Sept. 2, 1906 (Sunday)

FIRST-CLASS ACT BY FIRST-CLASS PASSENGER: Passengers on the Cunard liner Umbria (above)got a treat during a trip from England that ended in New York yesterday. It turns out that someone spotted the name "J.F. Hagan" on the list of first-cabin passengers. Someone realized that it must refer to the great fighter "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien (right). Soon word reached the boiler room, where George Munson was shoveling coal. He thought he'd like to go a few rounds with the fighter. O'Brien agreed. Furthermore, he said he'd fight any member of the crew. Soon, a 24-foot ring was set up in the afterdeck. Last Tuesday night, he fought two men -- Munson and a man named Jim Smith. Neither fight lasted more than three rounds.

SPECTACLE ON THE SEA: Today's Sunday New York Times includes a wonderful feature about the lineup of warships that is scheduled to take place tomorrow on Long Island Sound. The ships will parade for the benefit of President Roosevelt, who is vacationing at Oyster Bay. This is called "the greatest Naval review in the history of the United States. The display involves 15,325 enlisted men. One of the ships on display, the battleship Louisiana, is expected to bring Roosevelt to Panama afer the fall election. This will be the first time an American president will leave American territory while in office. The president is expected to watch the proceedings from the deck of the presidential yacht, Mayflower (below).

Sept. 1, 1906 (Saturday)

IS IT HOT ENOUGH TO MELT THE CROWN JEWELS? The end of August evidently brought with it the end of some heat records in London (right). Official measurements indicated that the temperature at 2 p.m. was 91 degrees in the shade and an incredible 129 degrees in the sun. Quite a heatwave, whether measure in Centigrade or Fahrenheit. So, how hot was it? Here's how the article in The New York Times put it: "...in some places the Judges presiding over the dignified County courts are reported to be dispensing justice in their shirtsleeves." Wonder if they ditched the wigs, too?

PUNCH THEM WHERE THEY AIN'T: Baseball player Willie Keeler and a group of his teammates on the New York team in the American League had to break up a fist fight yesterday between two players, "Wid" Conroy (left)and "Kid" Elberfeld (right). The fight broke out during the second inning of the Highlanders game against the Washington Nationals. It happened in the dugout, so most spectators had no idea what was going on. Evidently, Elberfeld had slid into first base and injured his ankle. Conroy criticized him for risking injury in a game when the team was ahead by 10-0. The fists flew. This surprised the reporters covering the team. An article in today's paper says, "It has always been supposed that the utmost good feeling prevailed among the members of the New York team."

Aug. 31, 1906 (Friday)

WOMAN EXPLORER DIES: I'm not sure how to spell her last name (the obituary in The New York Times spells her last name two ways -- as Artell and Axtell), but it's noteworthy that the wife of archaeologist John Henry Haynes died yesterday. She joined her husband during some of his exhausting, dangerous and controversial excavations of Nippur (right), which is about 100 miles south of Baghdad. Haynes was consul of the United States and director of the Babylonian expeditions of the University of Pennsylvania. The article says, "Mrs. Haynes lived with her husband for several years in Nippur, surrounded by Bedouins. For some years she was a lecturer." A year ago she fought for her husband's reputation while he was in an asylum in Northampton, Mass. She, and others, felt that others had taken credit for her husband's work, especially regarding his role in discovering the buried library of 22 volumes in Nippur, source of some remarkable finds.

BRYAN'S BACK IN TOWN: Supporters of William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner, have flocked to New York City to greet him after his world tour. About 10,000 showed up to hear him speak at Madison Square Garden. However, it was so hot in the building that Bryan ended up speaking to many empty seats toward the end of his 90-minute speech. Afterward, early this morning, a policeman came across one of the Bryan supporters, Dave O'Brien, a candy manufacturer from Omaha, outside the Victoria Hotel. He asked O'Brien to "move along." Well, that brought about 50 Bryan supporters, including eight Midwestern mayors, storming out of the hotel. One, brandished a lariat, and that enough to make the police officer back down.

ACTOR FINDS SOMETHING NEW IN THE SCRIPT: Things didn't quite follow the script during yesterday's matinee performance for actor Harry T. Devere, whoÂ’s appearing in "The Great Jewel Mystery" at the Bastable Theater in Syracuse. ThatÂ’s when he was served with divorce papers. This has happened to him before. The first round of papers were served on him three weeks ago in New York City by a pretty girl who was posing as an adoring fan. In describing his marriage troubles, the actor was "more than frank" with a newspaper reporter.

Aug. 30, 1906 (Thursday)

OCEAN DIVER FINDS MRS. BELMONT'S DIAMOND-STUDDED PURSE: On the evening of Aug. 28, Mrs Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, whose first name is Alva, was returning to Newport, R.I., on the steamer Narada when she dropped a valuable gold purse into six fathoms of water. Evidently this was not just any old purse. It was studded with diamonds and other jewels -- and contained about $128 besides. The captain of the ship anchored a buoy at the spot where the purse hit the water. Yesterday morning, some divers from the torpedo station were hired to look for it. After a long while, chief diver Jacob Anderson found the purse. The front-page story of The New York Times says Mrs. Belmont gave Anderson a "generous" reward for his efforts.

