Tragedy Averted at Niagara Falls

From: The New Hampshire Sentinel
Date: September 7, 1865

Almost a Tragedy. - Prof. Ruggles, of Dartmouth College, had a very narrow escape at Niagara Falls on Friday evening.  While walking on Goat Island with a party of ladies, one of them dropped her parasol, which slid some fifteen or twenty feet down the bank of the river.  Mr. Ruggles went down and picked it up, but, on attempting to return, the bank being steep and the ground hard, lost his footing and fell down to the very brink of the precipice,  which at this point is eighty or ninety feet high.  Here he caught hold of the roots of an upturned tree, the trunk of which hangs over the abyss.  The shock caused the tree to shake violently, and it appeared on the point of falling over the precipice.  The ladies shrieked and called for help, but no assistance was at hand. A movement on the part of Mr. Ruggles or a gust of wind, seemed sufficient to cause the tree to fall.  At this critical moment, one of the ladies took off her basquine and skirt, cut them into strips, got shawls and other articles of clothing from the rest of the party, tied them together, fastened a stone to the rope thus formed, and let it down to Mr. Ruggles, who, taking hold of it, walked slowly up the bank.  It was a moment of fearful suspense.  The rope was held firmly by the ladies above, but it might untie or break, and a fall of a hundred feet on the rocks below must be the inevitable result.  When Mr. Ruggles reached terra firma his fair rescuer, who had shown such remarkable presence of mind, fainted, and was taken home in an unconscious state.  -Statesman Correspondence.

Apparition of the Virgin

From: The Cincinnati Daily Gazette
Date: March 10, 1882

Apparition of the Virgin

The Wonderful Spectacle Said to Have Been Seen in Troy.

From the New York Sun.
Troy, March 5. - In an alley in the rear of First street, below Adams street, this City, is a one story wood building, in which Thomas Jones, a man possessed of more than average intelligence, and two aged females reside.  The house is an unpretentious one, but for a few days it has possessed wonderful attraction for persons of a superstitious turn of mind.
It is alleged that at about 5 o'clock every afternoon a picture of the Virgin Mary, with a child in her arms, appears on one of the whitewashed walls.  The apparition is at first almost invisible, but gradually grows plainer until it becomes distinctly visible.  When the report was first circulated, many persons scoffed at it, but their indifference did not deter others from visiting the house.  These curious people assert that they also saw the wondrous vision, and they expressed the belief that there was something supernatural about it.  Intense excitement followed, and since Friday Mr. Jones' residence has been besieged by hundreds of persons, many of whom have thus far been unable to gratify their curiosity.
The correspondent of the Sun called at the house this evening, and after a little delay was ushered into a scantily furnished sitting room.  On making the object of the visit known, Mr. Jones was at first inclined to be reticent, but the correspondent suggesting that there could be no reasonable ground for believing the story of the apparition, Mr. Jones jumped to his feet, exclaiming, "But I know better sir.  I have seen it with my own eyes several times."  Then, pointing to the west wall of the room, Mr. Jones asserted that for many days a well executed picture of the Virgin Mary, with a babe in her arms, and with a cross and the letters "I.H.S." a little to the right appeared in figures of fire.  Mr. Jones could give no reason for the apparition, and seemed to be alarmed at its frequent appearance.  While admitting that he was a strict believer in the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, he denied that he was at all superstitious, and declared that when his attention was first called to the apparition by his relatives, he tried to laugh away their fears.  Taking a lighted lamp, the correspondent critically examined the whitewashed wall, and while he could see noting resembling a picture of the Virgin, a rude outline of the cross and the letters "I.H.S." were visible.  As the reporter returned the light to the table the women in the room suddenly fell on their knees.  In turning his attention to them his eye fell on the wall.  The spot he had been examining seemed to be a blaze of light.  He could discern no picture of the Virgin Mary, but the cross was very plain.  The apparition lasted a few moments only.  It is possible that it is the work of mischievous neighbors, but a careful search about the premises revealed noting to warrant such a belief.
The crowd about Mr. Jones' place this afternoon was so large that it was necessary to station a policeman there.  A thorough investigation of the alleged apparition is to be made by persons who manifest considerable interest in it.  The majority of Trojans attribute the phenomenon to phosphorous in the whitewashed walls.  Many Roman Catholics of the lower class have organized into bands of relic hunters, and by their frequent visits to the house, Mr. Jones' domicile is suffering, the visitors insisting on carving pieces from the woodwork and other material of which the house is built.

Big Menagerie Wrecked

From: The Macon Weekly Telegraph
Date: July 16, 1872

A Big Menagerie Wrecked

Twelve Cages of Wild Beast Let Loose near New Haven - Fall of a Bridge on a Railway Train - Shocking Disaster.

New Haven, July 3. John Robinson's circus met with an almost irretrievable disaster on the New York and New Haven Railroad early this morning. The cages containing the wild beasts, the tents, and all the paraphernalia had been shipped from Bridgeport on a freight train to the city. A passenger car for the accommodation of the performers, drivers, and attendants was attached to the rear of the train.

As the train was passing under a roadway bridge, two miles west of the city, the bridge fell. The falling timbers first struck the platform cars, on which were cages. Twelve of the latter were smashed, and six of the largest were swept off in an instant, strewing the track for several hundred feet with their broken fragments.

The caged brutes thus suddenly freed from their imprisonment broke loose in every direction. The monkeys were the first out, followed quickly by two young lions, and a wild cat. A valuable tiger, three striped Kangaroos and several of the animals were crushed and instantly killed. Most of the Eagles, of which there was a valuable collection, flew away, as also did several of the smaller birds.

