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This newspaper page contains 27 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Sumner Gazette
Location
Sumner, Iowa, United States of America
Date
May 11, 1893
Page
2
A peculiar page fronts a misspelled fable about a boy and his sled as weather turns foul. Amid garbled dialogue the tale traces a snowy journey and a near collision with a treacherous stair, ending with a dim reference to Nicholas and a careful return home.
Kent Ballard, 18, night telegraph operator for the C D and P Railroad, volunteers to ride the midweek overland express to the Pacific. When a freight train breaks loose on a steep grade, he uses Morse code like signals to direct Mineville siding open, guiding the passenger train to safety. His quick thinking earns him a promotion to assistant general passenger agent.
An article extolls Australia’s unoccupied lands and vast potential, describing mallee scrub as fertile with plow, plains between rivers as garden soil, and savannahs as underutilized. It cites growing exports of butter and wine, future timber, minerals, and expanding pastoral industries, with multiple world-class mines named in NSW, Queensland, and SA.
East Greenwich's long time jailkeeper is a woman, with father and grandfather before her in the role. The aging jail prompted inmates to suggest escapes, yet they were treated well. One prisoner even wrote to the Governor, threatening to leave if the jail isn’t repaired, a letter preserved in archives.
Impressions of finger tips from idiots show markings distinct from sane people with some idiots having identical patterns across all fingertips on each hand, suggesting a potential uniform trait.
A description noting that the tips of the thumbs bore markings matching those of the fingers and a marked smoothness of the finger tips in the idiots.
Quackish guidance on digestion, tongue color, and self care. Advocates fasting, hot beverages, soft foods, and specific fruits while decrying white tongues and laxatives. Mentions Gladstone quote, urges caution for busy workers, and notes dubious claims about purities and digestion aids.
A resident recounts enduring coastal superstitions among fishermen. They seek to determine a herring’s sex at sea, with male promised poor luck and females lucky. The skipper may hide a good catch salted for the season. Do not speak of ill omens on board and avoid lending to neighbors. Names and animals vary by village as bad omens.
The importation comes from New Zealand and the River Plate, with other sources. Last year New Zealand sent nearly two million and the Plate more than one million carcasses. Australia’s exports rose from 90,000 to 340,000 in three years, signaling a rapid rise in a trade that began only a decade ago. Sheep-raising starts in the Falkland Islands produced 20,000 carcasses last year, indicating the trade’s potential growth.
Stratford’s Shakespeare Memorial Library analyst in Home Journal papers argues Shakespeare could not have stolen deer or rabbits because Sir Thomas lacked a deer park and wild animals had no legal protection from Henry VIII to James I.
An old kitchen tip outlines a ham baked with batter and spice then cooled, skin removed, sugar and crackers added, and cinnamon dusting. A London collector, J W Palmer, wallpapered a room with 70 000 forged stamps worth millions if genuine. Indigo making via electric oxidation is described as purer. A quip notes heirs advising a rich grandfather against bicycle riding for health.
An American medical student discusses the Berlin study experience, budgeting seven hundred dollars for a year abroad, and paying all fees in advance. He explains costs for tuition, clinics, chemicals, and lodging, notes German dueling culture, and confirms Americans are welcomed into ver bunungen without dueling. The piece reflects Harper's Weekly impressions of cost, culture, and study methods.
A Detroit Free Press traveler recalls waking to a boy entering his room through a transom. Clerks explain a fatality in the neighboring room led to the mistaken entry, the hall emptying in fear as the reporter left, shaken and briefly uproused by the grisly event.
A historical reflection notes that France has a lone surviving guillotine traveling countrywide governed by local customs. It contrasts Paris quick executions with lengthy, tormented waits elsewhere, and criticizes the gaoler’s timidity while outlining varied ritual treatment of condemned prisoners. The piece then shifts to a brief, cynical aside on the Chinse and modern habits.
A Washington News note praises a man for minding his own business, taking responsibility, and being worthy of a compliment. It concedes faults such as eccentric dress and habits but urges giving him credit, a friendly pat, and a light hearted cookie for good measure.
The text argues that the highest culture is health of the whole man, achieved by balancing all powers through exercise and restraint. It condemns exclusive pursuit of knowledge or physical perfection, urging self denial, moral harmony with imagination, respect for others, and broad, energetic study. It emphasizes education as amplest knowledge with widest sympathy and vigorous action.
A French paper recounts a burglar desecrating a desk for small cash then missing a larger 4 000 francs, leaving a note of thanks after a second theft. The piece argues newspapers fuel crime by publishing minute details and questions whether crime details should be published to curb imitation.
A New York Sun editorial argues women still face unequal rights in education and professions. It notes limited access to medical training, few opportunities in law, restricted preaching roles in denominations, and lower salaries across fields.
A harsh objection to an offensive word labeled a black mark grows as hotel papers note rising use among travelers. The piece argues a gentleman would avoid a tainted term in dining rooms and questions whether the term commercial gents should replace gentlemen, citing Thackeray’s line about a true gentleman.
A parlor car tale describes a Colorado senator Wolcott follower recounting a man in a Omaha to Denver journey who slept loudly. An old gentleman wakes him, asks about the snoring, and the sleeper retorts to question impressions before dozing again.
In the Galtee or Gaultic Mountain straddling Cork and Tipperary there are seven lakes. One, Louch Dillveen, is said St Patrick chained a monster serpent there to banish it from Ireland. The serpent is reputed to call out every Monday in Irish, It is a long Monday Patrick. A humorous exchange follows between two soldiers about whisky.
A commercial traveler recalls a ghostly episode in a lower berth from Chicago to Detroit. A blanket is pulled away, blue flames appear around a pale figure, and a demonic laugh fills the car. The porter explains the cursed laundry artifact has haunted that berth. the traveler rents another blanket and sleeps, fearing the unrest will continue on the road.
The article surveys wedding customs in Europe and America, noting how brides supply linen and household goods before marriage in Germany and America, while French practice has grooms paying before marriage. It contrasts English traditions of furnishing and initial markings with evolving tastes, and cites how French influence is unlikely to shift U.S. norms soon.
The world's largest filter plant sits in New Orleans with a 20 million gallon daily capacity. It features thirty horizontal sectional washing filters eight feet in diameter and thirty feet long, filtering the city’s entire water supply through a coke and sand bed. Washing uses a staged, one third bed approach and is directed by reverse current to scour each bed portion before discarding impurities via a waste pipe.
Doctors agree best bath times vary by type. Hot baths suit night use before bed, while cold or tepid baths are favored after rising to invigorate the body. A warm glow after cold baths signals suitability. lack of glow suggests poor fit for the bather’s constitution. The excerpt ends with a sprightly adage about engagements.
A string of devotional maxims urges Christian conduct and leadership. It covers temptation, witnessing, prayer, and daily work for God, pairing calls to personal discipline with warnings about pride and backsliding. The tone imitates a period religious pamphlet.
Analysts estimate 3,000,000 daily walkers in London wear about six grains of leather from soles. This amounts to roughly 2,344 pounds of abraded leather daily, worth £280 and over £100,000 yearly, with broader notes on gold and silver holdings and photography anecdotes.
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