Before becoming one of America's greatest writers, Mark Twain was a reporter, a gold digger and a soldier. But it was his experience on the Mississippi River that had the greatest influence on him and his writing.

　　In piloting a riverboat, Twain learned to read the river like a book. Things that once seemed unimportant became full of meaning. A beautiful sunset might mean that there would be windy weather the next day; floating logs often wer