The train was promptly stopped, and it was ascertained that four of the circus drivers had sustained severe injuries. Mr. G.N. Robinson, the Treasurer of the Company, had a narrow escape. He was asleep in the ticket wagon, which was smashed into splinters, scattering the money in every direction, but he escaped without a scratch. The loss to the Company is estimated at $50,000.

The rear car and its inmates escaped uninjured. The spectacle at the instant of the overturning of the cages was at once ludicrous and alarming. The monkeys chattering and screaming scampered up the sides of the broken bridge, and seemed to enjoy the fun!

The tigers, Bondin and Dick, after lapping up the blood of several of their less fortunate companions, sprang across the ditch and disappeared. The bear crippled, limped up off the track, scaring the engineer and fireman nearly out of their wits. The conductor, chased by a hyena, saved his life by climbing a telegraph pole at a critical moment.

The wolves dined off the smallest members of the happy family and then disappeared in the same direction as the tigers, and it is feared, after more prey. One of the large rattlesnakes was cut in two, but his companions, a dangerous boa constrictor and two smaller snakes, were last seen shooting off in the grass towards this city.

As it is known that several of the most dangerous and blood-thirsty members of the menagerie are loose, the utmost consternation reigns here. To-night a large party, armed with guns and revolvers, are scouring within a circuit of five miles of the scene of the accident looking for truants.

Strange Sound Over Massachusetts

From: The Boston News-Letter
Date: May 31, 1759


We have received the following from the Reverend Mr. President Clap, of Yale College.

Mr. Winthorp, Boston, May 26, 1759

The extraordinary Phenomena which happened on the 10th instant, seems justly to demand the Attention and Inquiry of the Curious; and upon your Desire, intimated in the public Print, shall give you some Information.

The Noise was heard as far North as Boston and Mendon, and South and East beyond Cape Cod : As I have lately traveled thro sundry Towns in that part of the Country, I have critically enquired of many Persons who have heard it; and the Towns about Taunton seem to give the most distinct Account of it as follows, viz.

That between nine and ten of the clock in the Morning they heard a Noise like three Cannon distinctly fired about a half Minute from each other, or like the Noise of a Volley of small Arms fired together : After which followed a rumbling Noise like distant Thunder, or an Earthquake, passing from the North-west to the South-east, which continued about two Minutes - Some imagined it was an Earthquake; others, that it was a Training in some of the neighboring Towns. - It was said, there was a bright Appearance in the air; but I had not any distinct Account of it in those Towns. -

A Gentleman in Roxbury informed me, that about the same Time he saw a Ball of about 6 inches Diameter, with a kind of white transparent Brightness, exceeding that of the Sun, passing from the North-east to the South-west, about 40 Degrees high, with a slow Pace, till it disappeared : and about 3 Minutes after, he heard a Noise like a distant Cannon or rumbling Thunder towards the South-west. - It is said, that the same was seen and heard by several other Persons about 10 miles to the South-west of Roxbury. - A Gentleman, who was coming in from the West-Indies, informed me that near the same Time, about a League S.E. from Cape Cod, he saw a bright Ball in the Air much like that before described, passing from the West to the East, about 50 or 60 Degrees high, and seemed at the nearest not to be above 5 Rods from him; and before it got to the Distance of half a Mile, as he imagined, it burst into a Thousand Pieces; which seemed like small Stars, and give a very loud report. He says sundry vessels were then in sight. -

A Gentleman from Martha's-Vineyard says, That near the same Time, he saw a very bright appearance in the Heavens, near the bigness of a Man, passing from the N.E. to the S.W. and it seemed to him to fall into the Sea : And a few Minutes after he heard a Noise, which he then imagined to be a Cannon fired at Newport.

I am, Sir, your very humble Servant;
Thomas Clap

Sea Monster

From: The New Jersey State Gazette
Date: August 21, 1793

Captain Crabtree, lately from the West Indies, gives the following extraordinary account of a Sea Serpent, the authenticity of which may be depended upon.

"On the 20th June last, being on my passage from the West Indies, in the morning, having just made Mount Desert Island, distant nearly ten leagues, I suddenly got sight of a serpent of an enormous size, swimming on the surface of the ocean, its head elevated about six or eight feet out of water, rather prone forward. That part of the body which was out of water I judged to be about the size of a barrel in circumference, but the head larger, having some resemblance of a horse's head. According to the most accurate computation which I made in my mind, of his length, I think it could not be less than from 55 to 60 feet, and perhaps longer. That part of the body which was not elevated, but of which I had a distinct view several times, was larger than that part out of water; the body of a dark brown. I was within 200 yards of it near an hour, during which time, as it discovered no inclination to molest us, myself and the whole crew observed it with the minutest attention, nor was its attention less fixed on us. The eye was perfectly black, sharp and piercing. I was so near it as to observe clearly that there were no fins or external appendages to the body, but that its motion was by the writhing of the body like other serpents. During the time it was with us, several flocks of birds flew near, which it eyed very closely; I observed in it the greatest agility and quickness of motion."

There is no doubt but this is one of the two which have been seen in these parts. All accounts agree respecting their size and appearance. Two of them, perhaps the same, were seen on the shore of the Cranberry Islands but immediately took to the water on being discovered. These are the first ever seen in our seas, that we have any account of, though they have been seen on the coast of Norway more than 100 feet in length.