MAY BE A MURDER.

New York, 1895

Poles and Germans Fight and Two Get Stabbed.

A stabbing affray occurred at Flushing at an early hour Monday morning in which one man was seriously injured and another wounded so badly that his life is despaired of. One of them is lying in the Flushing hospital, and he may die. A number of Poles, who are employed on various farms at Blackstump, on the Jamaica road, Monday decided to have a picnic among themselves. They bought a keg of beer and repaired to the residence of Joseph Czeeski, where they drained its contents and became hilariously drunk.

At about 11 o'clock Monday night two Germans and a Pole intruded and tried to break up the festivities. When ordered off the premises they refused to go and a fight ensued. Joseph Buschofski, one of the picnicers, was stabbed in the left shoulder and it is believed that the knife penetrated the man's lungs. Another Pole named Tommasso Stofflaski was cut in the back.

Coroner Corey took the wounded man's ante mortem statement. Captain Allen and Constable Slavin arrested five Poles on the suspicion of being implicated in the affair. They were taken to the hospital to be identified by the injured man and he named Felix Bushnoski as the man who stabbed him.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, July 5, 1895, p. 1.

Coyle Acquitted — Absent Witnesses

New York, 1895

John Coyle, of Jamaica, who was indicted for setting fire to the house occupied by John Reese on Willow street, Jamaica, last June, was tried in the court of sessions on Wednesday and acquitted. He was defended by Judge Weller.

This is the same case where William Morrell and his wife, both respectable people, positively testified on the examination that they knew Coyle well, and that from their window they saw him actually light the fire against the side of the building. One of the remarkable things of this trial is that Mrs. Morrell was not examined as a witness. She was not even subpoenaed. Chips and kerosene were found on the step of the house, where one fire was started, and some sticks were found at the side of the house where a fire was also started. Thomas Reese occupied the house. On the trial William E. Kavanagh, Chris Prinz and John Fitzgerald testified to Coyle's good character. Coyle is mighty fortunate.


Force Lost His Diamond Pin

Alexander Force, of Jamaica, had a fight with a stranger on the Fulton ferryboat Fulton at a late hour on Tuesday night. The next night he reported to the police that immediately after the fight he missed his diamond studded horseshoe scarf pin worth $100. He thinks the pugnacious stranger stole it.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 15, 1895, p. 8.

Still Another Prize Fight

New York, 1895

To Which District Attorney Noble's Attention is Called.

On February 1st THE FARMER said in an editorial:

"The police of New York raided a prize fight in Harlem last Thursday night. The thugs up in Harlem had not learned that prize fighting is permitted and encouraged in Queens County. They will get the cue now."

This was prophecy. The thugs who were routed in Harlem, as stated above, pulled their mill off at Winfield on Saturday night. It really looks as it somebody was going around inviting the prize fighters to come to Queens County. The protection which these ruffians receive has become a disgrace. The District Attorney does nothing, the "County Detective" does nothing. The following account of the fight is taken from Monday's New York Sun:

About 200 sporting men from New York and Brooklyn journeyed to Winfield last night to witness a special bout of ten rounds between Dick Wunderlich and Jacob Cooper, formerly of Harlem, but now a member of the Winfield A. C. Before the lads appeared Tom Kiernan of New York and Al Manning of Harlem boxed a four-round draw. The next bout was between Boss Levy of England, but now of the Winfield A. C., and Tony Moran of Brooklyn at 115 pounds. Levy's hard hitting and clever ducking were too much for Moran, and the former got the bout.

After an intermission of twenty minutes Wunderlich and Cooper came into the ring. At the call of time both men went at it hammer and tongs. In weight the men seemed to be evenly matched. In the third round, when Cooper had his man almost out, the crowd began to yell so loud that the referee could not hear the call of time. The men fought for some time over the limit, and the bout almost terminated in a free fight. From the third round up to the beginning of the eighth round, both men received severe punishment.

In the latter part of the eighth round Cooper went at Wunderlich right and left, but got the same dose from his opponent. The latter, however, began to get groggy and was floored with a left-hand jab in the neck; but before the referee counted ten seconds he was on his feet again. Cooper saw that he had his man almost out and rushed at him right and left, smashing Wunderlich in the nose and on the body. He followed this up with a straight righthander, which caught Wunderlich under the chin and sent him to the floor like a log. Referee Jack Kenny awarded the fight to Cooper, who made quite a creditable showing upon his first appearance in the ring.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 15, 1895, p. 12.

