An 1880s Description of Grand Turk Island

This one comes from The Mountain Signal (the precursor to the Mt. Vernon Signal) of Mount Vernon, Rockcastle County, Kentucky on February 24, 1888.  In this issue, in the "Of General Interest" column, appears a brief description of Grand Turk Island in the late 19th century:

The Mountain Signal, Feb 24, 1888

Turk's Island, one of the West Indies, is only 7 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide.  It contains 2,500 inhabitants, three-fourths negroes.  The only product and export of the little island is salt and sponges.  Of these it sends out annually 2,000,000 bushels and 2,600 bales of sponges.  Two-thirds of the salt goes to the United States and the rest to the Canadian provinces as fishery salt.  The best part of the salt is piled up outdoors in stacks of 15 to 20 feet high.  It is pure, dazzling white and trying to the eyes; in fact, so much so that those who work at the salt usually wear goggles.

Obituary of Robert G. Ingersoll

I intentionally sought out an obituary of Robert G. Ingersoll that did not seem to have an overt agenda to denounce the man's anti-religious views.  

This is also as good a time as any to point out that "apoplexy" was a term used decades ago to describe sudden, unexpected death, usually due to cerebral hemorrhage.  However, the article describes chest pains, so heart failure is a more likely culprit.

From The Record-Union of Sacramento, California on July 22, 1899:

ROBERT INGERSOLL CROSSES THE RIVER

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The Brilliant Orator Numbered With the Silent Majority.

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Passed Away Yesterday at His Home at Dobbs Ferry of Apoplexy.

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Was Apparently Enjoying Good Health When He Went to His Summer Resort Two Days Ago-- His Wife and Two Daughters at His Bedside When Death Occurred.

NEW YORK, July 21.--Robert G. Ingersoll died at his home in Dobb's Ferry, N. Y., this afternoon of apoplexy.

Mr. Ingersoll went to his summer home in Dobb's Ferry two days ago apparently in good health.  Shortly after his arrival there he complained of a slight indisposition.  He spent this morning in his room, and shortly before he was stricken his wife offered to have his luncheon taken up to him, so that he would not have to walk down stairs to the dining-room.  He laughingly replied that while he did not feel quite as young as he used to, he guessed he was not yet an invalid, and he would go down with the others.  As he finished speaking and was about to rise he fell back into his chair.  A physician was immediately summoned, but when he reached the house he found that Mr. Ingersoll had died almost instantly.  The physician did not give the cause of death, but the family believe it was due to apoplexy.

Mr. Ingersoll's wife and two daughters were with him when he died.

Robert G. Ingersoll was born at Dresden, N. Y. in 1833.  His family removed to Illinois in 1845, where Robert was educated; he studied law and was admitted to the bar there.  He also entered the political arena as a Democrat.  He was nominated for Congress in 1860, but was defeated.  In 1862 he entered the army as Colonel of a regiment of cavalry and was taken prisoner, but was exchanged.  Returning to civil life he became a Republican, and in 1868 was made Attorney General of Illinois.

At the Republican convention of 1870 his speech, in proposing Mr. Blaine's name for the Presidency, aroused general attention for its eloquence, and since that time Colonel Ingersoll has been prominently before the country as an orator.  He frequently appeared upon the lecture platform in advocacy of views opposed to Christianity and the Bible, which he also maintained in contribution to the periodicals.  it is chiefly to this skepticism that he owed his celebrity.

Colonel Ingersoll resided in Washingotn, where he had a lucrative and extensive practice.  His defense in the Star Route trial was published all over the country.  His fee form ex-Senator Dorsey awakened much interest among the members of the bar, as it amounted to the enormous sum of $100,000.

For the last three days Mr. Ingersoll has not been feeling well.  Last night he was in better health and spent a portion of the evening playing billiards with Walston H. Brown, his son-in-law, and C. P. Farrell, his brother-in-law and Private Secretary.  He seemed to be in better health and spirits when he retired than he had been for several days.

This morning he rose at the usual time and joined the family at breakfast.  He then said he had spent a bad night but felt better.  He had been suffering from abdominal pains and tightness about the chest.  He did not think his condition at all dangerous.  After breakfast he telephoned to Dr. Smith, his physician, who is at Bell Haven, and told him of his experience during the night.  Dr. Smith told him, he said, to continue the use of nitro-glycerine and that he would see him during the day.  Colonel Ingersoll spent the morning swinging in a hammock and sitting on the veranda with the members of the family.  He said he was better and had no pain.  At 12:30 he started to go upstairs.

