Bogged

1901

While traveling in Cornwall in 1891 Rev. S. Baring-Gould came near being overwhelmed in a bog. He and his companions got lost and at dusk found themselves in a bog called Redmire. Six bullocks had already been lost there that year. Mr. Baring-Gould's adventure is related in his "Book of the West."

"All at once I sank above my waist and was being sucked farther down. I cried to my companion, but in the darkness he could not see me, and had he seen me he could have done nothing for me. The water finally reached my armpits.

"Happily I had a stout bamboo some six feet long, and I placed this athwart the surface and held it with my arms as far expanded as possible. By jerks I succeeded in gradually lifting myself and throwing my body forward till finally I was able to cast myself at full length on the surface. The suction had been so great as to tear my leather gaiters off my legs.

"I lay at full length gasping for nearly a quarter of an hour before I had breath and strength to advance, and then wormed myself along on my breast till I reached dry land. My companion, it turned out, had had a similar experience."

Yank Must Find Bride in Twenty Days or Lose $10,000

1920

Says He Wants Wife Anyway — Is Tired of Wanderer's Life

BOSTON, Mass., March 18. — Sergeant Edward J. Seitz of Camp Devens has 20 days to choose a wife or lose an inheritance of $10,000.

By the stipulation of a wealthy New York woman — a near relative — who is still living, Seitz must marry as soon as he is discharged from the Army. His discharge will take effect in about three weeks.

Sergeant Seitz is an overseas veteran of the Canadian and American armies. Together with the prospective dowry of $10,000, he has the following attributes to offer: Six foot 2 inches of perfect manhood, good looks, splendid habits — smokes but doesn't drink — college bred, druggist by profession, musically inclined and a companionable sort of chap.

Seized With Wanderlust

Sergeant Seitz is a "top" in charge of a medical detachment at the Devens Hospital. He stated that he was born in Buffalo 25 years ago. From Buffalo he went to Chicago where he attended St. Ignatius College for three years. On leaving college he entered the drug trade and was progressing rapidly in his profession when the wanderlust seized him.

From Chicago he journeyed north, south, east and west. He visited many cities in the United States until 1916.

Then he went to Canada and enlisted; went to England and was discharged; came back and enlisted in the field artillery at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. From the field artillery he was transferred to the medical corps at Fort Leavenworth. Then overseas, one year spent in France, Belgium and Germany and back to Camp Devens.

Wants a Loving Wife

Sergeant Seitz has at last called it a day. The old wanderlust has left him. He is thru with the Army. Now he wants the "right girl" and his inheritance.

The sergeant told his story.

"I am tired of going and I want to stop. I've seen, heard and done enough, and now I want to settle down. I want to marry the right girl, a real girl, who will make a good home-loving wife.

"In twenty days I leave the Army. Forty days from today I want to have a girl who will be my wife. When I am married, and I must do it as soon as I get out of the service, I will receive $10,000."

Wants "Magazine Cover Girl"

Here is the secret of the dowry that goes with Seitz's marriage. "About eight years ago," said the soldier, "a close friend of my family, a well-to-do New York woman, became interested in me. She wanted me to be a druggist and settle down, but I couldn't see it. Recently this woman, I cannot tell her name, told me that she would present me with a check of $10,000 if I would start anew — if I would marry and make a home.

"Now my predicament is the girl." The sergeant talked earnestly. "I have met plenty of girls, many nice ones; but in all my travels never the right one. I have a fixed type, a girl like that," and the soldier pointed out a magazine picture of his moving picture dream lady adorning the wall of his room.

— The Saturday Blade, Chicago, March 1920.

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."

South Africa Not a Fairyland

1896

Robert Perry, a Chicago contractor, who has been spending two months in Johannesburg, South Africa, says:

"I want to warn Americans to keep away from that part of the world. There is nothing to go there for. The climate is unhealthful, living is exorbitantly high, and the people who are there are almost in a starving condition.