Wit Comes With the Dessert

1895

The greatest opportunities for serving an effective dinner are in the dessert. Besides it is over the ices and between the cracking of nuts and the nibbling of raisins that the wittiest things are said. Chauncey Depew says it is not until the ices are served that people at dinner really begin to have a genial feeling toward their neighbors.


Fighting

Two men in Mississippi had a fight in a room. One threw the other out of the window, and, thinking he had killed him, jumped himself. They fell a distance of 80 feet, and neither was hurt.


Indian Name

The Aroostook river took its name from an Indian word signifying good men.

Whipped and Skipped the Town

New York, 1895

In October last J. R. Haggerty married a daughter of Jacob Weyrich of Oyster Bay. The bride was nearly 16. The ceremony was with full consent of the girl's parents. It is alleged by the parents of the girl that she was neglected and she was kept away from her husband. He pleaded for his wife's return. On Monday in a fight between him and one of his brothers in-law, it resulted disastrously for Haggerty. He was arrested and fined $10. Haggerty has left Oyster Bay.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Jan. 25, 1895, p. 1.

Wife Kills Man Beating Husband

1920

ST. LOUIS, Missouri. — Frank Smrcka, 43, was shot and instantly killed by Mrs. Ida Shea, 24, while engaged in a fight with Mrs. Shea's husband, George D. Shea.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 2.

Man and Bear Die In Fight

1920

Rancher Finds Their Skeletons, Still Clasped Together.

LIVINGSTON, Montana. — The skeletons of a man and a bear, clasped together, recently were found a few inches underground on Chicken Creek, near here, R. A. Fifield, a rancher, reported.

The skull of the human being was missing, and because the discoverer has been a resident of the district for thirty-seven years, it is believed the man was either one of the earliest prospectors or an Indian.

No weapon was found to show how the man, while within the clasp of the bear, was able to kill the beast.

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

Smashes His Fist In Dream

1916

Dentist Thinks He's in a Fight and Punches Wall.

TORRINGTON, Connecticut. — No teeth are being drilled, filled, drawn or quartered in the office of Dr. Arthur E. Guildford today because his right hand is all out of shape.

Dr. Guildford dreamed that he was horsewhipping another man, but his blows were so violent that he soon wore out the whip. His victim realized the predicament and sprang at the dentist. Doubling his right fist, Dr. Guildford lunged such a terrific blow at the horsewhipped man that he almost knocked a hole thru the wall next to the bed.

The blow awakened every one else in the house and a physician had to be called to apply arnica and bandages to Dr. Guildford's battered tooth-pulling hand. Every one in Torrington would like to know who Dr. Guildford dreamed he was horsewhipping and why.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 7.

U. S. Boxers to Sail for France

1920

Frenchmen who are keen to see their boxers stand up against those from the United States will have further opportunities to do so, for Al Lippe sails Jan. 14 with nine fighters, having arranged terms with Theodore Vinne, French promoter. Jeff Smith, Tom Cower, K. O. Loughlin. Frankie Brown, Eddie Moy, Max Williamson, Johnny Alex, Joe Mendall and Johnny Liggett will make the trip.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 10.

He's Willing Now

1920

But Champion Is a Late Late, Says Georgia Poet.

The following was received by the sporting editor of The Saturday Blade from Atlanta, Ga.:

Our Champion.

He's willing to fight in France, they say,
For half a million or so;
But he passed up a chance at a buck a day
When they called on us all to go.

I think I speak for a million chaps
Who went to France with a vim,
Ready for anything — death perhaps —
So —
Hope Georges whales hell out of him.

—Jack Converse.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 10.

Note: This poem concerns Jack Dempsey, whose reputation was tainted when it was alleged he was a draft dodger during World War I. There's some details at this link. "Georges" was Georges Carpentier, a French war hero. Dempsey had a match against him in 1921, called the "Battle of the Century."


Canadian Boxer Challenges

1920

Brousseau Wants to Meet Carpentier In Montreal.

The Canadian Hockey Club has cabled a challenge to Georges Carpentier's manager in London for the French boxer to meet Eugene Brousseau, Dominion's middleweight champion, in a boxing exhibition in Montreal, July 1, Dominion day, at one of the race tracks.

Brousseau has recovered from a slight attack of paralysis, which followed his bout with Chip, in Portland.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 10.