On reaching the head of the stairs Colonel Ingersoll turned into his wife's room.  Mrs. Ingersoll was there.  Together they discussed what they would have for luncheon, and Colonel Ingersoll said he had better not eat much, owing to the trouble with his stomach.  He seemed in good spirits then.  After talking for a few minutes Colonel Ingersoll crossed the room and sat down in a rocking chair.  He leaned his head upon his hand, which rested on the back of the chair.  Mrs. Ingersoll asked him how he was feeling and he replied: "Oh, better."

These were his last words.  A second after they were uttered he was dead.  The only sign  noticed by Mrs. Ingersoll was that the whites of his eyes suddenly showed.  There was not even a sigh or groan as death came.  Doctors were hastily called but their verdict was that death had come instantly.

No arrangements have yet been made for the funeral, but it will probably take place on Monday at the home and the internment will be in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown.

Cartoon: A Lesson About Personal Bias

This comes from the satirical magazine Puck, Volume 22, No. 508. on January 25, 1888.  This is available on google books here.  Click to enlarge.

One great reason why people are slow in learning the truth is found in the distorted medium through which they are accustomed to look.  The man who lives surrounded by the thick, foggy atmosphere of a political party can hardly be expected to see things as they appear when viewed in the clear ether from an independent standpoint.  When we seek impressions from the mirrors which our mentors, whether of the stage or of the press, hold up to nature, if the mirror be not an exact plane, we shall get queer and wrong ideas.  And it is not reasonable to expect correct judgements when the men whose interest is to show us things as they are not are ever holding up for us the concave or convex glass which show us things only as they wish them to appear.

 

THREE MIRRORS HELD UP TO NATURE.

1) This is the American Workingman as the Protectionists say he would be if it were not for the Tariff.
2) This is what they say the Tariff makes of him.
3) But We think the Tariff Reform Mirror does him justice.

Wireless Telegraphy and the RMS Titanic

The RMS Titanic, as we all know, was seen as the foremost in ship-building technology when it launched in April of 1912.  Although much attention in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster focused on the failures of technology, The Day Book of Chicago, Illinois on April 17, 1912, two days after the Titanic sank, illustrates how another technological innovation of the day allowed for there to be any survivors at all.

Story in Picture of How Wireless Waked The Midnight Sea
Californian, Virginian, Prinz Frederick Wilhelm, Olympic
Prinz Adelbert, Baltic, Carpathia, Mauretania, Cincinati, Parisian

The Day Book, Chicago, IL - Apr 17, 1912

Although the steamer Titanic sank before help arrived, one of the most remarkable features of the disaster was how the great liner's dying call for help by wireless telegraphy awakened the midnight sea.  "S. O. S." (Send out Succor) flashed out over the silent wastes shortly before 11 o'clock.  Every few minutes the air waves carried "S. O. S." until 12: 17, when it stopped.  But in that hour and a half the cry for help was picked up by a dozen ships--ships that turned from their courses and sped under forced draught to the spot in the old ocean where grim tragedy was at work.  The picture illustrates how the sea responded.

The Purpose of Harrowing After Plowing

From Ranch and Range of North Yakima, Washington on April 15, 1897:

VALUE OF HARROWING.

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BY ED. WELLEW.

In riding over our county a few days ago the writer noticed many fields being plowed for grain, potatoes, hops, etc.  More than one-half of the plowed fields were just as the plow left them, some very poorly plowed, some rough and uneven, while in a few cases the harrow or "drag" had followed the plow.

We certainly have one of the best farming countries in the world, but even here such beginnings will not result in successful farming.  Here, where we have warm, sunny days and occasional dry winds, the harrow should follow the plow if good results are to be obtained.  Never allow plowed fields to remain exposed to the sun and dry air, but pulverize the surface as quickly as possible.  In this way the moisture is retained, germination hastened, irrigation delayed, better crops assured, and much time and labor saved.

It is surely a serious mistake to expose a rough surface of the soil and let the moisture evaporate simply because we have an abundance of water to irrigate with.

Last year on a piece of grain land forty-eight bushels per acre of barley were raised where the ground was well plowed and the harrow followed.  On the same kind of soil, near by, a little less than thirty bushels per acre of barley were raised where the plowed field was exposed from two to three days before harrowing.  This last field required more irrigating than the first, had the same kind of seed put in just as well, equally as good soil, was planted nearly at the same time, and yielded more than eighteen bushels less per acre.  There may not always be so great a difference, but there will be a difference.  The successful farmer in any country will agree with us, we believe; at any rate, experiment will prove beneficial to the doubtful.

North Yakima, Wash.

Leased Cemetery Plots in Cuban Cemetery

From The San Francisco Call of San Francisco, California on April 24, 1904: 

San Franciso Call, April 24, 1904

Havana's Golgotha 

When Americans visit Havana they are confronted with many peculiar customs.  One of the most startling and revolting is that which prevails in regard to the dead.  Colon Cemetery, a beautiful burial ground, laid out in romantic walks, arched with superb trees and adorned with costly monuments and classic cenotaphs, is the last home for all, grandee and peasant alike. 