"Africans do all the work in the mines, which are all owned by Barnato and Rhodes. The place is a desert where scarcely anything grows, and there is a water famine most of the time. Every imaginable thing is taxed heavily. Even Pretoria's own paper has printed a warning to the world to keep away from the place. The people who have lived there ten, or fifteen years are away behind the times. When I told them about the motorcycle and the kinetoscope, they thought I was telling fairy tales, and would not believe me." — Detroit Free Press.

Landing in Durban

1900

A novel method of leaving a steamer is in vogue at Durban, in Natal. The originality of the method arises from the peculiar character of the bay, which is a long, landlocked lagoon, connected with the open sea by a narrow channel, which flows between two breakwaters intended to prevent the formation of the bar, and so to maintain free access for ships into the harbor. That bar is the battle-ground of political parties in Natal. The Bishop of Natal, writing in Good Words, explains that politics turn more on proposals for fighting the bar than on any question of Liberal or Conservative policy.

In the meantime the bar holds its own, and the mail-steamers are too big to get into the harbor. The outside anchorage is a rough and restless place, and nine days out of ten, tugs are afraid to lie alongside a gangway. Thus it happens that passengers are driven to the alternative of escaping from the ship by the same method by which St. Paul escaped from Damascus — in a basket.

"We owe gratitude, however, to the Empress Eugenie," says the bishop, "for since the day that she came to Natal on her sad errand, the basket has increased its dimensions. It is, in fact, almost as large as the elevator in a London mansion, affording room for three or four people to sit or stand."

In this commodious receptacle the passengers are hauled aloft by a steam crane, and dropped with much care and precision into the tug lying alongside. The sensation of swinging aloft and dropping into that heaving tug must be anything but pleasant.

The shore gained, the visitor to Durban has a chance of making the acquaintance of the Natal rickshaw boy, who will gallop him up to the Royal Hotel in good style.

These Zulu boys are good specimens of their race — a race of children. They have tremendous spirits. They would think it very tame to wait their turn for a fare, like the London cabmen. When a traveller comes out of the hotel there is a wild charge of rickshaws across the street. The boys enjoy the race, and shout and leap into the air.

The dress of the rickshaw boy is a picturesque medley. It is a common thing to see one wearing the discarded tunic of a private of an English line regiment, his head covered with a child's or a lady's straw hat, ornamented with tags of lace and tied with a ribbon under the chin. Others affect the ferocious style, and adorn themselves with enormous feathers or a pair of cow's horns tied to their heads. — Youth's Companion.

Puss Sailed Away

1900

Went Aboard a Steamship and Made Herself Quite at Home

If there is anything in the popular superstition among sailors that "a cat brings good luck," the voyage of the British steamship Thalia will be a pleasant one, says the Savannah News.

A fine, large Maltese cat went aboard the day before she sailed, and composedly curled herself up on the heavily upholstered crimson sofa in the officers' saloon, and when the vessel sailed she was a contented passenger. "She is an old traveler," said the steward, as he stroked her soft fur "and this is not her first voyage. Cats like a change, and they will visit one vessel and then another in port until they find one that suits them; and they are knowing animals, and seem to have some intuition when a vessel is going to sail.

"Do I think a cat brings luck? Oh, yes. It's good luck to have a cat come to you. Why, that's not a superstition of sailors alone. Did you ever see a landlubber that didn't believe it? That cat will have the best treatment on board; besides, there's no end to the rats on board, and the cat will be useful as well as lucky for us."


Friends Are Discovered

Friends are discovered rather than made; there are people who are in their own nature friends, only they do not know each other; but certain things, like poetry, music and painting, are like the Freemasons' signs — they reveal the initiated to each other. — Mrs. Stowe.

Girls Travel On "Nerve"

Oct. 1910

Two Oklahoma Young Women Start Out Without Money on a Three-Years' Trip

Chicago. — "We are going around the world on our own endeavors and nerve for educational purposes and to see if two women can work their way in such an undertaking," said Miss Olive Adair and Miss Oralee List, two young women from Tulsa, Okla., who arrived at the Congress hotel, Chicago, from St. Louis, on the first part of their long journey.

