Distinctly Montana Magazine

60 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 4 Rogers at that time was vice presi- dent of Standard Oil and president of the Amalgamated Copper Company, which controlled the copper mines of Butte plus the politics and economy of Montana. He often maneuvered behind the scenes and through prox- ies. Sending his son-in-law and Twain to observe Clark, a sworn enemy of Amalgamated Copper, was definitely his style. The New York Times mentioned Twain was at the soireé, but not Ben- jamin, merely hinting that other peo- ple attended. Between the Times's delicate omission and Twain's use of the alias "Jones," it is indeed likely that Twain's presence deliberately pulled the limelight to the famous writer and away from others who quietly wished to observe Clark's antics. Montana history rightly excoriates Rogers for morphing the Anaconda Company into Amalgamat- ed, a gigantic copper trust. But for Twain, Rogers was a hero. As historian Eugene Huddleston noted, "A strange dualism charac- terized Rogers. Pitiless in business deals, in his personal affairs he was warm and generous." He was especially generous to Twain. They met in 1893 and were lifelong friends. When Twain's publishing firm went bank- rupt in 1894, Rogers and Benjamin untangled the mess. After Rogers's death in 1909, Twain wrote, "I am grateful to his mem- ory for many a kindness and many a good service he did me, but gratefulest of all for the saving of my copyrights; a service which saved me and my family from want, and assured us permanent comfort and prosperity." But how did Rogers and Twain connect to W.A. Clark? That thread links to Clark's rival copper king, Marcus Daly. The story begins in Nevada, where Samuel Clemens wrote for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise from 1861 to 1864 and first used the pen name "Mark Twain." The young newswriter freely mixed fact with biting satire, offend- ing many locals, who dubbed him "the reigning loudmouth of Washoe." Once he abandoned journalism for fiction, his career took off. Meanwhile, a 20-something Marcus Daly worked in the silver mines of Neva- da's Comstock Lode from the mid-1860s until 1870. He was a "fun-loving fellow" whose sojourn in the silver state slightly overlapped Twain's. While Twain made no mention of Daly in his writings, there is strong circumstantial evidence they knew each other. Daly and Twain almost certainly connected—or reconnected—in Montana during Twain's 1895 speaking tour. Two of his five Montana stops were Butte and Ana- conda. Further, Twain stayed the night of August 2 at Daly's mag- nificent Hotel Montana. Newspapers confirmed that Daly was in Anaconda, and on August 3, Daly left for Great Falls while Twain departed for Helena. Most likely, they took the same train north. The open question is if Twain connected Daly to Henry Rog- ers. We probably will never know for sure. This may have been by design: Daly was, like Rogers, generous and gregarious to friends, but in business preferred manipulating events with an invisible hand. Ultimately, in 1899 Daly allied with Rogers to reorganize Montana's Anaconda Company into Amalgamated Copper. Marcus Daly, c. 1899 Henry H. Rogers c. 1900 DALY MANSION PRESERVATION TRUST W.A. Clark's 5th Avenue mansion in New York City was a monument to excess even by the standards of the Gilded Age. It contained 121 rooms, 31 baths, four art galleries to hold his extensive art collection, and a swimming pool. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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