The rainbow effects of the city's architecture are carried out here, as revealed in the various colors of the crosses which mark the graves; but suddenly, and without warning, the vision is astonished with a grotesque contrast, which is truly a shocking commentary upon civilization. 

It appears that the ground in this cemetery is leased, not sold, and if after a term of five years the renewal rent is not paid the dead forfeit their resting places.  The bodies are ruthlessly dug up and cast into a common heap, exposed to public view along with thousands of other skulls and bones of men, women, and children who can never be traced by posterity.

Oh, the Insanity: Daredevil Goes From Airship to Train

If Tesla had been more business-minded, and the Hindenburg hadn't crashed, I think the world would have turned out more like the settings of so many steampunk novels. And then this scene would've totally been in a James Bond movie.

From The Day Book of Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1914:

Detective Finn, most renowned of dare devils, has accomplished the remarkable feat of steering his dirigible balloon over a fast-moving train and sliding down a rope to one of the cars, shaming the writers of detective fiction by outclassing their wildest of hair-breadth escapes.

U.S. Time Zones in 1918

 Did you know that Kentucky used to be entirely Central Time? Or that Georgia was split between the Central and Eastern Time Zones?

Time zones were first created by railroad companies to convey to passengers what time trains would arrive and leave a station.  However, each railroad maintained its own time schedule which could be puzzling for travelers.  Train stations often displayed a half dozen clocks just to show all the times for the different trains schedules.  The Standard Time Act of 1918 sought to eliminate the confusion by standardizing the time zones.  Because of the railroad connection, the first time zone lines ran through major rail terminals such as Detroit and Atlanta.

This map is an estimate that I made on google maps using only the points given in the newspaper article below.  Here's a link to the map I made if you care to zoom in.

To compare, here are the present time zone delineations in the United States. Map from nationalatlas.gov.

This articles comes from the New York Tribune, printed November 19, 1918:

New York Tribune, Nov 19, 1918

Time Zones in U.S. Change After Jan. 1

Lines Move Westward by Order of Federal Board Fixing New Limits

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18.--New and official boundaries for time zone in the United States, unifying existing lines and moving them slightly westward were announced to-day by the Interstate Commerce Commission, to become effective at 2 a.m., January 1 next.  This order is pursuant to the daylight savings act, which in addition to authorizing advance of the clock during the summer, provided for permanent United States standard time, and required the commission to define the limits of the standard time zones, which previously had been fixed only by custom of cross-continent railroad or by local law.

The line fixed by the commission, separating the Eastern and Central time zones, beginning at the Great Lakes, follows the boundary of Michigan, through Toledo, Fremont, Clyde, Bellevue, Monroeville, Willard, Shelby Junction, Mansfield, Galion, Marion, Columbus, Lancaster, Dundas, and Galipolis, Ohio; Huntington, Kenova and Williason, W. Va; Dunganon, Va.; Bristol, Va. Tenn; Telford, Tenn.; Asheville and Franklin, N.C.; Atlanta, McDonough, Macon, Perry, Americus, Albany and Thoasville, Ga.; the northern boundary of Florida to River Junction and the Apalachicola River to the Gulf of Mexico.

Between Central and Mountain time the lime begins at the Canadian boundary, Portal, N.D., running through Minot and Goodall, N.D., and following the Missouri River to Pierre, S.D., then through Murdo, S.D.; Long Pine, North Platte, McCook and Republican Junction, Neb.; Phillipsburg, Plainville, Ellis, Dodge City and Liberal, Kan.; Waynoka, Clinton and Sayre, Okla.; Sweet Water, Big Springs and San Angelo, Tex., and the 100th  meridian to the Rio Grande River.

Between Mountain and Pacific time zones the line is fixed following the eastern boundary of the Blackfood Indian reservation, in Montana, and the Continental Divide, to Helena, Butte and Dillon, Mont.; Pocatello, Idaho, and the Oregon Short Line to Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah; thence the Los Angelas & Salt Lake Railroad and the western and southern boundaries of Utah to the 113th meridian, thence to Seligman and Parker, Ariz., and along the Colorado River to the Mexican boundary.

All of Alaska is left within a single time zone, the commission holding that it cannot deal with this matter, nor with the omission of the Hawaiian islands from the terms of the daylight savings act.

Enthusiasm Described and Caution'd Against, by Charles Chauncy

I had a hard time trying to find this document online in its entirety, so I'm posting it here to help make it more accessible.

