The Loss of the Eira Arctic Expedition Diary
The London correspondent for the New York Herald relays Leigh Smith's Arctic hardships aboard the Eira from June 1881 departure at Peterhead to a perilous abandonment near Cape Flora. The crew endured ice entrapment, a sinking ship, makeshift shelter, food scarcity, and repeated bear encounters as they survived toward the long winter.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
New York Herald
Leigh Smith
Arctic
Peterhead
Franz Josef Land
Cape Ludlow
Gray Bay
Bell Island
Barents Hook
Cape Flora
Eira
Returning crew recounts voyage and rescue near Nova Zembla
After six weeks of ice travel the party reached water and steered toward Nova Zembla. A brisk wind grew into a gale then a thunderstorm as four boats reached Matochyen Straits. They met the William Barents, and Sir Allen Young’s party was reunited with the Hope crew amid efforts to ease the men’s condition.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nova Zembla
Matochyen Straits
William Barents
Hoffman
Barents Straits
Hope
Eira
Leigh Smith
Sir Allen Young
Mr. Smith
William Barent
Sir Allen
the Hope
Lightning Rods and Their Real Protection Value
A Massachusetts Ploughman argues that lightning rods fail to protect buildings when imperfectly designed or poorly maintained. Many rods do not reach moist ground or are installed with insufficient down conductors, inviting damage. He urges yearly inspection and removal if not properly installed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Massachusetts
Connecticut Boy in California Plucks One Peach
A Connecticut boy in California plucked a ripe peach with his father's permission. He then bent the branch and gnawed all the fruit off the others, leaving the pit hanging on the stem. His precocious foresight kept him from punishment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Connecticut
California
Sheep Shearing Returns on Key West Island
The New York Sun notes that sheep on Key West Island shed their wool in the second year and grow a full crop of hair, signaling a natural wool cycle and adaptation to island conditions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Key West Island
N. Y
How She Nearly Killed the Baby
A New York Sun correspondent recounts warnings on infant feeding and sewage from the city’s mothers and nurses. The writer shares a personal past mistake with overfeeding and details a safer routine of limited oatmeal gruel with condensed milk and water, noting improved health and temperament as the child thrives through a summer in the city.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Sun
Tom
Tabby
Hennypenny
Mamma
Coney Island
Remarkable Head Without a Brain Frightens Cincinnati Readers
A boy born February 20 in Wayne County West Virginia, Franky Canady, reportedly lives seventeen months with no skull or brain. Observers describe a translucent head with a colorless brain cavity, lamp light reveals interior details, and the child appears healthy though unable to sit up.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Inaquirer
Beech Fork
Twelve-Pole Creek
Wayne County
W. W
Franky Canady
Cincinnati Enquirer
Actors' Colony Homes Flourish on Long Branch Shores
Long Branch Corres reports a cluster of cottages near the ocean's edge housing famed actors and actresses. Mary Anderson owns a villa and eight acres. Frank and Henrietta Chanfrau occupy a nearby cottage. William Henderson, manager of the Standard Theater, lives above Chanfrau. Maggie Mitchell, Maggie Paddock, Oliver Doud Byron, Mrs Lester Wallack and John T Raymond are listed among residents in a quiet resort section with notable property values and social ties.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Long Branch
Actors’ Colony
Mary Anderson
Frank Chanfrau
Henrietta T. Chanfrau
Chanfrau
Kit
Arkansas Traveler
William Henderson
Standard Theater
New York
Edwin T. Adams
Adams
Photographer Captures Bat Impression Incident
A French photographer boasts of catching a flying bird’s impression while an Austin man with no scientific training captured a clear impression of a flying bat. The bat turned out to be a brick and the man’s ward meeting resolution was interrupted by the accident.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Austin
Texas Sislings
Roadside tree planting boosts farm value and curb appeal
The article advocates using the road-adjacent strip owned by neighboring landowners to plant shade trees and grasses like white clover and bluegrass. It weighs tree species, favors elm, sugar maple, basswood, and ash for shade and durability, warns against willows, poplars, locusts, and white maples, and notes evergreen options and spacing guidelines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Prairies
Lombardy
Gilead
Chicago Times
Powdered borax aids washing lace muslin and lawn
A note advises adding a small amount of borax to the washing water for laces muslins and lawns to enhance their appearance while using as little soap as possible.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Post
Agricultural Methods Spread Worldwide
The article notes that American practices in many agricultural departments are being adopted across nearly all civilized regions, signaling broad global influence and modernization of farming techniques.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Civilized World
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!