Passing Vicksburg Spectral Fleet Beyond the Yazoo
A Philadelphia Press account recalls the night past Vicksburg when the Mississippi squadron moved past the town in a silent ghostly procession. Admirals Porter and the pilots volunteered for the perilous pass as shells and fires lit the river, with wounded aboard the Keokuk and other vessels watching in awe and fear.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Press
Mississippi
Yazoo
Louisville
Porter
Benton
Banquo
Wien
Destructive Vicksburg Assault Interlude at River
The narrative recalls a nighttime riverfront action during the Vicksburg operations. Tall ships pass close to the gun emplacements as pilots aboard a transport crew attempt to maneuver past heavy fire. One transport, the Henry Clay, was lost and another disabled, while the remainder suffered minimal damage. The bombardment waned as Confederate batteries faded and the river fell silent again.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Vicksburg
Henry Clay
Warrenton
Grand Opera Explained by an Arkansas Traveller
In a humorous Arkansas yarn a father and son discuss what makes an opera grand. The father argues grandeur arises from audience fatigue and imperfect singing, while a cross out revision tale shows that even a practically ruined work can be deemed grand after attendance soars. He concludes truly refined taste varies, yet many people remain fools to the notion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arkansas
Aes
A Good War of Making Your Husband Speak Good English
A Bismarck Tribune tale describes a Standing Rock visitor who visits a woman in a Cannon Ball River area home. The woman bans the guest and mocks her husband Jim as the sole Dakota doctor while enforcing his need to speak proper English. The scene ends with the husband demanding sass and a guarded threat from the loft.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bismarck Tribune
Bismarck
Standing Rock
Cannon Ball
Jim
Dakota
Sasser
Thar
Precocious Pets From The New York Journal
A New York Journal item details remarkable pets: a Maltese cat opens kitchen doors, a Brooklyn parrot recites the alphabet backward and blesses itself, a Greenwood cemetery goose wanders at midnight, three Twenty sixth street monkeys trained to walk, eat, and pray like humans, and a black Spitz dog that smokes cigars and mixes drinks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Journal
Brooklyn
Greenwood Cemetery
Twenty-sixth Street
Railroads and Signals Spark Humane Dilemma
In a Philadelphia Call piece, Western Railroad Superintendent proposes a humane signal to warn brakemen of nearby cross-track bridges in time to duck. An assistant questions the plan, noting bridges carry wagon roads and criticizing the cost and law. The exchange highlights tension between safety and cost.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Western Railroad
Comic Opera Delights Hospital Patients In Pans
On January 11 at Hospital St. Louis in Pans a comic opera by the young surgeons was performed to amuse patients. The incident echoes Charles Fourier who predicted medicine would ease suffering through art and that hospitals would be filled with music and flowers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hospital St. Louis
Pans
Charles Fourier
Trial of a Michigan Indian Chief Killer Described
Rev. M. Hickey recounts a 1847 unwritten law murder trial among Michigan Indians. A medicine man mediates with gifts, the pipe of peace, and council members from kin, chiefs, and families decide whether the young killer will live. Smoke signals forgiveness ends the case in a tense communal ceremony.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Michigan Pioneer Collections
M. Hickey
Mr. Hickey
Tomimhawken
Cavendish
Tria
Flames on Welsh mountain draw Vale crowds at night
In the Vale of Glamorgan near Llautrissant on a Sunday night villagers gathered atop a Welsh mountain to witness flames shining from the summit. About a thousand locals crowded a central area while an old physician named Price stood robed in white, chanting as observers watched.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Standard
Glamogan
Llautrissant
Price
Dr Price’s Cremation Attempt Sparks Outcry At His Home
A funeral rite led by Dr Price for a Druid hymn ended in panic as onlookers learned the doctor’s child’s corpse lay among the flames. Police detained the physician while a mob seized the body and transported it to the Liantvissant police station. The plot occurred on the doctor’s private hilltop property.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Price
Liantvissant
His First Deer Story Brings Laughs And A Death Shot
Detroit Free Press recounts a camp tale of John E. Long and Dufur at Gillman's where Long shoots his first deer. The story spans a comic misfire, a near miss, and a successful shot described as hitting behind the shoulder within three inches of the tail, earning the deer the nickname Johnny Long's shoulder.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
John E. Long
Dufur
Gillman’s
Mr. Long
Long
Johnny Hs
Johnny
Jim
Johnny Long
Lazy Man's Paradise in a Georgia Daily Office
A Georgia editor explains a sleepy work ethic where the paper is ready by 5 PM. The foreman and assistant foreman press the late edition while town police file arrest items into the box, and reporters drift in late-night with cigars and stories.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Record
