No. 745
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
April 16, 2024

Wrestling Match on a Canadian Steamer.

On the St. Lawrence River.
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April 16, 2024
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Tag: Gunshot

Shot for a Bear.

An unsuspecting woman in Platte Lake, Mich., is horribly and fatally made game of.

12/9/2020

Another Fool with a Gun.

Mattie Salter killed by her brother, who didn’t know it was loaded, Sandersville, Ga.

2/18/2019

The Wedding Postponed.

11/27/2017

Packed Away in a Trunk.

James Lavender of Irwinton, Georgia, tries to elude his bondsmen but is found and dragged out.

11/13/2017
JOHN RILEY
alias: JOHN MURPHY
SNEAK, PICKPOCKET, SHOPLIFTER

Arne Gandy's Final Phone Call

"Hackensack Record," May 24, 1934, via Newspapers.com20-year-old Arne Gandy of Teaneck, New Jersey, was a restless, adventurous young man who, like so many restless, adventurous sorts throughout history, felt the call of the high seas.  After several voyages to South America, in December 1933 he signed on to serve as “messboy” on the “President Harrison.”  Gandy carried with him a
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Strange Company - 11/2/2026

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

Caught in the Act.

(The National Police Gazette, October 2, 1886.)A little before 3 o’clock, on the afternoon of September 9, 1886, Henry H. Meyer rushed into the police station in Memphis, Tennessee, and said, “I have just killed a man, and I want to give myself up.”Captain Hackett took down the information and had the man locked up, then hurried to the address he had given to see for himself what had happened. In
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Murder By Gaslight - 10/31/2026
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
A New Gag. | "He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not."

Wrestling Match on a Canadian Steamer.

Wrestling

On the steamboat trip from Montreal to Quebec the voyager meets with many French Canadians going to or returning from market as deck passengers. Being of a lively and social disposition, they while away the time in rude but innocent amusements, to the great entertainment of the other passengers. Sedate priests are often seen among the spectators, evidently thoroughly enjoying the sport. Wrestling matches frequently occur, and our artist furnished a sketch of one of the contests of strength witnessed by him in which a spunky little French Canadian contended against many more formidable opponents, and, although invariably thrown, returned smilingly to the encounter as long as his strength held out.

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, January 23, 1875.

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