They wore broad white satin sashes, with the words, in black letters, "Around-the-World Girls From Tulsa, Oklahoma," and their suitcases and traveling bags were decorated in similar manner. They wore light tan traveling gowns and black turbans. "We are going to make a tour of the world," they said, "and will earn our passage."

Miss List is a composer of music, and Miss Adair is a singer and a writer of short stories. "We started without one cent of money, earning our fare to Kansas City by singing on the streets and selling papers."

Man Walks Around the World Twice with a 30-pound Book on His Back

1920

"America is the best country in the world," declares Joseph F. Mikulec.

Joseph ought to know. He's walked entirely around the land portions of the globe twice, visiting twenty-six countries. Since 1901 he has been tramping the world and doesn't expect to call his journey ended until December 31, 1921.

Clad in blue overalls, a several-day growth of pale whiskers curling like a mantle over his weather-beaten features, Joseph visited the Blade office a few days ago when he went through Chicago. On his back he carried his most previous treasure — a thirty-pound book in which are the signatures of President Wilson, Mr. Roosevelt, the king of England, the former czar of Russia and notables from many other lands.

"I left Croatia, the country in which I was born, in 1901," says Mikulec, "and I've been walking ever since. When I first reached America I was so delighted with the country that I became a citizen. It's the best in the world. When I end my travels next year I expect to write a book about it."

Asked what his most remarkable adventure was, Mikulec told of an experience in New Zealand.

"To-Mika, an old Maori chief, asked me to marry one of his daughters. I was the first white man that he had seen and he offered 3,000 cows if I would wed the girl. But not wishing to take up life in the jungles as a savage, I refused."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Feb. 28, 1920, p. 1.

Mrs. Minnie Crippen Writes of Interesting Experiences in Rome

Iowa, 1914

She and Miss Shurtieff of Chicago Pleasantly Located, but Weather Has Been Disagreeable — Speaks of Social Life, Churches and Points of Interest

An interesting letter received by Mrs. Myrtle I. Weishaar from Mrs. Minnie M. Crippen of Waterloo, who is touring Europe, was read at the meeting of the Woman's Improvement club this week with Mrs. C. C. Lindner. The letter, written at Rome, is as follows:

"It is on my conscience that I should be writing to you. By the time this reaches Waterloo Christmas and New Year's festivities will be past and the club will be meeting again in regular session. I was told when we came here that Rome had a winter — a rainy season. It was a long time coming this year, and it seems to have arrived. It rains every day and has become damp and unpleasant for getting about — so much so that I am not now getting out. Everyone has a cold. They tell us the this season is of short duration; that by February the winter is practically over. There is no freezing and the flower stands show an abundance of roses, carnations, violets and all sorts of beautiful blossoms. The fruit vendors are everywhere with their carts of oranges, chestnuts, apples, etc.

"Sunshine is needed in Italy just now, and it is not sunny Italy, at least at the present writing.

"This is about the beginning of 'the season' here. The first of next month the hotels put up their prices and until after Easter there will be very many tourists.

"It is more wintry elsewhere than here and by comparison this climate is pleasanter.

Social Affairs

"Alice (Miss Alice Shurtleff) is full of enthusiasm and has a big party on hand for Christmas eve. Young people from the school — painters, sculptors and archaeologists — are going to be entertained at Prof. Hendrickson's, and the girls are busy with decorations and getting ready for games. Then there is to be a Christmas dinner and a tree. Our home here is most delightful and home-like. We are so well satisfied that we have changed from where we first stayed. The hostesses are Italian ladies, very competent. One is an artist, another a teacher. All but one are signorina (maiden ladies). When you want to stay awhile in Rome I will give you this address. It has a peculiar arrangement of rooms. Most of these places are old palaces, you know, and not built for the purposes for which they are now used.

"I am writing on both sides of the paper to save weight. One often has funny experiences with postage here, and you cannot understand why. Often they will attach a penalty and make the fellow at the other end of the line pay it, when there really is not any too much weight. So I try to get my paper well covered.

