Powder Laden Run Past Yankee Ships to Galveston
Frank Von Paul recounts his voyage from Havana to Galveston aboard a blockade runner loaded with 1500 barrels of powder and 101600 Enfield rifles. Faced by four Yankee men of war near Galveston Channel, the crew kept calm as shells burst, heavy fire roared, and Confederate batteries and observers watched. They finally reached Fort Magruder safe, spared by a silent South Battery and a grateful reunion with local leaders.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Orleans
Galveston
Galveston Island
Maury
Germain Cook
Tim Island
South Battery
Bert
Weston
Reyes
Fort Magruer
Magruder
Commodore Smith
Seductive ad warns of danger in hand grenade fire aid
A Peck's Saw advertisement depicts a parlor fire scene with a tall determined girl holding a basket and a rubber balloon or football and poised to extinguish flames. The piece questions the grenade’s use, jokes about accidental misfires, and notes the absurdity of relying on such devices versus alarm and fire department response.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hieracus
A Square Meal Fifty Cents? Twelve-Cent Dining Remark
Chicago Herald recounts a newspaper man’s twelve cent meal at a basement restaurant advertised as square meal for twelve cents. The report notes dirt, plain setup, and basic courses soup coffee bread a boiled paste roast beef gravy and a small pie all serving a thrifty but basic dining experience in Chicago.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Chicago Herald
State Street
Alphabet Lesson Sparks Misspoken Letters at Sun Scene School
In a primary class at Sun Scene English School Mistress asks Johnny to recite the alphabet. The five year old replies with a string of mispronounced letters ending with a claim his mother says they must not say hell, as the letter sheol is now used.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ipeck
Sun
Johnny
A.M. Turner
Laertes
Xenophon
Pliny
Vesuvius
Athenicus
England
Mother
Thomas A Becket
Boniface VII
Canterbury Cathedral
Thomas More
Joan
Philip Flower
Lord Henry
Rutter
Leigh Hunt
Browning
Rodigal
Shakespeare
Anne Hathaway
Dekker
Philip Harriet
Susan
Atlanta Constitution
City Company
Jordan Franklin
Edward Franklin
Néd
Carl
Carden
San Francisco
Hacol
Ma Rother
Mamie
Auctioned Homeopathic Medicines Burned Into Pies
A boarding-house keeper bought a pile of assorted homeopathic medicines dumped by an auctioneer. Asking what to do with the lot, she said she crushed them and rolled the powder into sugar bowls, with boarders reportedly liking the crushed medicine sprinkled on pies.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arkansas
Texas Sittings In a Family Sketch
A Texas mother admonishes her daughter Fanny as she battering a doll with a heavy stick. Fanny dismisses the concern insisting she does not care about the sawdust coming out. The mother worries about children being turned gut and humored too much.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Fanny
Child’s view of death prompts thin joke at heaven
A five year old son of Colones 5. 8 Mat thewes was told at Sunday school that when he died he would leave his body here. He then asked if he would be thin when he reached heaven, saying he would take all the good and leave the naughty behind.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Colones
Matthewes
Chicago Rambler Style Dialogue in Mourning
Mamie remarks on Sadie’s hair darkening as she resumes mourning for her father. Sadie explains she cannot wear light tones while in mourning, contrasting past blonde with current somber appearance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Mamie
Sadie
Papa
Gossip About Gloves Through the Ages and Customs
A sweeping 19th century style feature traces gloves from sacred liturgical uses to royal wardrobes and battlefield gauntlets. It notes emperors coronations white silk gloves for Becket and Boniface, Elizabeth I perfumed pairs, Shakespearean connections, and fashion shifts from long sleeves to delicate finger coverings.
Gloves and the making of fine leather gear
The passage notes that kid gloves are often lambskin but claims the finest gloves come from kid skins reared in milk fed coops. It cites a saying that Spain dresses the leather, France cuts the shape, and England sews the seams, but asserts that modern best gloves are made in one place, simple yet dainty for the fastidious.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Limerick
France
England
Izaak Walton
Spain
Intruder in Bedchamber Provokes Samplan Outburst
Detroit Free Press reports Mr Samplan recalling a midnight burglary scene. The intruder threatened with a pistol, demanded valuables, insulted Samplan and his wife, then ransacked the house before fleeing. Samplan pledges to seek police protection if repeated.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Mr. Samplan
Coon
Bat
Making Cigarettes How Many A Girl Can Make In A Day
A New York Sun story asks how many cigarettes a girl can produce daily. A fast worker may reach about 3500 with pay from seventy to eighty cents per 1000. Typical output is around 2000, with detailed steps of rolling using starch paste and tobacco, plus strict quality control to avoid rework.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Devil Fish Encounters From A Sailors Eyewitness Tale
An old diver recalls a two hundred foot sea monster attacked by a ten armed devil fish near the Cuban coast. He describes the creature as winged and horned, weighing around twenty tons, and notes other encounters from Alaska to Bombay, including ink clouds and massive jellyfish sightings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John
Gulf Coast
Florida
Tampa
Alaska
Bombay
California
Moses
Casar the Wartime Politician From Rome’s Cradle to Caesar’s End
