Discharged the Principal

New York, 1895

Bartlett Hallen, principal of the public school at Valley Stream, was arraigned before Justice Smith at Far Rockaway Monday upon the complaint of the parents of W. H. Mott, a pupil, who alleged that the boy was cruelly beaten by the schoolmaster. The boy, who is nine years old, said the principal struck him with a wide strap and made welts about his body. He exhibited a lot of red marks in support of his story, Justice Smith discharged Hallen after reprimanding him.


$3,250 for an Assault

George D. Hoyt, through his counsel, H. A. Monfort, recovered a verdict of $3,250 against Alfred Walter, in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Walter is a resident of Far Rockaway. The action was the outcome of an assault on the plaintiff by the defendant and another man last June. Hoyt, as a result, sustained permanent injuries.


Gallant Rescue of Drowning Child

Little Anna Schaukenberg was playing on the factory dam at Glen Cove, on Thursday, when she suddenly tumbled off into the stream. The child immediately sank and her companions shrieked loudly for help. A bystander plunged into the stream and rescued the child.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, April 19, 1895, p. 1.

Fishermen Have a Narrow Escape

New York, 1895

A party of six eel spearers narrowly escaped drowning in Jamaica Bay on Monday. The men, three of whom were Edward Ganz, Henry Wimpler and James Hadin, of Canarsie, were at work off Sands' Point cutting holes through the ice. They had cut a circle of holes around them, thus weakening the ice on which they stood.

Without warning the ice cracked and gave way, precipitating the six men into the water. Other eel spearers ran to their aid and, with the help of their long spearing-poles, succeeded in pulling them out.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 15, 1895, p. 1.

Quick Witted

1895

On the battlefield a general must sometimes think quickly and act without hesitation. A motorman recently showed himself to be gifted with these admirable traits.

In Plainfield, N. J., an electric car was dashing along when the motorman saw a child balancing itself on a high window ledge. The man saw at once that the child would fall on a pile of bricks. Giving the brake a sudden turn and twisting off the current, he sprang from the platform before the car stopped and reached the sidewalk just in time to catch the baby.

Probably nothing will ever sound sweeter to him than the thanks of the child's mother and the hearty praise bestowed on him by the occupants of the car. — Youth's Companion.

Yank Sailors Wrecked on Wild Pacific Isle

1920

Two Modern "Crusoes" and Brides Rescued by Jap Ship.

YOKOHAMA, Japan. — Two American sailors named W. V. Dawson and E. Clifton have reached here after exciting experiences in the South seas. Their term of naval service expiring on the American island of Guam, they wedded native daughters of Uncle Sam's island and decided to take a honeymoon trip to Australia.

They embarked in a 40-foot launch. Underestimating the distance, they soon discovered that their food and fuel were exhausted. Then came a typhoon. The fragile craft was wrecked and the four newly married young people were thrown upon a desert isle, which they found entirely uninhabited.

There doubtless they would have continued a Robinson Crusoe type of existence had not a small Japanese trading vessel put in for water. They were rescued and taken to the former German island of Yap, where later they embarked on a Japanese naval supply steamer for Yokohama.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 4.

Goat Starts Farmer In Fight With Pigs

1920

Butts Man Into Pen and Porkers Resent His Intrusion.

MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. — While gazing with pride at his pen of fast fattening hogs and dreaming fond dreams of juicy hams during the coming winter season, Gustav Stoney, who lives near here, was awakened from his reverie when a goat butted him over the rail of the pigpen among the pigs.

The porkers crawled all over him, and Stoney and the pigs gave vent to a medley of grunts, squeals and yells.

Finally, when the pigpen calisthenics were at their height, Stoney's son came to his father's rescue. He chased away the pigs, and Stoney, the elder, emerged. His clothing was torn and he was cut and bruised.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 3.

Dog, Chasing Cat, Is Stranded In Tree

1920

MIDDLEBORO, Mass. — Alphonse Provost had missed his dog Fido for three days when Chester Amsden stopped to inform him his pet was stuck in a hollow tree near the John B. Savage farm.

Fido had presumably chased a cat not wisely but too utterly regardless of consequences, and got wedged in, with a knot hole sufficiently large to admit of sticking his head out and barking for aid.

An ax enlarged the knothole and Fido was liberated, little the worse for his experience except being a bit hungry.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 3.

