The Life of Charles Dickens 'Sam Weller in Sierra Nevada.' On news of Dickens' death an American gentleman accounted when came across a snow covered hut whilst crossing the Sierra Nevada with Colonel Lander. A man wearing skins came forth and when asked how he passed his time produced a copy of Nicholas Nickleby and Pickwick Papers from a barrel. Sam Weller is a fictional character in The Pickwick Papers Illustration by Fred Barnard