Sociability Among Americans

"Prof. Carter is at the head of the American school of classics here in Rome, and they live at the Villa Aurelia, a most beautiful place. Mrs. Carter entertains most sumptuously and on New Year's eve there is to be a reception and dance, to which we are invited. The ladies all have their afternoons and as Alice is fond of making friends, we go quite often. There is a great deal of sociability among the Americans residing in Rome, and their homes seem very beautifully and artistically furnished. Many of them have those lovely Italian gardens, with balconies overbanking, and if on the sunny side of the building, and there they usually build them, they are always warm, so that after lunch they will serve their coffee or tea on the balcony, and with the creeping vines and tropical trees and foliage you are reminded of things that you have read, or dreamed about.

Audience With Pope

"Alice had a letter of introduction to the man at the head of the American school of priests and he arranged for us to have an audience with his holiness, Pope Pius X. So we proceeded to the Vatican at the appointed hour. The pontifical palace of the Vatican is composed of many united in one, built at different periods and designed by the most celebrated architects. It has three stories and possesses immense halls, vast courts, innumerable suites of rooms, unrivaled museums and galleries of sculptures and paintings. On the right of the entrance is posted the Swiss guards, who present a striking appearance clad in their picturesque uniforms, first designed by Michael Angelo. We passed the inner staircase, which leads to the court of St. Damascus, then to the royal staircase, a most majestic flight of steps leading to the royal hall. We were met there by more guards in costume, and received by a very grand looking man, dressed in crimson brocade velvet, who spoke English very well and was most cordial, telling us just what to do about our wraps and veils. You understand that for a visit to the pope you must wear a black veil draped over your head and be dressed in black, the gentlemen in full dress. There were some beautiful veils there that day. Then we were shown into a large, elegantly furnished and decorated room. There were quite a number there that morning, many sisters of charity of different orders, and visitors — tourists I judge. We were seated along the wall and I began studying the lovely frescoes and beautiful ceiling. Heavy crimson draperies were hung at the end of the room and I expected to see the pope pass from one of them into this room. The light was subdued and it was very impressive, but after awhile there was a stir and we were all shown through a number of more rooms, all elegant and gorgeous, with beautiful paintings and tapestries, the finest I ever expect to see, and into a suite of lovely rooms with beautiful Persian and Oriental carpets and rugs, like silken draperies, and lovely lace curtains letting in the full sunlight and seeming home-like and inviting.

Pope Clad in White

"There the pope met us dressed all in white, in fine harmony with his white hair and cap, and his mild and benevolent face. He received us kindly and gave us his blessing. Everyone knelt. There were three rooms filled with sisters. The cardinal that we hear of so often as never leaving the pope was there, and he certainly has an unusual personality. One could not help feeling the vigilance of his eyes. They seemed to see everywhere at once and he was so supple and graceful in his movements. The personal guards of the pope are so gorgeously attired as those of the king. In the post card that I send you you will see them just as they appeared. The very last one is one of the Swiss guards; the others are the body guards. The pope is the foremost one in white. He is walking in his garden. One is admitted to the garden by getting a permit, and one lovely day I asked for one and received it, so wandered all through the garden. I am glad I saw it before it rained so much for it was such a warm, nice day and the flowers and fruit were all so perfect. We live right in the piazza of one of the oldest churches, the Santa Maria Maggiore.

Relics Displayed

"The following relics kept in the church will be shown to the public on Christmas as is usual: Some pieces of stone from the stable in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born; the swaddling bands in which the infant was wrapped; some of the hay, which was spread in the manger; and, most important of all, six pieces of wood with which the manger was lined. There are the relics of the sacred culle, or cradle, brought from Bethlehem to Rome in the seventh century, and placed in this Basilica.

"At 6:40 a. m. the chapter of the Basilica goes in procession from the papal altar to the chapel of the sacristy, where the holy relics are on exhibition. (They are placed where they can be inspected only on Christmas eve.) The relics are then borne in procession through the church to the papal altar, to remain there on exhibition until 5 p. m. The music is very good at the service and the whole service is one of the finest in Rome.

