the stuff of legend. Twain describes them in heroic terms. They are speed demons whose dedication to their task leaves him in awe. At one point in the story, Twain and his stagecoach passengers briefly see an express rider passing them on the stage route. The rider and horse appear larger than life and quicker than the blink of an eye. They enter and exit the story as quasi-mythical figures of the American West.

Twain is disappointed in the Indigenous people he encounters and is troubled by this fact. His prior reading romanticized their existence. The Leatherstocking Tales of James Fenimore Cooper set up an expectation that he would encounter “noble red men” (146). Consequently, Twain is deflated when he sees the squalid conditions under which the Indigenous tribes of Nevada live. Given the number of raids in the area through which he passes, he also forms an impression that the tribes are dangerous and untrustworthy.

Twain’s disillusionment here is indicative of his wider approach, both in Roughing It and in his writing more broadly: He is interested in puncturing the romanticized images of life that come from literature. This habit of mind can be seen even in his best-known works, including Huckleberry Finn. At the same time, Twain’s interest in comic juxtaposition often leads him to ignore the recent histories of ethnic cleansing and land theft that have led to the state of deprivation in which he finds many Indigenous peoples of the West.

Before reaching his destination, Twain’s stagecoach must make a stop in Salt Lake City. During this interval, the author is eager to know about the Mormon religion and polygamy. At the time, Brigham Young runs the territory as if it were his own private kingdom. Twain’s satiric touch is keenest when he is describing the rambling prose of the Mormon bible and fictionalizing Young’s presumed difficulties in appeasing the jealous rivalries of 50 wives.

While living in Virginia City, Twain becomes fascinated by the Chinese immigrant population. Although many were attracted because of the silver rush, others stay to provide services for the local population. Chinese laundries spring up everywhere. Twain praises the intelligence and industry of the Chinese whom he observes. He also offers some critical comments about the American government’s discriminatory practices to keep wealth out of the hands of the Chinese.

Miners come in all shapes and sizes in the novel. Aside from the large mining operations in Carson City and Virginia City, Twain also offers glimpses into the lives of the wildcat miners who hope to strike it rich by finding either silver or gold. The men who do succeed frequently squander their wealth and go broke in a short period of time. Since Twain is a miner himself on more than one occasion, he is intimately aware of the toil required to extract ore from the earth or pan for it. Despite the hardscrabble existence of the miners, Twain praises their initiative and optimism. They all think they’re only a day away from striking it rich.

Twain is more surprised than anyone to realize that he has a talent for writing. However, he initially finds it difficult to scrape up enough news to fill his daily quota for the paper. Like the other newshounds in Virginia City, Twain soon comes to regard the latest murders and robberies with glee. These provide good copy. Friendly rivalries develop between journalists on the various papers. Each one hopes to scoop his competition.

The gold and silver rush attracts numerous tough characters who intend to get rich one way or another. Many of them hope to establish a reputation by killing someone the first day they arrive in town. Twain is intrigued by these colorful characters when he observes them from a safe distance. For the most part, desperados seem more interested in killing others of their kind than in attacking honest citizens. Twain pokes fun at their use of slang when they try to communicate with the educated class of society.

Twain discusses the American missionaries who descended on Hawaii in the early 1800s to convert the native Hawaiian people to Christianity. He praises their efforts to end Indigenous cultural practices that he considers morally unacceptable. However, he also feels that their fire and brimstone preaching is unnecessary; the islanders already live in paradise and don’t need to be educated to fear the Christian hell.