Bride Braves Flames for Another's Babes

1920

Alone, She Invades Smoke-filled Rooms on Fifth Floor.

NEW YORK, N. Y. — Thru blinding, gagging smoke, Mrs. Marie Kearney, 20 years old, groped for two children supposedly left behind in the burning five-story house in the Bronx, until she collapsed. She was found unconscious and brought to safety by other women.

Mrs. Kearney, a bride of two months and a former yeomanette, was on the roof of her home when the frantic appeals of a mother who believed her two children were in a top-floor apartment of the imperiled tenement reached her from the street.

Alone, she crossed the roofs and climbed down thru the suffocating smoke, entering all four smoke-filled apartments on the top floor in a vain search for the youngsters. Mrs. Kearney then continued to the next floor, where she met a man who told her the children were safe.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 1.

Good Fortune Saves Child

1916

Taken From Cistern Apparently Dead — Doctor Passing.

GUELPH, Ontario, Canada. — While playing around the yard the 2-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce McPhail of Rockwood fell into a deep cistern in which there was about four feet of water. Other children gave the alarm, and help was soon at hand.

Fred Hamilton went down in the cistern and got hold of the child, but efforts to get them both out failed, with the result that the little fellow fell back into the water. E. Carton descended to the bottom of the cistern, and finding the child, managed to hold it above the water until those above were able to pull it to the surface. When taken out the little one was black in the face and apparently dead.

With rare good fortune a doctor was seen passing the house, and he lost no time in starting measures for resuscitation. It was some time before his efforts were successful, but eventually the child was restored.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 5.

Her Heroism Defies Skirts

1916

Woman, Fully Dressed, Saves Girl From Drowning.

TRENTON, N. J. — Without stopping to take off her skirt, Mrs. Sadie Carr of Brookville leaped into the Delaware River and saved a 19-year-old girl.

A Y.W.C.A. party is camping at Brookville and several members went swimming. Miss Jeannette Paul, a stenographer, became frightened when she found herself far from shore, and screamed. So did the other girls.

Mrs. Carr, who lives in a bungalow near by, ran out and saw the girl. Without a moment's hesitation she plunged in and brought Miss Paul to shore. Stimulants were given the girl, and she was soon able to return to camp with her friends.

—The Saturday Blade, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 3.

Scottish Laddie Was Brave

1901

At Wellshot quarry, in Cambusiang, Scotland, during last winter, a frightful accident took place. One pleasant afternoon a group of lads were sliding on the ice when suddenly it gave way, and five lads were left struggling in the water.

Their cries drew the attention of a boy named Thomas Martin. He pluckily threw off his boots and succeeded in dragging lad after lad to the bank. One youth still remained in the middle of the pool, a lad named William Chalmers. Martin managed to secure several mufflers and cravats, which, tied together, reached the drowning youth, but he was unable to make use of them.

Martin, now much exhausted, again entered the water and with much difficulty brought the last boy ashore. Both were much exhausted, and Martin had to be carried home. The brave lad is only 11 years of age and not too robust in health. The quarry at the spot mentioned is said to be fully 20 feet deep.

Schooner Is Saved By 13-Year-Old Boy

1920

Stays at Helm and Guides Leaking Ship to Port

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Jan. 1. — A twenty-four hours' battle with death ended here with the arrival of the little schooner S. N. Castle, a 13-year-old boy at the helm, bringing to safety his father, the captain, his sick mother and a crew of three men.

The Castle, a three-masted schooner, was ninety-four days from Apia with a cargo of copra. Three days from the Samoan port the Castle started leaking and shipping seas at the rate of twelve feet a day. The donkey engine was started to run the pumps and the cargo of copra fed as fuel.

Harry Anderson, 13, manned the ship, while his father worked with the men at the pumps.

A Faithful Dog

1900

How He Saved The Lives Of Some Prospectors

Deeds of heroism have been enacted in Alaska which history will never chronicle. Truth prints a story of one party of prospectors who owe their lives to a dog.

Upon the desolate waste of that inhospitably glazier, the Valdes, which has proved a sepulchre to so many bright hopes and earnest aspirations, last winter a party of prospectors were camped. Day after day they had worked their way forward, death disputing every foot with them, until it was decided that the main party should remain in camp and two of their number accompanied only by a dog should endeavor to find a trail which would lead away from the glazier.

For days the two men wandered, until nature succumbed and they lay down, weary and exhausted. Their faithful companion clung to them and the warmth of his body was grateful as they crouched low with the bitter ice ladened wind howling about them.