"I suppose you know the whole story of the finding of Mona Lisa. It is now in Rome and on exhibition at the museum in the Villa Borghese. A number have been out to see it from this house. They say the crowds are such that you have to get into line. It will be here until the 27th. If I don't see it here, I will likely have the opportunity in Paris. I wish you a Happy New Year.
"Very sincerely,
"MINNIE M. CRIPPEN."

—Waterloo Evening Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Jan. 17, 1914, p. 3.

Tips for Green Automobilists

1905

Directions and Suggestions Which May or May Not Be Useful

One of the first things required of the genuine automobilist is that he mustn't know anything about it. And the second is like unto the first, which is that a man should disregard his neighbors as much as he loves himself, says Life.

These things being understood in the beginning, your standing among the fraternity is assured. Here are, in addition, a few minor matters that need attention:

When you start out, be sure that your mixture is correct. Put about five gallons of 76 gasoline into your tank, and add to this a couple of highballs for yourself. You will be surprised how much better the machine will run.

Upon the extreme care and minuteness with which you examine your auto before starting out will depend the almost absolute certainty of breaking down. Don't miss anything, therefore, from the steering apparatus to the spark plug.

One of the greatest things about automobiling is the way it trains the senses. By practice you will get so that you can pass through the most beautiful scenery without being aware of it, thus acquiring that superb concentration necessary. And you will soon be able to detect any unusual smell and locate it at once.

Be sure to buy the most complete set of tools known, and then, before starting out, take from them the one tool you will most certainly need and leave it carefully behind you. After awhile this will become second nature, so that you won't even have to think about it.

Remember that to keep your auto in the best condition you must lubricate it constantly. To do this successfully use, say, one-half as much cylinder oil on the machinery as you use on yourself. By and by you can tell by the way you feel whether everything is in good running shape or not.

Do not be discouraged if your carburetor gives out, your batteries lay down on you, your connecting rod refuses to connect, or you are confronted by a missing link in your chain. You are, of course, able to support yourself in luxury and discomfort, or you wouldn't have a motor car anyway; so remember that many a man who has more money than you has had the same things happen to him.

And finally, when you have anything happen to you, keep it secret from the presence of your enemies. But when you lie, lie openly — just as if you believed it yourself.

The Wogglebug Story — Witches and Hobgoblins

Wisconsin, 1905

Bachelor Brothers Move Away to Avoid Witches and Hobgoblins

Christian and William Born, who live in Lebanon on the Woodland R.F.D. road next to J. B. Schneider, have been busy for some time past in building a sort of a Noah's ark on wheels, and there has been considerable speculation by their neighbors as to whether the outfit would turn out to be an automobile or a flying machine. Nothing would have surprised their friends, however, as the boys have long been regarded as foolish.

Last week Thursday they loaded up their deep sea going cab with a number of trunks and boxes, and started on a pilgrimage, leaving everything on the place as though they intended returning that day. Their shepherd dog was left as custodian over the eighty acre farm and about thirty head of stock, besides a large number of chicks.

When they did not return that day nor the next the neighbors went over and cared for the stock and notified the chairman of the town, Herman Witte, of the case. He started a deputy sheriff after the boys, and he overtook the outfit at Troy Center Tuesday evening. They said they were en route to the sunny south in obedience to a command from the spirit of their dead father, who has also ordered the construction of their portable house. The deputy invited them to return by rail with him to Juneau to meet a number of his friends, members of the medical profession and they readily assented, as their team needed a rest anyway. So they are now in Juneau, where they were examined as to their sanity.

The boys' father died some years ago, and they have been living with their mother on the farm, neither of them being married, although they are both over forty-five years of age. They have been having a strenuous time with the witches and hobgoblins the past year. Somebody bewitched three of their best milkers at a time when milk was high, while another witch cast a spell over their chickens when the egg market was around thirty cents. All this they were up against for years and withstood manfully, but when the Wogglebug told them that their farm was heavily encumbered and would soon be foreclosed upon by a number of witches, they gave up in despair and at this time their father's spirit appeared and billed them for a trip to Missouri.

