My Debut as a Literary Person

This is Twain's short story about his first ‘literary' publication - although because he didn't hand write his name neatly it was attributed to ‘Mike Swain' or some such.

The publication was his explanation of the sinking of the Hornet, and subsequent experiences of the three small boats used to evacuate the crew and passengers, only some of whom reached the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). Twain happened to be there and spent the night interviewing the survivors, and managed to get his story onto a ship leaving early the next day, thereby securing the scoop ahead of the other reporters on the island.

This short story does not appear to be the actual article, but it is about the article and it includes three diaries (the captain and two passengers) reproduced in full and Twain's narrative bringing the three together and adding details from his interviews.

The fire that sunk the Hornet was caused when a crew member broke the rules and entered a hatch with a naked flame in the process of getting some varnish - obviously the two don't mix well and the fire took a quick hold. Some food and navigation equipment was collected and the three small boats were launched, although two were damaged in the course of this, but not so significantly that they were not able to cope. There were 31 men aboard.

I won't spoil all the details - this is available for free online:
americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/my-debut-as-a-literary-person

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