Averted a Smash Up by Sleepy Railroad Operator
A veteran recounts a near disaster and a test of nerve on the Philadelphia and Erie line. He recalls Kane station in Pennsylvania, a night shift from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., a prank by a lunchkeeper, and how one restless night ended with no collision and the man securing a new post at Titusville after a six hour trip delay.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William James
Pennsylvania
Pitcairn
Philadelphia and Erie
Kane
Dr. Kane
Wilcox
Wetmore
Fifth Avenue
Flynn
Titusville
New York Sun
Dutch Miner Finds Sauerkraut Restore Spoiled Provisions
In a Sacramento mining district a storekeeper stored a suspected spoiled barrel. A burly Dutch miner asked to see it and revealed it contained sauerkraut from Holland. The kraut sold for a dollar a pound, drawing Dutch miners from miles away for samples.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Argonauts
California
C. W. Uaskins
Sacramento
Holland
Cape Horn
Gilbert and Burnand exchange on publishing funny stories
W S Gilbert asks Burnand why Punch publishes many jokes. Burnand replies thou sands. The quip reflects the volume of submissions to the publication and Gilbert's wry remark as he departs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
W. S. Gilbert
Punch
Burnand
Mr. Burnand
Mr. Gilbert
Goodby
Lantern Mentioned as Object with Two Mouths
Chicago News notes a riddle about a glowworm's fire with no smoke and well water with no fish. It identifies a lantern as the object with two mouths that travels by night and not by day.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago News
Deserved Acquittal Nursery Child Minnie Story
A Chicago News snippet recounts a three year old Minnie who could recite rhymes and speak comically aged. After a misstep against orders her mother frets then Minnie cheerfully declares relief that punishment is unnecessary and leaves confidently.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Minnie
Mamma
Chicago News
To Cure Constipation Forever Candy Cathartic Ad
An old advertisement urges curing constipation with Cascarets Candy Cathartic. It claims effectiveness and offers a druggist refund if it fails to cure. The copy presents the product as a perpetual solution.
Tricks of Barnstormers and Onstage Patches
A New York Times reminiscence describes how stage crews and actors improvise to fix hurried productions. It recalls a patchwork scene where a front scene is lowered and performers improvise while the stage manager rearranges, plus a tale of a missing letter read as blank. The piece highlights humor and cooperation behind theater shocks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Muggles
Tom
Nelly
New York Times
Mend Your Own Breeches Youthful Wit Echoes in a Reply
A western girl replies to a widower who sought a new wife after his failed marriage. The minister who arranged introductions keeps her curt note, a blunt line that reads Mend your own breeches. The anecdote underscores self-reliance and earned effort.
Whistled as She Sang A Stenographer Tale
A Memphis Scimitar anecdote describes a new stenographer being shown office appliances. A talking tube prompts a joke about whistling into the ear or mouth tube as she explains she whistles by ear.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Memphis Scimitar
New York Slavery and the Slaveship History Revealed
Pearson's Magazine recounts how New York City owned and funded a slave ship, with the 1684 act formalizing slavery in the colonies. It notes 1750 proportions, Brooklyn slave counts, and London slave trade scale, including 1771 English ships bound for Africa.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
New York City
Pearson's Magazine
North American
United States
Jamestown
West India Company
West Indies
New Amsterdam
Brooklyn
London
London Exchange
Africa
Fat Spaniel Outwitted by Fox Terrier in Memorable Mischief
A fat spaniel and a fox terrier share a house and short rambles. The terrier lures the heavy dog down a bank and cannot help it back, then returns home leaving the spaniel to struggle. The terrier later repeats the act for amusement, while the spaniel is rescued each time.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Buffalo News
How David Harum Was Born in America
An anecdote recalls Wescott the author of David Harum discussing his financial worries and illness. A friend urged a local color story built around a known local figure which led to the famous novel, though the character David himself was not in the original conception.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
David Harum
Mr. Wescott
David
Anna Wentworth
English surgeon saves sailor from shark attack