'FREIGHT CAR' KEEPS ROLLING: Boxer Ed Dunkhorst, (left) who’s known around here as "The Human Freight Car," is busy making preparations for his vaudeville show. He will be dressed as a little boy who will appear with a 90-pound woman portraying his mother. In contrast, Dunkhorst, weighs 412 pounds. His show opens in Boston on Sept. 19. It will run there for 46 weeks before going to Coney Island. It sounds like it might make a nice movie. In a previous role, with boxing great Bob Fitzsimmons, Dunkhorst portrayed a . . . . punching bag.

CRANE TURNS MANHATTAN INTO A SHOOTING GALLERY: A crane, presumably an escapee from a menagerie, swooped over Columbus Circle yesterday afternoon and took a seat on the top of the Columbus statue (right) there. That sight drew a huge crowd. According to The New York Times, "several" shots were fired at the bird. All missed the bird. There was no report about how many bullets hit Christopher Columbus. The crane then flew off and perched on the roof of the Church of the Stranger on West 57th Street. More pistol shots sent it back into the air. Then it landed on the Vermont apartment house at 301 W. 57th St. There, the crowd was so big that a police officer had difficulty staying in control. Again, shots were fired at the bird -- from all directions. By that time, the crane's luck was used up. A bullet cut through its neck. It collapsed on the roof, where it was scooped up by a "janitress" named Mrs. Louisa Gillespie. It makes you wonder just how many people are walking the streets of New York with a loaded pistol in their pocket.

Aug. 29, 1906 (Wednesday)

WOMAN WITH HOURGLASS FIGURE ASKS FOR A LITTLE TIME: London's Daily Chronicle published yesterday an interview with Henry Lyndhurst, the heir of Lord Aberdare. He has announced his engagement to American actress Camille Clifford (right), who's known for her "tight-laced" look. He said, however, that he and Camille had had a little squabble over his intention to buy a motor car business. Camille, who is vacationing in Norway, wants her fiance to think about this decision a little more -- at least until she gets back to England. He also acknowledges that his father is upset about the relationship. The New York Times reminds readers that she made an immediate impression in London once she hit the stage there: "All the illustrated newspapers printed photographs of her, and every one went into ecstasies over 'this typically American beauty'."

RETURN TO SENDER: Postal workers in Middletown, N.Y., got a big scare yesterday. A clerk was emptying some bags of mail and found a 15-pound snapping turtle, which did its best to live up to its name whenever anyone got close. "It had the run of the post office for a few moments," according to a news report. Then a porter (which the Post says was a "negro porter") saved the day. He turned the turtle on its back and tied a rope around it. The employees have no idea what bag held it. There was no stamp and no address on it.

EXPLOSION ROCKS FAMOUS OIL FIELD: The Spindletop oil field in Texas is burning. A boiler exploded yesterday near some of the best wells in the Keith-Ward Tract of the Spindletop field (right) near Beaumont. Storage tanks and derricks are affected. At least fifteen derricks are already destroyed.

Aug. 28, 1906 (Tuesday)

CASH AND CARRY: For the past eight years or so, the U.S. Navy has owned three ships that were part of the Spanish Navy that was defeated on May 1, 1898 in the Battle of Manila Bay (left). Over the years, the Navy has removed everything it could from the ships -- the Albay, Maniteno and Minalengo (Sp?). Now the three are mere hulks. Recently, the Navy advertised the ships in various Asiatic ports. Yesterday, the ships sold, three for $103. The Navy considers it was a good deal because the selling price exceeded the cost of advertising. The advertising bill was about $25.

THANKS BUT NO THANKS: After the San Francisco earthquake in April, Mrs. A.M. Curtis secured some credentials from the War Department and headed West so she could help with relief work. She had earned a solid reputation during the Spanish American War helping injured soldiers. Furthermore, she was a friend of Clara Barton. Anyway, while in San Francisco, that city's most noteworthy family received her cordially. She got injured in a car accident there and returned to Washington, D.C. She plans to go back to San Francisco. But now there's a problem. Now, word has gotten out that she is married to a "colored physician." People are very worried about how she will be received in San Francisco.
Her reputation of being friends with Negroes and being married to one is affecting her life in Washington, too. The Post article says, "The Southern families here will not receive her now."
I think Dr. and Mrs. Curtis had three sons, all of whom served as first lieutenants in the U.S. Army during World War I. They are pictured at the right -- left to right, A. Maurice Curtis, Medical Reserve Corps; Arthur L. Curtis, 368th Medical Corps; Merrill H. Curtis, 349th Field Artillery, all First Lieutenants.

A WILD RIDE IN THE GULF: A group of fishermen returned from the Gulf coast of Texas with quite a fish story. In fact, it was so unbelievable that members of the group, which included numerous prominent citizens of Austin, signed statements swearing it was true. While fishing off Aransas Pass the group hooked a so-called "devilfish," which might be a ray or a gray whale. When one of the men on the launch spotted the fish, he threw a harpoon into its side. It stuck. The fish then dragged the gasoline-powered launch 18 MILES out to sea. The fish was killed after a four-hour battle. It took 30 men to land the creature on the beach. The dimensions: 25 feet long, 8 feet across and about 3,000 pounds. A picture sure would help.