An Important Point

1916

It always seems unfortunate for a boy to have to wear spectacles. It holds him back from the rough and tumble of boy life. If the other boys pick on him, he can hardly retaliate until he has put his glasses away. By that time he may be sent spinning in the dirt, his glasses broken and perhaps an unreasonable punishment is awaiting him at home. But lifelong trouble may result from failure to wear them. Teachers and parents should look carefully for early indications of such defects, and get good advice about them. — East St. Louis Journal.

Can Cope With Wolves

1902

A New Breed of Staghounds Combines Speed With Ferocity

William A. Richards, assistant land commissioner, is a hunter of no mean prowess, and in his home near the Big Horn mountains, Wyoming, has killed more than one grizzly and mountain lion. Several days ago Mr. Richards was talking over sporting matters with a Washington Post reporter, when the conversation turned upon dogs and the value of the several breeds for hunting purposes, when he said:

"In my section we have at last secured a breed of dogs that is highly satisfactory. As wolf dogs they cannot be excelled, and the only time that to my recollection I ever saw these dogs turn tail was on an occasion when they faced four grizzlies. Even then they showed fight, retreating only when it was absolutely necessary. Several years ago we began experimenting with a view to securing a breed of dogs sufficiently heavy and ferocious to attack and kill wolves and fleet enough to run them down. After many trials we found that a cross between the old Scotch staghound and the common greyhound proved far superior to any of the experiments we had previously tried.

"These dogs combine the fleetness of the greyhound with the strength and ferocity of the Scotch staghound and as a result are being extensively bred all through the west. A coyote stands no show whatever with these dogs, for as soon as the pack overtakes him he does not strike the ground until he is literally torn limb from limb. The gray wolf is a better and harder fighter, but even in a fair fight one of these crossbred wolf hounds is an even match for the gray wolf. In fact there are some of my dogs that are almost as wild and fierce as the wolves themselves.

"These animals do not hesitate to tackle the black bear and generally make life a burden for him, while in hunting the grizzly bear they are quite useful in holding the game at bay until the hunter arrives to give 'Wahb' his coup de grace."

Harry Potter, Colored Loiterer, Still in Jail

Excerpt from court news, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1916

The drunks let go this morning were Walter Kelsey, Dan McMuller and John Starr, the latter claiming to have been robbed of $45. Duke Bransirattor will be up again on Feb. 7. James Moran, a vag, and Harry Potter, a colored loiterer, were ordered hold until Feb. 12.

—Fort Wayne News, Feb. 5, 1916, p. 4.


Siloam Fight Monday

Siloam Springs, Ark., May 27. - A group of Tulsa amateur boxers will meet mittmen from Tahlequah, Okla. and Siloam here Monday night, May 29. Harry Potter, Tulsa, and Philip Bluebird, Tahlequah, and Jack Sikes, Tulsa, and Hoss Glory, Tahlequah, head the card.

—Fayetteville Daily Democrat, Fayetteville, Arkansas, May 27, 1933, p. 3.


El Paso, Texas, 1937

Mrs. Harry Potter has returned from a visit of several months in the East.


Salem, Ohio, 1894

Harry Potter, who has been visiting friends here, left last Saturday for Mansfield.


New Castle, Pennsylvania, 1940

Harry Potter, of East Washington street, who has been ill at his home, is somewhat improved.

Whale Fought Ocean Liner

1905

The Pacific Mail Company's liner Acapulco, which arrived early yesterday morning from Panama and way ports, had an exciting experience with a whale off San Blas. The leviathan, floating high out of the water, was enjoying a morning nap and giving its tough hide a sunbath, when the Acapulco came along.

The lookout sighted the whale and called the attention of the man at the wheel to the slumbering mountain of flesh that floated directly in the liner's path. The quartermaster, who was steering, gave the spokes of the wheel a twist and the Acapulco's head sheered off a little. A collision was avoided, but the Acapulco's side grazed the starboard shoulder of the big fish and jarred the whale from slumberland.

The whale was fully awake before the liner had entirely passed. He awoke in a bad temper and made a furious rush at the Acapulco's stern. The whale found the disturber of his dreams a pretty solid sort of fish, but, undaunted by his failure to ram his head through the steel plates, gathered himself for another charge.

He struck the steamer under the stern, and as he bounced off, slashed at the retreating hull with his tail. Then one more rush. This time the whale found his match, for the rapidly revolving propeller landed a bewildering succession of uppercuts on his lower jaw. With a splash of defiance, the leviathan dived and disappeared and the people of the Acapulco saw him no more.