Dr Frederic Hill, an English surgeon, grabbed a belaying pin and leapt to aid a sailor who had fallen overboard in the Indian Ocean. He drove the pin through the shark’s jaws as the beast turned, both rescuing the man and returning to deck unharmed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frederic Hill
Indian Ocean
Hill
Oyster farming once slow and steady in Europe
The oyster culture is described as fixed and easy to cultivate, with Europe advancing to a scientific basis, while the United States is only beginning. An oyster reaches market readiness in about five years, and the survival rate is extremely low, perhaps one in two million.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Europe
Chicago Times-Hereld
Not to Be Encouraged Commentary on Liquor Trade at Home
A Boston Transcript quip contrasts a man who carries business home with him. If the business is liquor sales, it is not appropriate to bring home a large amount nightly, implying concerns about personal conduct and propriety.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boston Transcript
No Reciprocity Gossip Quip Cited by Chicago Record
A Chicago Record quotation defines Annie Nibbins as the meanest gossip by description. It notes she avoids sharing herself while prompting others to reveal everything they know.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Annie Nibbins
Chicago
Beauty and Mystery in Nora Hopper’s Poem
The poem lauds beauty as a force of nature and desire, tracing its fiery origin from water and wind to the heart of a satin flower. It depicts a perilous, luminous femininity described through rich imagery of jewels, elemental forces, and an unnamed muse. The ending credits Nora Hopper as the poet.
Learning to wear eyeglasses like riding a bicycle
A New Orleans Times-Democrat item recounts a clerk advising a shy customer that tight springs scar the nose and that eyeglasses must be learned like balancing on a bike. With practice the spring loosens, glasses rest lightly on the nose, and stay on during movements.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Orleans Times-Democrat
His Free Library Comedy At Secondhand Book Shop
A ragged urchin hides in a Main street secondhand book store and reads a dog eared romance titled Love and Adventure. The bookseller initially chases him away but then allows the boy to continue reading, and at closing time the boy asks what time the shop opens tomorrow in a gutter conversation captured by the Hartford Telegram.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hartford Telegram
Young man to marry after train encounter with Miss Blankie
A young man explains to a married acquaintance how he accompanied Miss Blankie for a day on a railroad train, met her mother, and now plans marriage. He notes the mother’s kindness as a key impression.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Blankie
Gee Willikins
New York Weekly
No Use Catterson Money Quip
A humorous exchange with a sharp line about marriage and money ends with a joke. One man says he always gives his wife money when she refuses it and recalls when she did want it. The other notes his wife always wants money, making the scheme fail.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Catterson
Hatterson
Harper’s Bazar
Watch debt dispute sparks inebriated humor
In a clipped exchange printed as a credited gag, a collector chides a young man for missing payment on a watch while the debtor jokes that time is slow, highlighting a humor vignette from the Indianapolis Press.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Indianapolis
Nature Could No More Reproduce That Nose Than Turner Sunset
A Detroit Journal quip contrasts heredity with artful nature noting a baby’s nose mirrors a father while claiming nature cannot replicate such features as precisely as a Turner sunset.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Journal
Also Mentioned on This Page
Baa
Accom MC. Wetmore Tobacco CO
St. Louis, Mo
Mark
Gilbert
Mischief
Rose
Heaven
Hell
Nora Hopper
DiMeult
B. N. Gantz, M. D
Fairfield
Iowa
Posses
Calvin Snook
D. G. Higley
W. Fordyce, M.D
Fairfield, Iowa
Risk & Hufstedler’s
Squareidence
Court Street
Hague, M. D
E. G. Grove, M.p
Munfort
Cavings Bank
Frank Fourt
South Side Drug Store
T. L. James
Long & Kamp
Edwin C. Bock
Cor. Square
J. B. Monfort
First National Bank
Stairs South Side Square
I. D. Jones
LAW
Kate M. Jones
E. R. Smith
North Side Park
Jefferson County
H. ©. Raney
E. F. Simmons
Raney & Simmons
Bell
Northwest Corner Square
B. 8. McElhinny
John A. Spielman
Frank LiGut
Transacts
General Banking and Exchange Business
Peeks
Bradshaw & Thoma
Fairfield, A
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