First Bull Run skirmish at Blackburns Ford
In the Blackburns Ford engagement preceding Bull Run, 3000 troops faced off as infantry cavalry and artillery, with sharp volleys and a dueling artillery exchange. The piece notes the Federal missteps, Confederate improvisation, and Beauregard losing lunch to a shell while the Washington Artillery and regiments clashed along the banks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Murray
Washington Republican
Bull Run
Tyler
Blackburn
Ford
Virginia
Reet
Seventeenth Virginia
Manasses Junction
Bonham
South Carlans
Fairfax, Court
Manassas
Kang
Orth
Blackburn's Ford
Bolron
Stuart
Leness
Maine
Michigan
Longstreet
Washington Artillery
New Orleans
Rickett’s
Beauregard
Edera
A Cause For Lamentation About The Hatless Man
A satirical essay notes the social suspicion and rumor that follow a man who loses his hat, recounting Rev. Mr Pitchfield and others misperceived as drunk as townspeople speculate. It mocks public shaming and laments the hatless state as a symbol of social vulnerability.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pitchfield
Brother Pitchfield
Clerk
Mr. Pitchfield
First Telegrapher Recalls Edison Mystery Morning
A veteran telegrapher recalls starting in Cincinnati beside Edison and the chaotic Pittsburg test of a 600 to 1500 word dispatch. He describes a crowded room with fifteen instruments and a furious operator demanding relief while Edison’s signature test press ran.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Express
Cincinnati
Edison
Pittsburg
Pittsby
Alone on Pike s Peak by a Pretty Girl's Lacque
A Louisville reader recounts an ascent of Pike s Peak from Manitou to the summit, facing mountain lions, bears, and a freezing night. A lost sacque and a perilous late rescue shape a dramatic tale of endurance, danger, and improvised survival above the timber line.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Louisville
Pike’s Peak
Manitou
United States
Monster Peak
Kentucky
Pike's Peak
Denver
Rocky Mountains
Darling
Thad
Terra Plana
Indal
Self supporting ladies seek pin money after marriage
Bill Nye quips about brides seeking protection over revenue and jokes that his own clothing, once a symbol of status, now loses its purpose after marriage as he notes he no longer needs fine clothes for a vocation. He jokes about political banter and his own frugal wardrobe.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bill Nye
N. ¥. Mercury
Ethel
Arkansaw Traveller’s Prompt Sermon on Jasper’s Religion
The secretary of state questions a man about his beliefs, accusing him of improvidence for not providing for his household. A slave-era dialogue illustrates racial tensions and logic of the era, with the speaker defending himself by noting misdeeds and social norms surrounding property and trust.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arkansaw
Jasper
Secretary of State
Moving to a Funeral Route in Harper's Bazar
Mrs Blake asks Mrs Flint about the new residence and Mrs Flint replies that the new avenue leads directly to the cemetery and that nearly all funerals pass their door, making it extremely pleasant.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper's Bazar
Glories of Colorado High Altitudes and Wide Vistas
The observer recounts the thrill of Colorado’s high country with 14,000 foot elevations and distant views of Denver and surrounding states. He notes brisk exposure, hardy flora, and the exhilaration of living where scenery and altitude stir bold adventure despite danger.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Colorado
Kentucky
Bowlder
Denver
Jove
Olympus
The Language of Chairs in a Practical Poem
Agnes E. Wetherald muses on chair speech in the Chicago Current noting chairs remain constant while flowers thrive or fail. She links chair comfort to hospitality, relaxation, and daily life, offering playful personifications and quotes about various chair types and their implied moods.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Generees
Pope
Enother
Ash Fork Water Crisis Deepens in Arizona Well Mystery
The Ash Fork area faces a critical water shortage as artesian drilling failed at 900 feet and residents rely on water hauled from Peach Springs. Prospective miners found a vast, unseen cavern eight miles away, a 160 foot diameter, 820 foot deep pit with vertical walls. Explorers declined to descend, leaving the mystery unsolved and water fears unresolved.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tucson
Arizona
Ash Fork
Atlantic and Pacific
Peach Springs
Ap Arency
Rat Catcher Confounds Lumber Rack Story From Arkansaw Traveller
In a playful Arkansas tale related to Tom Sawyer, a man entices boys to catch a huge rat hiding under a lumber pile. After several men move the lumber, they find no rat. The owner reveals he orchestrated the search simply to have the lumber moved.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tom Sawyer
Arkansaw
Renting Stoves Fifty Years Ago in Litchfield County
A Hartford correspondent recalls customs from fifty years past. Common people rented stoves from the rich for twenty five cents a month, with Dr Catlin of Litchfield owning many. He would travel to collect rent, and schools had no clocks. noon was marked by window sill marks and sun position.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hartford
Jimes
