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This newspaper page contains 14 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Van Wert Times
Location
Van Wert, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Nov 28, 1884
Page
3
Fragmentary OCR text shows garbled phrases about a local matter. Named entities and concrete details are unreadable, yielding only a vague reference to a public issue without clear action, date, or place.
A lengthy reminiscence recalls skilled con artists on railroad cars led by figures such as Red Shirt Big Jersey and John Baily. They used sleight of hand to fleece travelers, often meeting violent ends or poverty after their schemes. The piece ties their exploits to postwar rail life, naming trains, stations, and regional places from New York to Pennsylvania.
A mysterious stranger in Detroit offers to raise three dollars by challenging onlookers to separate a six link iron chain. He bets his overcoat worth ten dollars against three in cash and flees after declaring he will begin to kick once paid, leaving bystander machinists stunned. The episode ends with the man disappearing from sight.
The article argues for educational order where faculties developing early are trained first. It contrasts two views on American schooling whether to emphasize languages or science, asserting that early development and practice should target perception and abstraction, citing modern education theory and concerns about neglecting abstract thought.
A fragment from Labouchere cites a dialogue about discretion in speech featuring Colonelexcuse me, Boswell, and an Arkansas anecdote on a discreet man named Anderson Hayley. It mentions Charles Wyndham and an interview dynamic, ending with a remark on pipe tobacco from a scientific source.
In Lewisville Courier Journal Bill Nye recalls a brief West practice before accepting a post office job. A client’s fatal shaft accident ends his legal career, leaving Nye despondent yet later replaced by new blood, noting the loneliness and costs of solo practice.
Captain McLean of the Glasgow bark Fifth of Lorn reports a July ocean spectacle from near latitude 20°1′N 29°48′W. A worm-eaten spar towed aboard yielded no value, while a vast fish shoal and a mutating swarm of birds drew a floating hull of several acres. A gannet and other seabirds rode the fish, drowning the craft as the ship neared the strange spectacle. The report also mentions a cartoonish dialogue about ambition and a note on color perception by Dr. Ewan Burnett.
English press discuss Andrew W. Tuer method in Chambers Journal claiming a diet and glycerine nitro approaches aid digestion. The piece critiques nitro glycerine and favors plain glycerine and moist chewing, urging predigestive habits and caution with tea tasting as a digestive aid.
The article surveys English tramp laws that permit arrest for begging and recounts encounters with weary soldiers and unemployed workers. It notes the grim reality of workhouses, starvation, and the harsh fate of vagrants like a Keighley beggar arrested after being refused food, with reflections from a Boston Commercial Advertiser correspondent.
A collage of odd notes and observations from early 20th century press. Texas cowboys ride steers for 140 miles. a Austin boy and his mother’s switch spark rustic play. Scattered snippets cover a Chicago furniture craft using walnut sawdust, Scotland’s planned antiquities gallery funded by unknown donors, Nevada-NY price inquiries, global credit-based trade, a Carolina clergyman’s naming error, Utah mining records, American travelers in England, and bemused reactions to Continental customs.
The Parisian style of professional manicures has become common in New York with a leading shop employing a dozen assistants besides the proprietress. Patients are seated in an elegant reception room before an operatic chair where nails are soaked, oiled, polished, and shaped. The full treatment lasts about an hour and costs one dollar, ending with nails fit for preservation in the Switsonian Institution.
An essay argues medicine overuse in society, urging restraint and personal responsibility. It cites excessive drug taking, dangers of quack nostrums, and the need to consult physicians. The piece recounts John A Dix’s biography and, through a General Abernethy encounter, advocates regular exercise and simple living as cures.
An Norfolk weather observer discusses katydid activity as an unreliable seasonal predictor. He notes varying onset in July or August, with sightings tied to local conditions. The piece describes the insect’s elusive emergence across landscapes and its impact on beliefs about weather signs.
Remarkable vessel tale from Ship Island harbor recounts the three masted schooner Themis sailing from Mobile to Tampico. Copper sheathing and outer timbers were fractured by an almost vertical blow from below, leaving part of the sword still lodged in the hull. Captain Kendrick managed a controlled leak, docked for repairs, and the ship quarantined after a routine health check.
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