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How much did Samuel Clemens agree to pay for his riverboat-pilot apprenticeship?
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Mark Twain
American humorist and novelist Mark Twain, c. 1907.
Samuel Clemens agreed to pay a $500 apprentice fee to the riverboat captain Horace Bixby to learn how to navigate the Mississippi River.1
Clemens paid an initial $100 toward this amount and promised to pay the remaining balance in installments, though he evidently never completed those payments.1