Their scanty stock of provisions was well nigh exhausted, when one of them suggested sending the dog back to camp. This was a forlorn hope, but their only one. Quickly writing a few words on a leaf torn from a book they made it fast around the dog's neck and encouraged him to start back on the trail.

The sagacious animal did not appear to understand but after repeated efforts they persuaded him to start and he was soon swallowed up in the snow, the mist and the storm.

Two days and nights passed, during which the men suffered untold agonies. On the evening of the third day when all hope had gone and they were becoming resigned to their fate out of the blinding and drifting snow bounded the dog, and close behind him came ready hands to minister to their wants.

The remainder of the story is simple. The whole party returned having abandoned their useless quest and on the last Topeka going south were two grateful men and a very ordinary looking dog. "That dog will never want as long as we two live," said a grizzled and sunburnt man.

—The Hartford Republican, Hartford, KY, Jan. 19, 1900, p. 1.

Recent Sea Rescues Thrill the Country

Feb 1920

Unsung Heroes Save Many Lives in Atlantic Storm

NEW YORK, N. Y., — The terrific storms of the last few weeks along the Atlantic seacoast have brought to light the fact that heroism is far more common than it used to be prior to the recent war. The scores of thrilling rescues made from wrecked ships show that men of the present day will risk their lives for a good cause with much less hesitation than before they became used to the experience while combating the enemy on sea and land.

Took a Desperate Chance

One little boat took a desperate chance in its successful attempt to rescue the passengers of a stranded schooner. With the ocean whipped by a gale which made mountainous waves, a little boat, manned by men who had seen service with the U. S. Navy submarine chasers, put out from a New Jersey port with almost certain odds again them weathering the heavy seas.

Their frail craft tossed about on the stormy waters like an eggshell, they finally made it to within grappling distance of the beleaguered boat. Then their real troubles began. When they approached close to the ship the rescuing boat was likely to be dashed against it by the waves and crushed to oblivion.

"It may or may not have been a miracle," declares Jack Fromme, one of the heroes who helped save the forty passengers, "but we were not crushed. We took the people off the boat and, though we had a hard time, made it to shore with them."

Many Acts of Bravery

The terrible devastation done along the Atlantic Coast also brought forth many acts of extreme heroism. In one case the wife of a fisherman found that her husband was several miles out at sea, having been suddenly caught in the terrific storm. She put out in a small rowboat, without the least idea of the direction taken by her mate, and by a miracle of intuition went directly to the spot where he was laying in the bottom of his boat exhausted, after having been tossed about for hours by the angry waters. She pulled up alongside, pulled him into her boat and made the terrible trip back. When she got to the threshold of their humble cottage she fainted.

At Seabright, N. J., a couple were swept out to sea in tile bungalow, which had been suddenly carried away by the storm. Hundreds volunteered to make the rescue. Only a few were selected, and they dared the waves and saved the man and wife just as the waters were tearing the flimsy bungalow to pieces.

Nerviest Little Man in Nebraska

1907

Raymond Weber, Aged 4

He didn't cry, although his father did when the latter found him alive at bottom of a well.

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb., March 9 — Raymond Weber, of this city, is only 4 years old, but he has won distinction of being the nerviest little man in Nebraska. Raymond is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Weber. He was playing in the yard with his 7-year-old brother, and the two went to the well and looked down.

There they saw a silver speck, and they wondered if it were really water and if there were gnomes and fairies and things down there. Raymond leaned way over to see. Suddenly he lost his hold and down he went. His brother ran screaming away, but soon the neighbors for a mile around were on the scene.

It was twenty-five feet to the bottom, and a windlass had to be rigged. Soon the father was going down with a load on his heart as heavy as lead, but hoping also. At the bottom he found his boy, standing in a foot of water, cool and with not a tear. "Me wet, papa," he said, as the sobbing man gathered him up.

Saved by a Cat

1900

Sir Edward Osborne, Lord Mayor of London in his time, bought an ancient house in Yorkshire, and sent his wife and children thither. There were two boys among them. The Pall Mall Gazette tells of a tragedy which occurred at the house soon after.

One of the boys, the elder, dutifully obeyed when summoned to his lessons one morning in a turret, but the younger, loitering, "happened to light upon a cat which he delighted to play with, and crept after her to catch her under a table in the room which was covered over with a carpet hanging down to the floor."

