Before becoming a renowned American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist who acquired international fame, Samuel Clemens, a.k.a Mark Twain, had a variety of occupations.

With only a fifth-grade education and both of his parents deceased by the time he was 12, he left home to become a printer’s apprentice and started writing articles for the local newspaper. When Clemens was 18, he left Missouri to work as a printer in New York, then moved to Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cincinnati.

But his days along the Mississippi River beckoned, as Clemens had always dreamed of becoming a steamboat captain on this legendary river. He longed to be the one who steered the great paddle ships safely past the sandbars, rocks, floating trees, and shifting currents along the Mississippi.

In 1857, on a steamboat bound for New Orleans, LA, Clemens persuaded the accomplished riverboat captain, Horace Bixby, to take him on as an apprentice for a $500 fee. Under the masterful instruction of Bixby, Clemens studied the Mississippi River with the goal of obtaining a pilot’s license.
During his apprenticeship, he had been commissioned to write a series of comic travel letters for the Keokuk Daily Post, but after writing five, decided he’d rather be a pilot than a writer. Clemens cherished the rank and dignity that came with the position, as well as belonging to a group of men whose acceptance he valued.

In 1859, he earned his pilot’s license, giving him a sense of discipline and direction, he might not otherwise have acquired. Before this period, he had felt directionless; after this accomplishment, he had a sense of determined possibility. He piloted his own boats for two years, until the Civil War halted steamboat traffic.

During his time as a pilot, he not only met his first true love, but he also picked up the name “Mark Twain,” meaning two fathoms in depth, indicating safe steamship passage in dangerous areas of the Mississippi River. It was a pseudonym he would continue to use for nearly 50 years.

Although he was known for his experiences on the Mississippi River, Twain also spent time navigating the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers. His travels along these rivers broadened his understanding of America’s waterways, enriching his perspective on the diverse cultures and communities that inhabited the region.