Death Valley Tragedy and Swindler’s Tales Across Time
A lengthy account blends a 1851 California goldfields tragedy in Death Valley with a contemporary SF prospector’s find of bones and iron remains. It also exposes widespread show frauds, from shell games to three card monte, outlining police corruption, street scams, and the roaming risks faced by travelers and settlers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Death Valley
Hell
San Francisco Chronicle
Independence
California
Don Pickett
San Francisco
Carson
Tonopah
Panamint Country
Mojave
Keeler
Panamint Mountains
Len Gorson
Pickett
Amargosa
el Dorado
beMet
Joses
MIT to Establish Insurance Engineering School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans a new department of insurance engineering led by Professor Charles L Norton to study fire prevention in building design. The project, backed by Edward Atkinson, aims to cut fire losses and train specialists who will test materials, fire doors, and structural systems, while linking to industry for practical tests and standards.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
College of Applied Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Charles L. Norton
Edward Atkinson
Boston
United States
Professor Norton
Norton
Department of Insurance Engineering
Fire Department
Water Board
New England
Father Time
England
London
Philadelphia
Chicago
MYSTERIES OF CURRENT SLANG STUDY
A discussion on slang evolution notes that terms like barbarian right smart gone goose and spondulix reflect regional usage and origins. It cites examples from Maine to South Africa and warns that many words are misapplied or borrowed from unrelated contexts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Manhattan
North
Pine Tree
Maine
South Africa
Paneer
Tricks of the moving pictures captivate vaudeville halls
The article describes the rise of machine projection in theaters, with weekly changing views and a shift toward comic and mysterious films. It details camera tricks, reverse action, multiple cameras, and stage tricks that create illusions such as disappearing urns, dressed figures, and animated gags, produced by trained camera actors on East Twenty first Street.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Niagara Falls
Brooklyn Bridge
East Twenty-first Street
Mephisto
Fraud and danger in the small circus racket exposed
An old circus veteran condemns Western town officials efforts to “cleanse” shows of fakirs before exhibitions. He warns of a widespread system where license to rob patrons funds lavish show profits, with the “Squarer” as key lieutenant. The piece details payoffs, protection rackets, and tactics to evade punishment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Andj
Fakir
Old Bailey
Ruthless Rhymes for Meartless Homes Note
A fragment from a period piece discusses fashionable Ruthless Rhymes in English country houses. It cites memory poems like Billy in his new sash burned in the fire and Aunt Jane noting a tumble from sublime to ridiculous. The tone mocks sentimental verse and social trend.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Billy
Also Mentioned on This Page
Death's Valley
Amargosa Way
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Humboldt Sink
Salt Lake and
Los Angeles
Charles H. Fish
Mr. Fish
Massachusetts
THE
Philadelphia Times
Jane
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