At first, he also learned the printing business and worked for several years in the company of his father, which brought him into contact with the satirical magazine, Carpet Bag by Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber.
Zunächst erlernte er ebenfalls das Druckerhandwerk und arbeitete einige Jahre im Betrieb seines Vaters, wodurch er mit der satirischen Zeitschrift Carpet Bag von Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber in Kontakt kam.