About the same time that Howells was sending Twain a copy of the review manuscript, Raymond sent a letter asking that Twain give him "the rest of this season in consideration of what he [Raymond] has done for my [Twain's] pocketbook and my reputation." (15) That is to say, Raymond, in payment for making Colonel Sellers such a success, wanted a waiver of royalties (some sources indicate it might have been as much as $100 per performance) for the rest of that theatrical season, which would extend through June or July of 1875. Twain suspected that "there is some villainy under it somewhere." (16)
Raymond opened the 1875-76 season at the UNION SQUARE THEATRE in New York, with a seven week run of Colonel Sellers. This production is notable for the fact that it served as the New York stage debut of that young actor from Hartford, William Gillette. The closing night banquet for the UNION SQUARE run was attended by sixty guests who honored John Raymond. One of the speakers at this affair was a rising army officer—who was, himself, on a course to eternal fame—Gen. George Custer.
Through about mid 1877, Raymond performed almost exclusively as Colonel Sellers, and for good reason—the money! In October of 1876, already Colonel Sellers' third season on the boards, Twain reported to Howells, "[A] check for $1,616.16 has just arrived—my clear profit on Raymond's first week in Philadelphia." (17) Obviously the audiences for Colonel Sellers were not dwindling, and in fact, the Philadelphia take outdid the "nine hundred dollars a week" that Twain was ecstatic about in early 1875.
The May 7th, 1877, performance at the PARK THEATRE in New York was billed as Raymond's 914th performance as Sellers. This was midway through a three week run which again included William Gillette in the cast.
Colonel Sellers carried Raymond halfway through the 1877-78 season. Meanwhile, on July 31st of 1877, the Mark Twain-Bret Harte play Ah Sin! opened to big houses at Daly's FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE in New York. It was a low comedy, and the quality of its humor is suggested by the fact that "Ah Sin" refers to the name of a Chinese laundryman in a western mining camp. The audiences of the first few nights were deceiving, for Ah Sin! died a swift death, and its failure brought on the final demise of the Twain-Harte friendship. Each blamed the other for the show's lack of success.