Litchfield County
Catlin
Litchfield
Dava
Life in Alaska From a Former Government Employee
A New York Times travelogue chronicles Alaska through a former official's eyes. He describes native customs, marriage practices, cremation customs, and legends, then recounts encounters with beavers, a grizzly bear, and a herd of reindeer. Mosquitoes and black flies ruin the traveler’s comfort, while hints of a legendary gold region linger.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alaska
Rocky Mountains
One Night of Horror and the Vault That Never Opened
Hill Nye recounts a Christmas tale from Pittsburg describing two law students who stored bedding in a fireproof vault. After a bungled attempt to recall the vault combination, the narrator endures a long cold night and a comic misadventure before discovering the bedding remained secure. Bob, the roommate, is the true hero of the story.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hill Nye
Pittsburg Dispatch
Bingham & Jenkins
Bob
Central Hotel
Waltman
Stage Babies in Old Theatrical Practice and Lives
An overview of stage babies in 19th century theater from Philadelphia Times notes how live infants, often replaced by dolls, became fixtures in plays like Rip Van Winkle and Pizarro. It recounts families and exploits, actors' early careers, and big earnings for child performers and caretakers, including a tale of Forrest with a dwarf playing Rolla's infant son.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Times
Harlequin
Peter White
Pieys
E. L. Davenport
Fanny
Lillie
May
Edgar L
Harry
John Elisler
Cleveland
Pittsburg
Edwin Booth
Madelaine
the Fallurg
Joseph Jefferson
Charleston
Rip van Winkle
Hague Lockyar
John Reed
Walnut
National Theatre
Tom Placide
Roland Reed
Kate Claxton
Charles Reade
New York
Dave Belasco
James Herne
Maria
Pizarro
Rolla
Edwin Forrest
Jefferson
Forrest
Cincinnati
Rolli
Metamora
Union Square Theatre
Authorship Question For Eccentric Browning Line Claim
A San Francisco letter questions whether obscure lines praising a lyre and stringed instruments were written by Robert Browning. The writer defends Browning as the likely author, noting meter and rhythm, while admitting uncertainty and risking posthumous disgrace if wrong.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Franciscan
Robert Browning
Browning
Towning
A Desirable Servant in San Francisco Ingleside
A 19th century exchange reveals a lady asking an applicant if any male relatives or admirers will visit. The servant responds that some gentleman friends may come, but they understand visits occur only in the home evenings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Francisco Ingleside
Shure
Wanderings in the Soudan Attend an Arab Telegraph Clerk
London Echo recounts Mrs Speedy describing a curious episode during her stay in the Soudan. After a long march she prepares to sleep and overhears her host, an Arab telegraph clerk, murmuring prayers through a thin partition before drift toward slumber.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Echo
Speedy
The
Soudan
Prayers Repeated To Silence In Hostel Tale
A narrator recalls a host who, bound by a sect, must repeat prayers aloud. The cleric’s unending recitation becomes like machinery as the congregation endures a deafening cadence. Reported next day, the host’s sect enforces prayer repetition if voices of women, donkeys, or dogs are heard during the service.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
da Capo
Bric a Brac Not In Vains and Other Sketches
A collage of vintage verse and prose excerpts from The Last Straw to Chicago Ledger including poems by Alfred Percival Graves and Austin Dobson. It features light satire on manners and society with playful reflections on beauty and refinement.
Prize Lines on Lawn Tennis in London Truth
The article critiques lawn tennis with quotable phrases about faults, strikes, and returns. It notes that despite advantages and high bounce, poor serves persist yet a score is needed. It mentions matches judged impartially and a network spanning from pole to pole.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Arkansaw Traveller and the Wind in verse and banter
A compact piece mixing a quip about a deceased son and a Stevenson poem. It contrasts a gruff Arkansas exchange on death with a lyrical meditation on the wind, noting weathered humor and nature. The tone shifts from stark mortality to playful rhapsody on wind’s power and mystery.
Lace Sample Sparks Fashionable Domestic Banter
A San Francisco Ingleside fashion piece shows a stylish wife asking her husband to fetch a yard and a half of lace for a new ball dress. He jokes about the neck measurement while she explains ball gowns need looser necklines, and he agrees to buy the lace for another to adjust.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Francisco Ingleside
Miss Smith
Young Browne
Tam
Browne
Carlo
Smith & Smith’s
Also Mentioned on This Page
WEBEL
Tor
Itten
Vern Hill
Alexandria
Beneem
Opie P. Read
New York Mercury
Agnes E. Wetherald
Chicago
New York Times
Alaskan
Kolosk
Kenai River
Skeloka
Joe Jefferson
Fall River
Our
E. Banks
Chicago Ledger
Alfred Percival Graves
Taunton Town
Quantech
Kingdom of Heaven
Earth
Austin Dobson
Anna
George
Albert E. Sterner
Fichu
Jacquemine
Drake's
Traveler's Magazine
R. L. Stevenson
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