A Georgia boy's war time adventures at Turner plantation
In this chapter from On the Turner Plantation by Joel Chandler Harris a Georgia boy named Johnny faces punishment and cunning as Mrs Chambliss hides money, Ningapie the acorn spirit guides him to a miraculous red cow, milk, and a fortune in the garden. Johnny escapes punishment, returns home with milk, and Ningapie defeats the witch who vanished, while a final scene hints at future adventures with Joe Maxwell.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chambliss
Johnny
Ningapie
Mr. Wall
The Owl and the Birds Tale From Jim Polk Gaither
A rural tale recounts Jim Polk Gaither’s keen nature knowledge and animal skills. Harbert narrates a settlers’ fable about owls, crows, and jaybirds plotting a watchman owl and the birds’ reaction to mischief. The longest section preserves dialect speech and a sunset scene of moral judgment and communal rumor.
Nibsy Finds Santa Claus in the East Side Alley
On Christmas Eve in a cold East Side tenement district, a ragged newsboy, Nibsy, shares his last pennies and a dream of Santa Claus with hungry children. After a violent escape from his abusive guardian, he ends up in a hospital, then returns to his mother and baby sister, dying from illness. A younger ragamuffin lays a hemlock branch on Nibsy’s coffin, saying Santa Claus has come to him after all.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James K. Polk Gaither
James
Jim Polk Gaither
Doe Maxwell
Joe
Jim Polk
Jim
Tom
Santa Claus
Nibsy
McRoarty
Heng
Ruttian
Ragamuttin
Plebe Hops and Pranks at West Point 1862
Captain Charles King recalls life at West Point during the Civil War era. Plebes endure harsh drills, enjoy rare guard duty rest, and suffer the Bachelors Club tricks. A famed August jubilee ends with polar-bear mischief amid Second Bull Run’s opening clashes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Elsen
Bachelors’ Club
Old “Fort Post
Cro’ Nest
New York
Linto
Army of the Potomac
Chain Bridge
Stonewall Jackson
Ewell
Starke
Taliaferro
Warrenton Turnpike
Groveton
Second Bull Run
Patagonian Channels and Patagonian Inhabitants
Fannie B. Ward describes Patagonian channels with dark rugged shores and blue ice, noting glaciers, fjords, and the cone of Mt. Sarmiento. She recounts ship routines and crew preparedness in narrow passages as well as encounters with nomadic Patagonian huts and fishing gear from a lone inland wanderer.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fannie B. Ward
Switzerland
Norway
Mt. Sarmiento
Cockburn Channel
Pacific
Darwin
Chile
English Narrows
Messier
Patagonians
South Pole
Nighttime Chase with Animals in the Woods
A narrated tale follows Johnny and Nin gapie as eerie noises summon a black dog and acorn quests. They flee through a forest where a white horse, wild hogs, and pursuit by hawks and crows erupt, with owl calls triggering a dramatic woodland commotion among birds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joe Maxwell
Ishmael
Harbert
Jon
Jim Polk
Joe
Dim Polk
Young Gaither
Basilisk lore in medieval folk tale and myth
The basilisk, famed among medieval monsters, was said to hatch from a toad egg laid by a barnyard cock. Descriptions include eight limbs, wings, or neither, with a crownlike head and fatal gaze. Pliny and others credit it with deadly breath, mortal bites, and plants dying nearby, while a cock’s crow was said to destroy any basilisk.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Louis Republic
Basiliscos
Pliny
Bascho
Australian miner finds gold in Conobo as 1861 colonial govern
Edward Har Graves of Conobolas Australia traveled west to California seeking fortune. After modest success he returns home and studies local geology. He notes similar rock formations to California and digs for a month or two discovering gold Reid in 1861 under colonial governance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Evening News
Australia
California
Pacific Coast
Edward Hargraves
Conobolas
Bathurst
Rocky Mountains
Conoboas
Reid
Gold Fever Grips colonies as vast finds emerge
