No. 809
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
April 15, 2025

She Was a Child of Nature.

Sensation created at Boonville, Ind., by the capture of an alleged wild woman.
April 15, 2025
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Tag: Detroit

Her Last Quadrille.

The bursting of an artery due to tight lacing causes the death of Miss Mary Crawford of Detroit, Mich.

12/1/2015

Baseball Animals.

Cigarette cards, 1880s, 1890s

5/14/2013
 Welcome to the latest Link Dump!This week, we are honored to be visited by some genuine royalty.That time someone stole 80,000 pounds of butter.The complicated medieval legal term, "raptus."The Roman Woman of Spitalfields.How medieval Europeans ate before contact with the Americas.You never know what you'll find in medieval latrines.  Other than the obvious, of course.You never know
More...
Strange Company - 5/15/2026
John Sloan was a Village resident and something of a voyeur in the early 1900s, discreetly watching from his window or walking nearby streets in search of scenes to commit to canvas. He never lacked material, finding inspiration in the ordinary: a woman hanging laundry, men drinking in McSorley’s saloon, the elevated train snaking through […]
More...
Ephemeral New York - 5/11/2026
Whatever you believe about the guilt or innocence of Lizzie Borden, I have always believed film makers do a great injustice to the story by not beginning at the beginning- the death on March 26, 1863 of the first Mrs. Borden. In the dying moments of Sarah Morse, Emma takes on the weight of the care of her little sister, not yet three years old. Emma herself was just 12 on March 1st. Emma has seen her mother suffer for a long time, seen her pain and loss of little Alice Esther. Emma is old enough
More...
Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts - 3/26/2026
 Welcome to the latest Link Dump!This week, we are honored to be visited by some genuine royalty.That time someone stole 80,000 pounds of butter.The complicated medieval legal term, "raptus."The Roman Woman of Spitalfields.How medieval Europeans ate before contact with the Americas.You never know what you'll find in medieval latrines.  Other than the obvious, of course.You never know
More...
Strange Company - 5/15/2026
Whatever you believe about the guilt or innocence of Lizzie Borden, I have always believed film makers do a great injustice to the story by not beginning at the beginning- the death on March 26, 1863 of the first Mrs. Borden. In the dying moments of Sarah Morse, Emma takes on the weight of the care of her little sister, not yet three years old. Emma herself was just 12 on March 1st. Emma has seen her mother suffer for a long time, seen her pain and loss of little Alice Esther. Emma is old enough
More...
Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts - 3/26/2026
"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
"Diamond Flossie" Murphy.(New York Journal, March 18, 1898.)Flossie Murphy was a flamboyant character, notorious in the demi-monde of New York City’s Tenderloin. She had a fondness for diamond jewelry, which she wore conspicuously, earning her the nickname, “Diamond Flossie.” But when she was found on the floor of her room on April 22, 1897, with a rope tied around her neck and all her jewelry
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Murder By Gaslight - 5/9/2026
John Sloan was a Village resident and something of a voyeur in the early 1900s, discreetly watching from his window or walking nearby streets in search of scenes to commit to canvas. He never lacked material, finding inspiration in the ordinary: a woman hanging laundry, men drinking in McSorley’s saloon, the elevated train snaking through […]
More...
Ephemeral New York - 5/11/2026
"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
More...
Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 10/13/2025
Dogographs. | A Terrible Axe Duel.

She Was a Child of Nature.

Child-of-Nature

Some young men, while hunting near Booneville, Ind., a few days ago, came upon a beautiful young woman, who had apparently been roaming for several days through the swamps and woods in an almost nude condition. When she discovered them she darted away like a frightened deer. They pursued her to a cave. catching her just as she was about entering the same. She is about thirty years of age. Her face and body have been terribly lacerated by brambles and bushes. In her temporary hiding place were found a quantity of nuts and herbs and a piece of an old broken earthenware pitcher. She was carried to a neighboring farmer's house, where she has become more docile. Her name has not been discovered, and she refuses to reveal it.


National Police Gazette, December 29, 1888.