Thus he disappeared, and the next instant a terrible rush of wind overthrew the turret, in which his brother and the tutor sat at work, crushing them to death.

Supposing that both her sons were there, the mother fell into convulsions. One of the maids, running in a distracted manner from room to room, caught sight of the small boy peeping from under the table, with the cat in his arms, snatched him up and bore him in ecstasy to his mother, he only crying:

"I pray thee, I pray thee, do not whip me!" — Youth's Companion.

Feared Burial in Trance

1905

Unhappy Existence Led by Victim of Peculiar Disease

"In one of my voyages from Cape Town to England," writes a traveler, "I shared my cabin with a peculiar man, whose name was Lazarus. He made me promise that if he should die during the voyage I would prevent his burial at sea. He said that on a previous voyage he had fallen sick and was taken for dead and put into a sack for burial.

"A quartermaster had been put on to watch the body until it was time for the funeral. When the burial party arrived, the quartermaster informed the captain that he thought the body had moved in the sack. The sack was opened and Lazarus eventually came to life again.

"Such was the story Lazarus told me. Lazarus was a thin man, with a sallow face. He had an enormous appetite and appeared at every meal, to which he devoted his whole energies. The good feeling only seemed to add to his corpse-like appearance.

"One evening, sure enough, when we were about half way to our voyage's end, he apparently died again. The doctors took him in charge this time, however, and he came out of his trance without any shotted-sack episode. He was met at the London docks by a number of relatives and friends, all of whom looked as if they might be suffering from the same complaint."



One of Life's Perplexities

Why People Admire Something Producer Thinks Little Of

He had two lectures. One was dignified, noble, grand, well-pleasing to himself. The other was common, simple, earnest, popular, but thought little of by himself. One of the perplexities of his life was this: Why should the people admire something that he thought little of, and think little of something which he thought so much of? Some thoughts and sermons are for those who create them, and should be kept in a sealed case in the owner's private laboratory. — Earl M. Pratt in "Short Talks."

In the Jungle

1905

William Astor Chanler was one of the guests as a dinner given in Washington by Count Cassini. During this dinner a young woman congratulated Mr. Chanler on his energetic and successful life. She praised ardently his two books, "Through Jungle and Desert" and "Travels in Eastern Africa." Finally she asked him to describe a real typical jungle for her.

Mr. Chanler smiled. "A real jungle, a typical jungle?" he said. "Well, I should describe a jungle of that sort as a forest of fishhooks, relieved by an occasional patch of penknives."


Intelligence of Dogs

It is well known that dogs of certain breeds especially, have a considerable amount of intelligence. As the constant companion of man through generations the brain of the dog has been developing, until at the present time it is probable that this animal can be more easily trained than any other.

For something like eighty years the monks of St. Bernard have trained and used dogs to rescue travelers lost in the snow. In Europe many of the armies, inspired by this idea, employ dogs to seek out the wounded on the field of battle and thus aid in the work of the ambulance corps. In Germany dogs are attached to the ambulance service in many regiments, and were employed in the Herrero expedition in Africa. In Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Russia and America dogs are utilized in ambulance work.

Plunges Into Dark Shaft

Missouri, 1915

Mrs. Fred C. Pettis and her 13-year-old daughter, Gladys, were passing thru a patch of weeds near a persimmon grove at Chitwood, Mo. Suddenly a reptile writhed in front of them. Frightened, Gladys ran. The mother ran to where the girl had disappeared and found the mouth of an old deserted shaft. "Gladys! Gladys!" cried Mrs. Pettis, frantic with fear. No answer. The mother fled to a nearby mining plant for help. Soon several men with ropes were at the mouth of the shaft. They got busy at once to find the body of the child.

A rope was fastened around one of the men and his companions were in the act of lowering him into the dark hole when the frantic mother screamed and then fainted. Gladys had stepped out of the shaft and coolly remarked: "Gee, but its cold and wet down there."

Altho the shaft is said to have been 200 feet deep, it was filled to within twenty feet of the top with water. The child had doubtless hit the water head first, and when her mother called she didn't hear her, of course. When the girl had come to the top of the water her hand had grasped a piece of the cribbing which is placed two inches apart all the way up the shaft and, using this makeshift ladder as a hand and foot hold she had climbed to the top. She was none the worse for her plunge into the cold water.