This is a polemic against the Great Awakening written by a Puritan minister, Charles Chauncy, in 1742.  The sermon is printed in a book titled Puritan Rhetoric: The Issue of Emotion in Religion, starting on page 103.  That book is only available for partial view on google books.  I then signed up for a trial version of a pay-per-view article database website and grabbed it off there, however that version was devoid of italics.  I have tried to add in the italics where possible based off the partial view of Puritan Rhetoric on google books.  Therefore, the formatting presented in the below version is not complete.

Some Lesser Known Innovations of Nikola Tesla

Kansas City Journal
Jan 5, 1898

Here are some descriptions of lesser known innovations, or claims of innovations, of Nikola Tesla's, as reported in newspaper articles during his lifetime.   These are excerpts from multiple articles in multiple newspapers.  To read the full articles, you can do so for free on the Library of Congress website.

The photo and caption to the left comes from The Kansas City Journal of Kansas City, Missouri, on January  5, 1898.


From The Princeton Union of Princeton, Minnesota, March 9, 1893:

(Sounds safe to me!)*
from The Princeton Union, Mar 9, 1893

Tesla is as yet only 36, and his great-discovery of a rapid alternating current was made some years ago.  One of the results of it is that an electric glow like daylight may be produced between the opposite walls of a room by simply having metallic wall paper and connecting it with the central generating plant.

Also From The Princeton Union of Princeton, Minnesota, March 9, 1893:

The Princeton Union, Mar 9, 1893

Tesla has perfected apparatus which will produce an alternating current of 1,000,000 alternations per second, such rapid waves, in fact, that they cause no effect on the human body.  He has produced a flame which lights without making heat or combustion, but which can be changed so as to produce both when they are wanted for warming a house or for cooking.  Thus the light will not burn up the oxygen of a room.  His machine will make ozone, and by another invention he has made he declares himself able to electrically disinfect all creation.  If he can give the world ozone in such quantity, then nobody need ever die of consumption or suffer for want of fresh air.  He has made an electrical current flow through vulcanite [rubber], hitherto regarded as the insulator nearest perfect of any known.  He says he has found five different kinds of electrical discharge, from an infinitesimally thin thread to a huge stream of light.  These are some of the claims of electrical wizard No. 2.

From The San Francisco Call, San Francisco, CA, November 13, 1898 (full page article with several wonderful illustrations).  The article goes on to describe this as "Tesla's system of electrical power transmission through natural media."

The San Francisco Call, Nov 13, 1898

Tesla's latest electrical wonder is out.  It is out because he has just received patents on it in this and other countries.

What Tesla proposes to do now is to transmit almost any amount of power almost any distance without wires, and without loss.  Although moving ships at sea may use the system for propulsion it is mainly intended for use on land.

To illustrate the anticipated results in the most concrete form it is proposed, for instance, that water power shall generate a great quantity of electricity on the lower courses of streams coming from the Sierras; that this electricity shall be conducted to a balloon arrangement floating a mile or two above the earth; that there shall be in San Francisco a similar balloon high above the city and that all the electrical energy conducted to the first balloon shall pass without loss and without wires to the balloon over the city, from which it shall descend to turn wheels and light lamps, etc.

A secondary result would seem to be that ships minus boilers and minus coal shall plow their way from the Golden Gate to Puget Sound, their churning propellers being driven by motors which draw their energy through the air from stations arranged every hundred miles or so along the shore.

The Same Force Made to Run Factories, Street Cars
and Electric Lights in a City Miles Away
The San Francisco Call, Nov 13, 1898

From The Washington Herald, Washington, D.C., December 5, 1915:

The Washington Herald, Dec 5, 1915

Mr. Tesla says his discovery has a direct and vital bearing on the problems now foremost in the public mind.  Wireless telephony will be brought to a perfection hitherto undreamed of through the application of this discovery, Tesla claims.  The inventor says that through his discovery electrical effects of unlimited intensity and power can be produced, so that not only energy can be transmitted for all practical purposes to any terrestrial distance, but even effects of cosmic magnitude may be created.

"We will deprive the ocean of its terrors by illuminating the sky, thus avoiding collision at sea and other disasters caused by darkness," Tesla claims.  "We will draw unlimited quantities of water from the ocean and irrigate the deserts and other arid regions. In this way we will fertilize the soil and derive any amount of power from the sun.  I also believe that ultimately all battles, if they should come, will be waged by electrical waves instead of explosives.


From The Evening Bulletin of Maysville, Kentucky, in 1898:

The Evening Bulletin, 1898

He has now discovered that it is just as easy to blow up an enemy's vessel by means of the ocsillator as it is to send a message by telephone from one end of the city to the other.  The question of distance between the enemy's ship and the oscillator does not enter into consideration at all.  The same force that can convey a message that distance will be able, Mr. Tesla thinks, to blow up the biggest battleship that has ever been afloat at an equal distance.





*I'm just kidding. Please don't try this. Obviously.