June 30, 1907 (Sunday)

THE TALE OF THE LEOPARD CUB AND THE SPARROW: Word has reached the New York Times, which printed the story today, of an unusual friendship that appears to be growing between a leopard cub named Alice and an unidentified young sparrow at the Central Park Zoo. Alice, who with her brothers Nicholas and Teddy, was separated from her mother yesterday for weaning purposes, was alone in her cage recently -- sharing space with a couple of shin bones that were thrown her way so she could strengthen her teeth between meals. At one point, a sparrow flitted between the bars, settled on one of the bones and began to peck at it. Alice noticed the intruder and began to move toward it. Then, in the words of the Times reporter, the sparrow "made a little sign with its left foot which resembled, according on one observer, a combination of the mystic signs of the Knights of Pythias and the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity."
At that point, "the tense muscles of Alice melted into beautiul softness. She licked the sparrow and then lay down. The sparrow played about on her back for half an hour. It went out of the cage several times but always returned. Alice seemed much distressed when it was away from her."
Bill Snyder, head keeper at the zoo, has signed and filed an affidavit about the story

June 29, 1907 (Saturday)

PROGRESS IN UNDERWEAR MANUFACTURING: The makers of BVD underwear (It stands for Bradley, Voorhees and Day, not Bovine Virus Diarrhea.) have something that will make undressing a lot easier during these hot summer days, according to this advertisement in today's New York Times. Obviously, the BVD garment shown in the lower right is vastly superior to the underwear worn in the upper left. The loose-fitting garments "permit refreshing air to reach the pores."

ANCHORS -- AWAY UP NORTH: Could a Norse expedition have reached... Minnesota? Some people in Crookston, Minnesota, which is in the northwest corner of the state, think so. They are excited about the discovery of a ship's anchor, which was found buried in six feet of solid clay that had never been broken. According to today's New York Times, the anchor is of an "antique pattern." It was found by men digging a ditch on the State Experimental Farm on June 27. It's similar to anchors used by Norsemen about nine centuries ago. One theory is that the area could have been reached by sea "in an era the Red River Valley was a portion of Lake Winnipeg" and could be reached by sail from the Atlantic."
Huh?
What they're talking about is likely Lake Agassiz (shown in the above map from 1878, I think), formed by retreating glaciers. But access to the Atlantic would be challenging to prove, I would think. Even with a bigger lake. Through Hudson Bay -- long before Hudson?

June 28, 1907 (Friday)

RAILROAD MAGNATE CAUSED A ROW AT ROWING RACE: Financier E.H. Harriman was arrested by the U.S. Navy yesterday during the enormously popular Harvard-Yale crew race at New London, Ct. (Above is a view of the 1905 race.) Apparently, Harriman, who came to New London with his yacht Sultana to watch the oarsmen, was upset that the course of the race was reversed by officials, leaving him in a position to see the START of the race and not the FINISH. The Sultana was too big to be taken upstream on the Thames, so Harriman lowered his launch and FOLLOWED THE RACERS -- despite rules prohibiting such behavior. But, as today's New York Times says, "Government restrictions had no terrors for the financier."
He was warned before the race not to follow the shells. He started up his boat and drove upriver. For nearly half of the race, he ignored warnings from officials, including officers on the revenue cutter Gresham. Finally, a Navy launch cut him off and Lt. Roscoe C. Bulmer put Harriman under arrest. He might have to pay a $500 fine. The Times reported that he said he wouldn't have missed the finish of he race for three times any fine that might be levied.

NATION OWES A DEBT TO PRESIDENT GARFIELD.... WELL, TO HIS UNDERTAKER AT ANY RATE: W.R. Speare, an undertaker who plied his trade in Washington, D.C., died a couple of days ago. He left behind a bill that remains unpaid for his services dealing with the funeral of President James Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881. When Congress passed a bill that appropriated money for the cost of the funeral, it included a provision that all claimants would agree in advance to accept whatever amount of money Congress deemed fit to award them. Speare didn't like the idea of treating the Government any differently than he would any other customer so he refused to agree to such a plan. So, the claim remains unpaid.
There's no mention of the unpaid bill in the obituary for Willis Reed Speare that ran in The Washington Post on June 22, 1907. It did mention, however, that he was the one who exhumed the body of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, so it could be sent to relatives in Baltimore.