The neighbors say that Mrs. Born has been mentally unsound for years, and that the boys have always been very eccentric and extremely superstitious.

Their team and wagon passed through the village this afternoon being driven back to Lebanon, and its odd appearance attracted lots of attention. — Neosho Standard.

Florida Man Has Team of Alligators Pulling His Boat

1901

LEE DRIVES A QUEER TEAM

Florida Man Who Employs Alligators to Tow His Boat

Jefferson Lee, who lives on the St. John's river, in Putnam county, Fla., has the most extraordinary team in the country. It is a team of alligators that Mr. Lee uses to tow his boat up and down the river when he goes to market.

Mr. Lee has to go six miles down the river to his post office, and it is a hard pull against the current, coming back. He noticed how swiftly alligators swam, and it occurred to him that it might be a good idea to turn the alligators that abound in the St. John's river to some account. He captured a pair of young 'gators and raised them in his yard. He taught them to swim and drag a weight behind them, and he also taught them to turn either to the right or left by pulling ropes fastened to their teeth on either side.

When the alligators were big enough he put a harness that he had constructed on them and harnessed them to his boat. They swam well and pulled the boat through the water at a good speed. By pulling the reins that passed through the mouths of the 'gators, Mr. Lee was able to turn his strange water team in the direction he pleased.

Mr. Lee made a point of never feeding his alligators until after they returned from a trip, when he would immediately reward each one with a fine meal.

The alligators seem to be willing to perform their task of pulling his boat, and when he turns them out of the pen in which they are stabled and starts them for the water, they shuffle down to the boat in the liveliest style, and after they are hitched they plunge into the water with grunts of delight.

Mr. Lee says his strange team has never run away nor kicked out the dashboard of his river craft, but that they have one fault, for which, however, he does not blame them. They sometimes sweep their powerful tails in a curve through the water, and once smashed one of his boats into little bits and threw Mr. Lee and a party that he was taking boat riding into the river. They would all have been drowned had not the alligators swam back to them and permitted the party to climb on their backs, after which the alligators swam swiftly to the shore and all the party were saved. Mr. Lee now hitches his team 20 feet in front of the boat, so that the sweep of their tails will not endanger the craft.

Mr. Lee's success has created great interest among all of his neighbors, and now many alligators are being trained for duty as sea horses. — Chicago Tribune.

Stevenson as Natural Vagabond Dug Power from Life

1919

Robert Louis Stevenson called himself an idler. He was a natural vagabond who loved to go in old clothes upon his own way through the strange city haunts of the disinherited or out upon the open road. He despised smug society, but talked eagerly with all sorts of men and women. Yet even as a boy he always carried a notebook and a pencil and constantly put into words what he saw and thought and felt. He wrote until his health gave way, again and again, and then he wrote of that.

Between 1873 and 1879 he produced many of the most inspiring essays of the "Virginibus Puerisque" series. The magazines published "A Lodging for the Night," "Will o' the Mill," the fantastic "New Arabian Nights," and other stories.

In 1879 he made the journey to California in steerage and emigrant-train, determined to "learn for himself the pinch of life as it is felt by the unprivileged and poor." The hardships injured his health, but did not deter him from making the first draft of "The Amateur Emigrant." He recuperated on a goat ranch near Monterey and managed to touch some neglected children. In Monterey afterward he planned his romantic comedy, "Prince Otto."

He completed the breakdown of his health by living on starvation rations in a workman's lodging in San Francisco and working feverishly. After a dangerous illness, he married and lived in the mining camp of "The Silverado Squatters."

Thus did Stevenson the idler dig his material and his power out of life itself.

A Traveling Man Does An Indecent Thing

Wisconsin, 1920

A Traveling Man Gets Into Trouble

Plymouth Review — A young lady, whose name we shall withhold because she was entirely innocent of the slightest wrong-doing, was accosted by a traveling man from Milwaukee, on the highway between this city and Greenbush one day last week.

