No. 856
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
March 17, 2026

An Irishman and a Yankee Settle a Dispute.

An Irishman and a Yankee Settle a Dispute Across the Breakfast Table at their Boarding House in New
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March 17, 2026
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Tag: Bio

Hungry Joe.

The conmen of New York City were noted for their colorful nicknames: "Paper Collar Joe", "Grand Central Pete" Jimmy "the Kid" and the greatest of all "Hungry Joe".

10/20/2013

Undercover Lunatic.

5/26/2013

The Diamond King.

J. I. Lighthall, better known as the Diamond King, was a charismatic showman and a master of marketing, but he was also a dedicated healer.

12/4/2012

Kate Warne.

Kate Warne, America’s first female detective.

5/30/2012

Allan Pinkerton.

The Eye that Never Sleeps.

3/27/2012

Another Voice for Cleveland.

12/13/2011

Duel of the Divas.

The question of who was more beautiful, Lillian Russel or Lola Montez was settled by two cowpokes in the Nevada desert in the 1890s.

5/30/2011

Voodoo Queen Marie

For over forty years, beginning around 1830, Marie Laveau was the most powerful and most feared woman in New Orleans.

3/21/2011

“Daredevil” Steve Brodie

2/17/2011
WILLIAM FALE
alias: BROOKS
HOTEL THIEF, SLEEPING-CAR WORKER

Weekend Link Dump

 Welcome to this week's Link Dump!However, I'm not sure I like what the Strange Company HQ staffers are planning for today's menu.What the hell was the Dover Demon?An archaeological mystery near Yellowstone.A fatal obsession with an actress.The "f word" goes a long way back.In 1900, these were women's favorite weapons.A look at the latest book about Poe.  It sounds a bit pretentious,
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Strange Company - 10/2/2026

Convicts to Maryland, 1773 by Peter Dickson

  [Editor’s note: Guest writer, Peter Dickson, lives in West Sussex, England and has been working with microfilm copies of The Duncan Campbell Papers from the State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia. The following are some of his analyses of what he has discovered from reading these papers. Dickson has contributed many transcriptions to the Jamaica […]
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Early American Crime - 2/7/2019
Amen.

Artifact #93: Soapy's son, hires attorney to stop the slurring of his father's name.

"As his son I am proud of hisefforts to succeed in life"Jefferson Randolph Smith IIIArtifact #93-2Jeff Smith collection(Click image to enlarge) oapy's son hires a legal firm to stop the defamation of his father's name. At age 30, Jefferson Randolph Smith III, Soapy and Mary's oldest son, was protecting his father's legacy and his mother's reputation from "libel" and scandal. He was also
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Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 10/13/2025

James Dougherty's Obsession.

Mary Anderson was an acclaimed international stage actress in the late 1800s. Among her many fans was a young Brooklyn man named James M. Dougherty.  He worked as a telegraph lineman and studied science in his spare time. He dabbled in a little of everything until, after watching one of her plays, he became obsessed with Miss Anderson. His love for Mary Anderson became his sole
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Murder By Gaslight - 9/26/2026
On the Russians.

1617: A miller of Manberna, the hangman’s last

Youth With Executioner by Nuremberg native Albrecht Dürer … although it’s dated to 1493, which was during a period of several years when Dürer worked abroad. November 13 [1617]. Burnt alive here a miller of Manberna, who however was lately … Continue reading →
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Executed Today - 11/13/2020
Sketches on the Rail. | A Private Hospital for Cats.

An Irishman and a Yankee Settle a Dispute.

Irishman and Yankee

An Irishman and a Yankee Settle a Dispute Across the Breakfast Table at their Boarding House in New York.

An Irishman and a Yankee recently got into a dispute across the breakfast table in their boarding-house in New York and both became so angry that they determined to fight it out. The Yankee aimed a blow at the head of the Irishman, who dodged it, and seizing the wrist of his adversary he forced one of his fingers between his teeth and bit it until the poor Yankee screamed with pain. Nor did he then let go until he had severed the finger at the first joint. He was arrested on the charge of mayhem, and will no doubt be punished.

Reprinted from Weekly Varieties, February 22, 1887.

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