Chief Officer Bailey interviewed the quartermaster, who had avoided the whale by such a narrow margin, and concluded a heart to heart sailor talk by advising the steersman in future to "let sleeping whales lie." — San Francisco Call.

A Glimpse of Caracas

1896

What Correspondent Saw in Venezuela's Capital

Comparatively few of the men here ever venture into the street unarmed, writes a Caracas correspondent of the New York Herald. There are laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons, but they are never observed. One of the professors in the university here assures me that he is convinced that every one of the students who attends his lectures has a revolver in his hip pocket. Weapons are often worn as much for ornaments as for protection or aggression. The caballero with silver spurs and gay trappings who prances about on a frisky mule or Peruvian horse is not fully equipped without a brace of revolvers. The humbler fellows who trudge the country lanes afoot or on burros' backs take special pride in the knives they carry in fancy sheaths at their waists, and which are equally available for cutting food or enemies. The far-famed machete is so long that the most convenient way to carry it is in the hand. It is the most terrible weapon in war and is used for every possible purpose in times of peace, opening virgin forests, cutting down trees, digging and building.

Human life is held very cheap in Venezuela, except by the law of the land in dealing with murderers. There is no capital punishment here, and a man who is caught red-handed in crime knows that the heaviest sentence that could be imposed on him is ten years' imprisonment. The worst cases, I am told, are sent to a prison in the marshy districts near the western frontier, where the man who survives his term is a phenomenon, and where two years is as much as most men can endure. Stabbing and shooting affrays are very common and rarely receive more attention than half a dozen lines in the local papers, in which sympathy is expressed for the relatives of the deceased.

The proportion of men that one sees in the streets of Caracas who are minus an arm or a leg is greater by far than it was in the United States at the close of the Civil War. Comparatively few of the cripples here were maimed in battle during the revolutions, most of them having been hurt in private brawls.

The Vargas Hospital, in Caracas, is a large institution, admirably located on a hillside and excellently managed. No public building in Venezuela is complete without a statue, and as one enters the main door of the hospital one sees in the central patio a statue of Vargas, who was, I believe, President of the Republic at the time the hospital was founded. There are ten wards for women, all opening on a long courtyard to the left of the entrance, and as many for men on the other side.

The tiny hack horses of Caracas are mainly skin and bones, and the drivers, like their prototypes all over the world, show them very little consideration. Besides the little native horses one sees in the streets many Peruvian horses, which are one size larger and are excellent for riding, and big American horses in swell carriages. Burros far outnumber the horses, and mules are very common.

Teams of oxen are used to haul the heavy wagons, and cows are driven by milkmen from door to door with their calves by their sides. Most of the calves have their muzzles tied in rags to prevent them from getting any milk before all the customers have been supplied. It is also a common thing to see a boy driving a flock of turkeys through the main streets, usually in the direction of the markets. In the corrals are usually many live animals that have been brought in from the country and left for sale — deer and wild pigs, with bristles like porcupines, predominating.

About the market place are kept the skins of huge snakes and wild animals, for which fancy prices are asked if they are in reasonably good condition. The prettiest fur is that of the leopard-tigre they call it here. The tigre is very ferocious and is dreaded by all who have occasion to travel. The puma, which is dignified by the name of lion, is far less common, and about equally dangerous to meet.

I fancy that the supply of dogs has always been large in Caracas, as the Cathedral here has an odd functionary called a perero, or dog boy. The office dogs bark to the colonial dogs, and the present occupant is an urchin with a black face, very bright eyes and a beautiful set of teeth. In the street he looks like any other little fellow who does not keep his face particularly clean, but in the Cathedral he is quite imposing in his long gown of dark purplish blue and his big white collar. He carries in his hand a stout whip, with a long, knotted lash, and he walks about with all the pride of a recruit in the army carrying a gun for the first time. He is quite expert, and loud yelps occasionally prove that his whip hurts.

The Greatest Fighter

1920

Jack Dempsey of pugilistic fame has been acclaimed by many as "the world's greatest fighter."

He is scheduled to meet Georges Carpentier, the Frenchman who vanquished England's premier prize fighter in less than one round, for the honor of wearing the world's championship belt, not to mention a cash consideration of several hundred thousand dollars.

A little more than a year ago 2,000,000 American youths were facing machine guns, artillery, hand grenades, bayonets and airplanes on the battlefields of France, and 2,000,000 more American boys were in the service on this side yearning for the opportunity to share the dangers of their comrades overseas.