Georgia
Close Call on Snowy Night Sparks Brake Man’s Quick Thinking
In Chicago Herald retelling, a brakeman recounts a near collision on a snowy night near Laporte. With a hot box ahead and the rear train behind, he improvised using a red bull’s-eye signal from the rear platform to guide the approaching No. 20. The distant headlight revealed the danger and the train moved, averting disaster.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Herald
Bear Laporte
Twenty
Elkhart
Progress in Wyoming and a Hanging Reform Joke
The writer notes Wyoming is prosperous though mentions a murderer's execution by law. They hint at reform linked to female suffrage and joke about future hangings if conditions stay favorable. The piece mixes satire on justice and politics with a wary optimism about the territory’s trajectory.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wyoming
Maren
Hidden Wealth in Pipe and Pump: Tales of Concealed Cash
A veteran detective describes methods for finding money hidden by eccentric savers. He recounts cases from New Jersey to Orange County, noting patterns: near the finder’s habitual spots, in clothing, or under household fixtures. In one farm mystery, a hidden pump led to a breakthrough, revealing how concealment often matches a faker’s routines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Tod
New Jersey
Orange County
Sid
Pe Sue
Blue Envelope Mystery on the New York Central Rail Line
A veteran conductor recounts the blue envelope's origin on the New York Central, tied to past cheating and bargaining with Vanderbilt. He relays tales of fare overpayments, rich conductors, and the envelope symbolizing a purge of misconduct, plus a late case of hidden bonds recovered from a paralytic man's cellar.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Central
Albany Journal
Journal
New York
Albany
Hudson River
Poughkeepsie
Buffalo
Rochester
Commodore Vanderbilt
Commodore
Syracuse
Chittenden
Vanderbilt
Woman on Train Reflects Care During Long Journey
A narrator recalls a woman named Storrs who rides ahead and is presumed poor. The man named Allerton, addressing her in a paternal tone, notes she did not eat during meals and appears well cared for by others throughout the trip, though his motives remain unclear.
Obituary Craft Struggles in Brooklyn Eagle Dialogue
Law and police reporters bicker and improvise a respectful obituary for a Brooklyn figure. The exchange mines epitaphs and gloom, tugging in quotes from Roscoe Conkling and a Savionr praise of charity while noting familial ties to ex Police Justice Jim Snell.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Roscoe Conkling
Oliver P. Morton
Law
Jim Snell
Colorado
Iregard
An Important Question Settled at Sewickley Club
At the Sewickley Colored Club a debate pitted steam engine against horse. The horse speaker argued comically that a steam hearse would be ridiculous, and the crowd favored the horse after the exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pittsburg
Scientific Truths Illustrated in Gravitational Lesson
Writers on gravitation note that two lead balls weighing one pound and ten pounds fall about equally fast from 100 feet and hit nearly together, though the heavier ball strikes with greater impact. If the lighter ball struck a person the funeral would be as costly as if struck by a heavier ball.
Ploughboy Allerton Highlighted by Western Cronies
The article recalls Ploughboy Allerton, nicknamed Sam by Western cronies, who amassed about 5 006 000 as a cattle dealer. Emory A. Storrs recounts a moment when Allerton watched a distressed traveler in a railroad coach, noting his knack for spotting people in trouble.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Allerton
Sam
Emory A. Storrs
Epigrams and verse snippets from a late 19th century miscellany
A collage of quoted verse and humorous items includes social satire on wealth and health, sentimental poems about marriage and aging, and brief quips on modern inventions and public figures. The pieces reference Hesiod, Susan B. Anthony, Ella Wheeler, Lotta, and a Louisville Courier-Journal line, alongside short humorous observations about a mechanized doll and a revolver price.
Maternal foresight in family tale from Larramie records
A widower with five children and a widow with three engaged to marry. A mother dictates rules to protect the children, forbidding violence and ordering chairs in the home to be nailed down to stop any harm.
Readings from The Week and Verse Snippets
A collage of verse and prose passages from The Week including mock social satire about beauty and deception, a cautionary note from a Cincinnati oculist, a fanciful goat tale, river baptism anecdotes, a Looker-On reflection on youth and aging, and a preacher suppressing a heckler with stern justice.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Admiral Porter
Pla
Niagara Falls
Kea Rover
Dr. Pinckney
Grand Opera
Progress In
Brooklyn Eagle
Ploughboy Allerton
Bob Ingersoll
Topeka Latice
London
Lotta
Susan B. Anthony
Ernest
Chamberlin
Louisville Courier-Journal
Ella Wheeler
Ella
Atlanta Constitution
Love
Somerville Journal
Lake Superior
Broad Atlantic
Harmon Seeley Babcock
Phyllis
Cincinnati
William
Puck
James River
Gabr
Dilsey
Margaret Evtinge
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