She was driving towards her home while the Milwaukee traveling man was just ahead of her in an automobile. He stopped the machine and got out of it as if to make some adjustment. As she drove up, he asked the young lady whether she was going to Greenbush. Thinking that the question was impertinent she did not reply, when he stepped away from his auto and did an indecent thing.

At this the young lady turned her horse around and started back towards Plymouth. She stopped at a house and reported what had happened and a gentleman went in pursuit of the malefactor. The young lady accompanied him as she had taken the number of his auto. The auto was standing in front of the Stannard store at the village of Greenbush. While someone went after the young lady's father the traveling man drove to Glenbeulah. Here an officer got into the car with him and they came to Plymouth. The only justice of the peace was out of the city and the police justice has no jurisdiction over a criminal act committed outside the city. The parties went before some attorney and the traveling man paid a certain sum.

We have failed to state that the young lady was accosted twice by the traveling man.

If the story is true and there seems to be no reason to doubt it, the miscreant got off rather lightly. He is said to be a young man about twenty-five years of age, and his experience may be sufficient to deter him from repeating an act of that kind.

—The Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI, Sept. 25, 1920, p. 4.

Cinders In The Eye – Continual Annoyance from Traveling by Rail

1878

Persons traveling much by railway are subject to continual annoyance from the flying cinders.

On getting into the eye they are not only painful for the moment, but are often the cause of long suffering that ends in a total loss of sight. A very simple and effective cure is within the reach of everyone, and would prevent much suffering and expense were it more generally known. It is simply one or two grains of flax seed. It is said they may be placed in the eye without injury or pain to that delicate organ, and shortly they begin to swell and dissolve a glutinous substance that covers the ball of the eye, enveloping any foreign substance that may be in it. The irritation or cutting of the membrane is thus prevented, and the annoyance may soon be washed out.

A dozen of these grains stowed away in the vest pocket may prove, in an emergency, worth their number in gold. The foregoing remedy, from the Mining and Scientific Press, appears to be based on the homeopathic principle, "Like cures like." Whether the sticking of flaxseeds into an inflamed eye is likely to prove beneficial is questionable. Better pull out the cinder with a looped horse hair.—Scientific American.

Note: If you are seeking medical advice concerning eye troubles, or any other trouble, please consult with your physician. The article quoted above is from 1878. The information on this page is for entertainment or historic value only, and is not meant to diagnose or recommend particular care plans or curative measures. And when it comes to looped horse hair, please find horse hair that has been professionally looped, that you will be sure the procedure was done according to current and prevailing standards.

The Queen of Tramps

1878

The Bangor (Me.) Commercial says: Mrs. Mary Merriman is a respectable appearing woman of thirty, is not bad-looking, and has every appearance of being upright and of good character. She is, however, without doubt, the queen of female tramps, and can discount the great majority of male tramps.

She was born in St. Albans, in this state, and her folks were farmers. She has since lived in Hermon with her brother, Joseph Merriman, who does a good deal of trading in this city. Three years ago this fall she took it into her head to see the country, and started out with neither scrip nor staff, but a good pair of thick shoes. She walked across the country, braving all kinds of weather, and finally brought up in Clinton, Iowa, when she took the back track and returned to this city.

Two years ago she decided to start out again, and this time selected a long tour. She walked through portions of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and on to Washington, where she remained a few days, and "did the capital," and then made a bolt for Savannah, Ga., where she remained a short time. Then on she went again, doing the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, and finally got round to Kansas City. Here she stopped awhile and earned a new tramping outfit. Again she started, this time with the intention Of crossing the plains to California, but finally stopped when told by many persons that it would be very unsafe for her to think of attempting it alone. She then started on a return trip, walking from Kansas City to Chicago, thence to Detroit, doing Niagara Falls, and crossing to Canada, thence to New York and through Massachusetts, arriving at her home in Hermon a little more than a week ago.

She says she averages twenty-six miles a day. She says when she gets tired and out of clothes she finds no trouble in getting a few days' work, and in this manner enjoys her life.