News of royal grants sparks a gold rush across colonies. Reports describe native workers and settlers discovering solid gold in quartz heaps, with nuggets like the Victoria weighing 340 ounces and the Welcome weighing 202 ounces. In November 1856 ships James Baines and Lightning carried six million dollars worth from Melbourne, signaling a flood of abundance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New South
Victoria
James Baines
Lightning
England
Melbourne
Sunken Cities Across History and Legend Revealed
A survey of cities legendary or historical said to be submerged by seas and rivers. From Bangala near Chittagong to Calicut and Ravenspur, writers note relics and tales of vanished harbors and towns. The piece references classical mentions, poems, and enduring myths about swallowed places.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Louis Republic
Bangala
Chittagong
Bengal
Ptolemy
Komaria
Cape Comaria
India
Cline
Hooghly
Ravenspur
England
Cape May
N.J
Delaware Bay
Wales
Llangorse
Brittany
Germany
Rugen
W. Muller
Amalfi
Longfellow
Savanna-safar
de Quincey
Burs
Helica
Indian Ocean
Calicut
Calico
de Peyster
Caransius
Scarphont
Flanders
Noted Figures Die On Their Birthday Anniversarys
A collection of cases where individuals such as Moses Shakespeare Raphael Sengio d Urbino Sir Thomas Browne Timothy Swan Gen McLean Taylor St John of God John Sobieski born and died on the same calendar day. The writer cites Britannica and notes a few prominent examples with birthdays and death days matched.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Louis Republic
Moses
Adar
Shakespeare
Sweet Bard
Avon
Raphel Sengio d’Urbino
Britannica
Thomas Browne
Religo Medici
Timothy Swan
McLean Taylor
Aig
Navy
St. John of God
Order of Charity
John Sobieski
Poland
Vienna
Locomotive Price Drop Seen as Christmas Gift Option
Norristown Herald notes a locomotive once costing 10000 dollars ten years ago can be bought today for 9000 dollars. A 21000 dollar reduction is highlighted as a notable consideration for Christmas present planning.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Norristown Herald
Odds and Ends From a Curious World of Facts
A roundup of oddities and trivia from pursuit of knowledge across science, invention, and geography. Topics include a nonpatented cow catcher, the Poughkeepsie bridge span, insect size studies, a Kansas farmer’s divorce scheme, a blue rose myth, U.S. money types, famous whips, sermons by a Chicago firm, aging warships and guns, a Crewe locomotive trial, giant lobster finds, boomerang mechanics, foggy London atmosphere, large Fresno sweet potato, electric lights in Hammerfest, deepest French mine, Buenos Aires demographics, Indiana rail headlights, Acton dam, soapstone uses, a Manchester divorce case, and various astronomical and historical curiosities.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
D. B. Davies
Columbus
America
Poughkeepsie
Prof
Blattner
Atchison County
Kan
United States
Treasury
William H. Vanderbilt
W. Kk
Vanderbilt
Pierre Lorillard
Chicago
New York
Crewe
London & Northwestern Railway
Chester
Australia
London
Fresno
Cal
Hammerfest
Europe
St. Andre de Poirier
France
Buenos Ayres
Indiana
Acton
Manchester
Salton Lake
Arizona
Colorado River
Tasmania
Philadelphia
Sandwich Islands
South Africa
Mexico
Canada
Vienna
California
Rock Springs
Wyo
Keeler
Calvary
Jerusalem
Jesus
Dead Sea
Sodom
Gomorrah
China
England
Atab
Bagdad
Worl
Iceland
Pitcairn Islands
Isle of Man
Jakontask
Siberia
A Case with No Chance for Recovery
An Indianapolis Journal fragment describes a man driven to madness by his wife's alleged manipulations of the clock to alter his waking time, a case hinting at abuse and psychological distress. The readable portion centers on confusion and the impact on the husband’s sanity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Indianapolis Journal
Horto
Ake
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ely SQ
Turner Plantation
Georgia
Joel Chandler Barris
Uncle Remus
Daddy Jake
Balaam
His
Free Joe
MR. Watts
Nick Hisse
Hess
Oman
Owl
Bimps
Gaither
Story
The
Mr. Jaybird
Mr. Crow
Crow
Daybird
Jaybird
Mr. Owl
Johnnie
Easf
J. A. Rits
Suny
West Point
Charles King
Mess
Company D
Company A
Heaven
Ninwapie
the Basilisk