To whom, asks the Atlanta Constitution, should go the recognition of being "the world's greatest fighter" — Jack Dempsey or some of those brave American — or French, or British, or other — boys who stood the test of the trenches?

There can be but one answer.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Feb. 28, 1920, p. 6.

Fighters Seek to Settle Grudge Over Woman in Ring

1896

Britt and Lawler Indulge in a Fist Fight All on Account of a Woman

San Francisco, Cal., Sept. 18. — It took twenty-eight rounds of desperate bare knuckle slugging to settle the grudge that has existed for a long time between Jimmy Britt, once the champion bantamweight of the coast, and Frank Lawler, another well known athlete whose doings in the fistic arena have made him quite prominent.

Britt and Lawler were formerly friends but had a falling out over a member of the fair sex and decided to settle the controversy in a bare knuckle finish fight. Both being members of a well known athletic club that has turned out a great many good boxers, it was decided to hold the match there. The location of the ring was kept a secret until the last minute and while the fighters were in training, no one except a favored few knew where the mill was to take place.

These few selected a well known sporting man as referee and the combatants stripped and went to work. The first three rounds consisted of hot give and take work with the result that both showed signs of distress when the fourth round was called. From the fifth to the twelfth, however, the fighting was fast with honors about even. They took things easy until the twentieth when another fierce rally, nearly resulted in Britt going out from a right hand swing that landed on his neck. He recovered in the next round and from that to the twenty-eighth round had a shade the best of the argument, Lawler being tired. As there seemed to be little chance of a finish and both men were terribly punished the referee called the match a draw.

The Greek Myrmex — Deadly Weapon in a Fight

1907

It Was the Deadliest Weapon of the Ancient Pugilist

The four ounce glove was unknown to the ancient pugilist. When the boxers and fighters came together in the old days of Greece they wore upon their hands the cestus, which was in itself a terrible adjunct to any fighter. But Dr. Daniel G. Briton discovered that there was sometimes attached to the cestus a deadlier weapon, consisting of a three pronged fork of bronze.

This was known as the myrmex, and Dr. Brinton, who found this specimen, gave it to the museum of archaeology in the University of Pennsylvania. Classical literature has frequent references to the myrmex, which is described as the deadliest weapon of the ancient pugilist. The right hand was swathed in tough hide, bound in place with thongs and supplemented by small knobs of lead or iron, to which was affixed the myrmex. Dr. Brinton made his discovery in Paris by examining the Greek and Roman marbles in the Louvre. One of these groups represented a fighter bearing on his right fist the cestus and myrmex.

Combats in those days were much more brutal and dangerous than those of the modern prize ring. It is easily seen that a single blow of the myrmex might cause death or permanent injury.

Large Sums Wagered on Fighting Crickets

1920

Marines Back From China Tell of Orient's Popular Sport

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal. — Cricket fighting is a very popular sport in China, according to U.S. Marines who just returned here from a tour of duty in the Orient.

"The most celebrated cricket fights are those at Fa-ti, near Canton," says one of these sea-soldiers. "A number of sheds are provided, made of matting, and are divided into compartments. Each compartment contains a table with a vessel standing on it in which the encounters take place.

"Big contests are waged, the attendance is large and betting is heavy. Final results are posted conspicuously. Crickets are matched according to weight and color.

"When a cricket with a long record of victories dies its owner puts it in a tiny coffin and buries it, believing that funeral honors will assure him good luck in finding good fighting crickets."

Socialist Learns Not To Discuss Politics During War

Indiana, 1917

THIS IS NO TIME TO DISCUSS POLITICS

Thomas McGuire, Socialist, Learned a "Bit" on Friday

When a common purpose wells in every man's breast is no time to argue politics, admits J. T. McGuire, 2017 Walton avenue, carpenter and socialist.

McGuire leaned heavily on the bar of a down town saloon Friday night and boisterously mentioned that the young men who are flocking to the colors in answer to the war call are "dubs, because they don't know what they are going to fight about."

Several citizens attacked the man and Patrolman Brandt arrived just in time to quiet talk about forming a lynching party. McGuire was taken to jail on a charge of intoxication, pleaded guilty to the complaint in police court Saturday morning and was fined $5 and costs. He paid his fine.

"I am through talking politics until this war is over," McGuire told reporters after the court session. "This is no time to start an argument."

Henry Bair, who was also taken on an intoxication charge and who admitted that he attacked McGuire, "for insulting our loyal lads," was released by Judge Kerr.

—The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 7, 1917, p. 18.