Get Letter From Roosevelt

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan., Dec. 16. — Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt has just sent a letter from Oyster Bay to Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Smith, congratulating them on the event of their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary.

Girl Twice Bade Suitor 'Shoot' in Suicide Pact

1915

Town Gossip is Blamed for Maryland Tragedy

The town gossiped about them. The story spread and the morsel of scandal was rolled 'neath many tongues. So they made a pact. They went out into the woods, kissed each other good-by and then there were shots. So much for gossip.

CRISFIELD, Md., Dec. 16. — Dying as the result of two bullet wounds in her lung, Miss Hilda Sterling told painfully but graphically of the part she played in a suicide pact. Her partner in the tragedy, C. Clifford Reese, a druggist of this city, was buried the other day. His widow is in a critical condition as the result of shock.

The coroner's jury rendered a verdict of death as the result of a gunshot wound, self-inflicted, and made an ineffectual effort to suppress three letters, two of which Reese had written before his death. One was written to Reese by Miss Sterling, who had been in his employ. In it she said that because of gossip she no longer would come to the store, tho she could speak to him on the street and still be friendly.

The Suicide Pact

The other notes were written by Reese and professed true love for Miss Sterling. They announced the purpose of the pair to commit suicide on account of the town gossip.

Miss Sterling told of their decision to commit suicide. She said they secured a blanket and went to a woods in an isolated part of the county. After wrapping up in the blanket together each took six grains of morphine, which Reese had brought, and lay down to die together. They went to sleep, expecting never to awaken, but both recovered, chilled and dazed.

Reese then drew a pistol and asked the girl if he should shoot. Upon her replying in the affirmative, he pulled the trigger; but the pistol refused to work. He then declared he would go to Crisfield and get a pistol that would shoot.

Kiss Each Other Good-by

After he had gone she decided to leave the woods, but found she was too weak and dazed to move. Upon Reese's return they talked for a little while and then agreed to complete the pact.

After kissing each other good-by, Miss Sterling sat upon the ground. "Shoot, Clifford, shoot!" she begged. He fired three shots into her body, of which two pierced her lungs. He then shot himself in the chest and this not proving fatal, put the pistol into his mouth and fired.

The two lay there for several hours. Finally the girl recovered sufficient strength to crawl to his lifeless body. She wrapped the blanket about the corpse, brushed leaves up over the lower part of his body and placed her own coat upon it.

She fell across his body unconscious, but regaining a little strength, crawled to the side of the road where she was afterward found numbed with cold and dying.

Sees Glare in Thug's Eyes; She Humors Him

1915

Felt He Was Insane, so Lay Still to Be Bound — Summons Police by a Moan

Suppose you were all alone in the house —
And the back door bell rang just about the time the grocer's boy usually came around for morning orders —
And instead of the grocer's boy a man stood there pointing a gun at you —
What would you do?
Scream? Run? Bang the door shut? Become paralyzed with fear? Try to grab the gun? Pray? Let the thief in?

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Dec. 16. — Pretty Lucille Hoyt, a 17-year-old high school pupil of this city, opened the door in her home to find a man pointing a gun at her.

Lucille says she just backed slowly away.

"As soon as I reached the dining-room door I intended to run and lock myself in the upstairs room," Lucille said.

"But the thief caught me in the dining-room. My impulse was to struggle, but as the burglar grabbed me by both shoulders and shook me, I knew by the glare in his eyes he was insane.

Lay Perfectly Quiet

"It flashed thru my head that some one had said the quieter you were with insane people the less violent they would be.

"So when the fellow threw me on the floor and grabbed a couple of card table covers to tie my wrists and ankles with, I lay like a dead person.

"Then he gagged me with a napkin. The knot was loose and the gag slipped down.

"But the man didn't notice. And he stepped right over the telephone that had fallen to the floor, and ran upstairs.

"I wriggled over to the phone, and just as I got it into my bound hands it buzzed.

Moans "Send the Police"

"It was my cousin, Mrs. B. A. Gilliland. I heard the thief coming down the stairs, so I just had time to say 'Send the police,' when in he rushed.

"He ran past me, cursing. Then I heard him lock the back door as he went out.

"I lay there waiting for the police and I kept thinking 'Where have I seen that face before?'

"Then I remembered he was the same man who had come to the back door to ask for a drink of water Monday. I was all alone, then, too. But he didn't try to get in that time."

The police broke thru the window to release the girl.