Life on the Mississippi

Though Twain is supposed to find the money and give it to Kruger’s son in Germany on behalf of Ritter, after relating the previous chapter’s details to his companions, they not only agree to find the money but to keep some of it for themselves. Twain and his companions eventually want so much of the money that hardly any of it will get to the son. Twain decides to disembark at Napoleon and find the money, which his companions find amusing. As it turns out, what they know and Twain does not is that Napoleon was destroyed by fire. The town burned to the ground, leaving no trace of its existence save a chimney, meaning that the livery stable where the money was hidden is no longer there.

Twain discusses the Calhoun Line, an enterprise that will not only sell cotton, but do so in a way that is beneficial to both cotton owners and laborers. The narrative then switches, and Twain talks about the place of steamboat bars, institutions now in decline though they used to be popular and profitable.

Twain and Uncle Mumford hear tales of the mosquitoes of Arkansas from Mr. H and his friend. The two men tell mostly unbelievable stories concerning the feeble mosquitoes of Arkansas versus the dangerous mosquitoes of the Lake Providence area. Mr. H attests that the Lake Providence mosquitoes can kill a man and hold him down, and that he has seen them trying to vote. He then tells Twain not to trust his partner too much as the man is a known liar.

Twain details the town of Vicksburg during the Civil War. He writes about the survivors who holed themselves up in caves. Through first-hand accounts, Twain explains the horrific situation of waiting there while the fighting was going on. Twain recounts that close to 17,000 people died in this place due to the war.

This comical anecdote told by Twain relates how he met a man named John Backus on a steamboat while on a surveying trip. Backus initially wanted to work with Twain on cattle and land issues. One night, a drunken Backus plays cards with professional card players and wins a large sum of money. He was playing in a rigged game with a fixed hand. Fortunately for Backus, the person dealing the cards made a mistake and Backus ends up with four aces instead of four queens. After his landfall win, he no longer needs Twain’s help. 

The chapter highlights how the steamboat Gold Dust from the previous chapter was destroyed by an explosion. Seventeen people died in the catastrophe, which later increased to eighteen when the severely injured pilot also died.

Twain makes a comparison between steamboats and houses. More specifically, he contrasts steamboats with the average “nice” houses in different southern neighborhoods. Unlike Mr. Dickens, Twain feels that steamboats are superior to even the nicest of these houses, even those from twenty years prior that were considered grand.

This short chapter describes the manufacturing city of Natchez, where ice and cottonseed oil are made.

The narrative switches to Baton Rouge and its educational institutions. Twain comments on the architecture of these places, noting how complex and stylistically Southern the female colleges are. He again uses the first-hand accounts of Mrs. Trollope to add credence to his summations. 

Twain revisits the town of New Orleans and discovers that the town is pretty much the same as it was when he was last there. The exceptions, he notes, are that the town has become more hygienic, and there have been far fewer fires.

This chapter touches on a bit of the macabre, with Twain commenting on New Orleans’ graveyards. Twain finds that though the graveyards are indeed beautiful, the chemicals that are being emitted by the dead bodies are dangerous. He then muses that, given this fact, the ability of St. Anne’s relics to save people is apropos given their ability to kill. Twain then mentions that he would like to be cremated. 

Twain encounters one of his old friends who is now an undertaker. His friend admits that he is perfectly happy as an undertaker as the money is good, citing that people go all out when it comes to funerals by spending a lot of money. His one consternation comes to epidemics, which he states are never as profitable as regular, isolated funerals. 

In this chapter, Twain switches narrative to comment on the South and speech patterns, or intonations. Twain likens Southern speech to music, and admits that he misses Southern speech. He then proceeds to highlight what he finds endearing about Southern speech patterns. One example he gives is the interesting substitution of “Y” for “R,” as well as the use of “went” in place of “gone.”

Twain uses this chapter to discuss three Southern pastimes, including his thoughts on each. The first is the concept of war talk. Twain comments that war talk is better suited to the South than the North as more men in the South were involved in the war. The second pastime is cock fighting. Twain thinks cock fighting is barbaric and disgusting, and did not stay to see the entire fight finish. The last pastime he mentions is going to the mule races, which is a pastime that Twain himself takes pleasure in.