An excerpt tracing Caius Julius Caesar from early life to his rise in Rome, marriage alliances, piracy capture and crucifixion of pirates, alliances with Pompey and Crassus, crossing the Rubicon, the Pharsalus clash, and his assassination. It notes his quip Et tu Brute and the enduring image of a fearless leader.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Caius Julius Cmsar
Christ
B. C. Casar
Cassulla
Cornelia
Cinna
Sulla
Caesar
Casar
Sull
Cesar
Rome
Havin
Questor
Senate
Cato
B. C
B.C
Pompey
Crassus
Julia
Pomp
Rudicon
New York
Rubicon
Greece
Pharsalia
Kitosh
Egypt
Cwsar
Ompey
Canada
Sirn
Viel
Cresar
Brutus
Froid
Banana Peel Philanthropists Spark City Talk
A Chicago observer mocks a group dubbed the banana and orange peel brigade. The residents praise a man who theatrically kicks away fruit peels, then reveal a larger joke about many city men sharing the habit and its odd social behavior.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago News
Ordering His Sinner in a New York Eatery
A countryman visits a city restaurant and orders roast lamb but insists on fried oysters. The waiter bawls for a single lamb then jokes at the man’s expense. The customer demands a dozen oysters, exclaiming that one fried oyster won’t suffice. He laments city dining and voices humorous disbelief.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Times
Scott
Auction Story Fragments From Drake's Magazine
A comical fragment from Drake's Magazine describes an auction scene With a boy longing for South Africa and a brisk auctioneer calling bids The dialogue contrasts cultural quirks and a spirited sale as a coal scuttle is purchased for fifteen cents by Mrs Brown and lot numbers are called
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Drake's Magazine
A Cloomy Apparition Merchant Traveller Sees Two Cent Stamp
A somber image appears as a young man with a two cent stamp stuck to his vest pocket stares into a shop window at flashy neckties on a hot summer day. The scene mirrors street life and small personal rituals observed by passersby in urban storefronts.
Leechneerin’ again andy in Arkansas tale
Arkansaw Traveller recounts Colonel Will Beasley returning from mountain districts who confronts a lax watcher. A jab about a road to Jones ferry leads to a startled reaction as the man on the fence mutters and Mose is sent for his gun, exclaiming about leechneerin’ agin’ old.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arkansaw
Will Beasley
Arkansas
Jones’ Ferry
Andrew Jackson
Mose
Leeshneerin
Ripsnorter ad exposes breezy Arizona editor and bold terms
The Arizona editor noted by the Tribune gains fame as the Rambler publishes a facsimile of the Red Gulch Ripsnorter editorial page. It offers a breezy, taunting pitch for subscriptions with red chips, bar room pickup, and threats of collection, while funeral notices demand corpse addresses for prompt payment. Jack Joslyn signs off as Strapping Jack.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Tribune
Arizona
Tribune
Chicago Rambler
Fueral
Asp Eraras
Jack Joslyn
Strapping Jack
A Cincinnati drummer quips on life and risk
A minister tells a passenger that life is uncertain and days may vanish. The man, a Cincinnati drummer, jokes that his insurance is only ten thousand dollars for both the Occident and Orient, highlighting a wry view of fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cincinnati
Arp's Tribulations and a Busy Household Chronicle
A first person reminiscence from Bil Arp detailing a busy household scramble as company nears. The narrator laments labor, hardware, and household squabbles while recounting army cooking, contract disputes with workers, and the chaos of farm tasks. He vents on slavery era memories, family meals, and the looming chores from jelly making to peach gathering.
Keeping Up His Correspondence
A San Francisco tale opens with a tender winter meeting in fog, then shifts to an Austin business man cleaning his desk. A colored porter asks for old letters to mail to his Carolina mammy, explaining he has not written yet and will send one of the unused letters.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nabor Freeman’s
Ace
Texas
Austin
Norf Carolina
Jess
Advertising insight from a New York dry goods merchant
A prominent New York dry goods merchant explains successful advertising. He recounts an early experiment to test whether advertisements were read and notes a novel expedient used to gauge readership on hot evenings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Star
New York
Did You Get Any Replies Ad Sparks Nationwide Letters
A pair of half column ads boasted rapid responses from across the country. Readers including students clergy and eminent figures sent thousands of letters questioning a historical claim, with the poster noting high payment and strong engagement.
Strange Verse Bits From An Old Paper Page
A collage of light verse and humorous prose snippets includes poems about the Moon and a baby, a mock medical quip on eating words, playful exchanges about love and temptation, and comic sketches on domestic life and cooking on the plains. The items parody literary styles and periodical wit.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Peck
Detroit Post
Flintshire
Bess
Earl of Oxford
Italy
Elizabeth
Mary
Garrick
Stratford-on-Avon
Horace Furness
Philadelphia
Charles L. Lady Janerey
Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Stuart
Mile
de la Valliere
Vaux
Catherine de Medicis
Navarre
Rene
St. Bartholomew
Evelyn
Cincinnati Enquirer
John M. Combes
Cuban
Howse-Hole
Susan B. Anthony
Nye
New York Mercury
Friends OF Humanity
The
Banana and Orange Peel Brigade
Johnnie
South Africa
Lecshneering Aginandy
Mrs. Arp
Bill
William
Arp
Orsford
A. D
Austin Dobson
Harper's
Franklin J. Ottarson
Venus
Jupiter
Fall River
Norristown Herald
Fanny Barrow
Home Journal
St. Paul
Harper’s Weekly
Bee
Chicago Ledger
Burdette
Brooklyn Eagle
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