Who didn’t want to build a raft and float away down the river after reading this? It didn’t help that I grew up in Illinois, and while we did not live on the Mississippi, the entire state is Mississippi-adjacent, which meant my little fantasy was not so far fetched.

(Actually, I was closer by far to Lake Michigan, but that just didn’t have the same allure.)

Transcript:

Mr and Mrs Bugg are on a raft that is drifting down a mighty river. One of them is Huck and the other Tom, but it hardly matters, because they have built a raft and are sailing down the damn river, how cool is that? Ahem. Mr Bugg is manning the tiller, while Mrs Bugg is the lookout, scanning the river ahead for anything they might snag on. What a lovely adventure they’re having!

The text reads: “Decembugg 10, 1884: Bugg Twain publishes “Adventures of Huckelbuggy Finn”.”