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CAYUGA  COUNTY 


Historical  Society 


COLLECTIONS 


Number  Eight. 


DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


Treasure 'Room 


COLLECTIONS 


OF 


CAYUGA  COUNTY 


Historical  Society 


AUBURN,  N.  Y. 


Number  Eight 


1890. 


TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  COPIES. 


Knapp,  Peck  &  Thomson, 

Book,  Job  and  Commercial  Printers, 

Auburn,  N.  Y. 


C     w>  gO     /TJ> 


K? 


At  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the   Historical 
Society  held  January  14,  1890  : 
By  Mr.  Seward  : 

Resolved,  That  the  next  publication  of  the  Society 
be  the  Record  of  Current  Events,  prepared  by  B.  B. 
Snow. 


CERTIFICATE  OF  INCORPORATION. 


We,  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  residing  within  the 
County  of  Cayuga  and  State  of  New  York,  and  being  also  citizens  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  do  hereby  associate 
ourselves  and  form  a  corporation,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  Statutes  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  known  as  chapter  267,  of  the  laws  of  1875,  as  amended 
by  chapter  53  of  the  laws  of  1876. 

The  name  by  which  such  corporation  shall  be  known  in  law,  is  "  The 
Cayuga  County  Historical  Society." 

Said  corporation  is  formed  for  social,  literary  and  historical  purposes,  and 
the  particular  business  and  objects  thereof,  shall  be  the  discussion  of  general 
and  local  history,  and  the  discovery,  collection  and  preservation  of  the  histori- 
cal records  of  Cayuga  County,  aforesaid,  comprising  books,  newspapers,  pam- 
phlets, maps  and  genealogies  ;  and  also  of  paintings,  relics  and  any  articles  or 
materials  which  may  or  shall  illustrate  the  growth  or  progress  of  society,  relig- 
ion, education,  literature,  art,  science,  agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce, 
and  the  trades  and  professions  within  the  United  States,  and  especially  within 
the  County  of  Cayuga,  and  State  of  New  York. 

The  principal  office  and  place  of  business  of  said  Society,  shall  be  in  the  city 
of  Auburn,  Cayuga  County,  N.  Y. 

The  said  corporation  shall  be  managed  by  seven  trustees.  The  names  of 
said  trustees  for  the  first  year  of  existence  of  said  corporation,  are,  Benjamin 
B.  Snow,  Blanchard  Fosgate,  James  D.  Button,  Lewis  E.  Carpenter,  David 
M.  Dunning,  John  H.  Osborne,  and  J.  Lewis  Grant,  all  of  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

It  is  hereby  intended  to  corporate  an  association  heretofore  existing  under 
the  name  of  "  The  Cayuga  County  Historical  Society,"  but  heretofore  unin- 
corporated. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals,  the  23d  day 
of  January,  1877. 

CHARLES  HAWLEY,  [l.  s.]  BLANCHARD   FOSGATE,   [l.  s.] 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  [l.  s.]  JOHN  S.  CLARK,  [l.  s.] 

JAMES  D.  BUTTON,  [l.  s.]  A.  W.   LAWTON,  [l.  s.J 

B.  B.  SNOW,  [l.  s.]  \V.   D.   BALDWIN,  [l.  s.J 

F.  L.  GRISWOLD,  [l.  s.J  D.   M.  OSBORNE,  [l.  s.J 

J.   H.  OSBORNE,  [l.  s.]  OTIS  M.  GODDARD,  [l.  s.J 


CERTIFICATE   OF   INCORPORATION. 


W.  A.  BAKER,  [l.  s.] 

D.   M.  DUNNING,  [l.  s.] 

L.  E.  CARPENTER,  [l.  s.J 

DENNIS  R.  ALWARD,  [l.  s.J 

J.  W.  DUNNING,  [l.  s.J 

H.  J.  KNAPP,  [l.  s.J 

A.  G.  BEARDSLEY,  [l.  s.J 

S.  L.  BRADLEY,  [l.  s.J 

C.  J.  REED,  [l.  s.] 

SAMUEL  W.  DUFFIELD,  [l.  s.] 

NELSON  B.   ELDRED,  [l.  s.] 


BYRON  C.  SMITH,  [l.  s.] 
GEO.  R.   PECK,  [l.  s.] 
JOHN  UNDERWOOD,  [l.  s.] 
CHAS.  A.  SMITH,  [l.  s.] 

E.  S.  NEWTON,  [l.  s.J 
J.  T.  M.  DAVIE,  [l.  s.] 
JAS.  SEYMOUR,  Jr.,  [l.  s.J 
D.  H.  ARMSTRONG,  [l.  s.J 
GORTON  W.  ALLEN,  [l.  s.] 
W.   H.  CARPENTER,  [l.  s.] 

F.  P.  TABER,  [l.  s.J 


State  of  New  York,    [ 
Cayuga  County.  \ 

On  the  first  day  of  February,  1877,  personally  appeared  before  me,  a  Notary 
Public,  in  and  for  said  county  :  Charles  Hawley,  William  H.  Seward,  James 

D.  Button,  Blanchard  Fosgate,  Benjamin  B.  Snow,  John  S.  Clark,  Franklin 
L.  Griswold,  John  H.  Osborne,  William  A.  Baker,  David  M.  Dunning,  Lewis 

E.  Carpenter,  Dennis  R.  Alward,  Joseph  W.  Dunning,  Horace  J.  Knapp, 
Alonzo  G.  Beardsley,  Jr.,  Silas  L.  Bradley,  Charles  J.  Reed,  Nelson  B.  Eldred, 
David  M.  Osborne,  Otis  M.  Goddard,  Byron  C.  Smith,  Charles  A.  Smith, 
John  Underwood,  George  R.  Peck,  John  T.  M.  Davie,  James  Seymour,  Jr., 
David  H.  Armstrong,  Frank  T.  Taber,  Ed.  S.  Newton  and  A.  W.  Lawton,  to 
me  personally  known  to  be  thirty  of  the  persons  described  in,  and  who  exe- 
cuted the  foregoing  instrument,  and  severally  acknowledged  that  they  executed 
the  same.  CHARLES  M.  BAKER, 

Notary  Ptiblic,  Cayuga  County. 


Cayuga  County,  ss. 

On  the  2d  day  of  February,  1877,  personally  appeared  before  me,  Samuel  W. 
Duffield,  Gorton  W.  Allen  and  William  H.  Carpenter,  to  me  known  to  be  three 
of  the  persons  described  in,  and  who  executed  the  foregoing  instrument,  and 
severally  acknowledged  the  execution  thereof. 

CHARLES  M.  BAKER, 

Notary  Public. 


The  undersigned,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  for  the  Seventh 
Judicial  District  of  the  State  of  New  York,  hereby  consents  to  and  approves  of 
the  filing  of  the  foregoing  certificate. 

Dated  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  February  2,  1877. 

CHARLES  C.  DWIGHT, 
Jus.  Sup.  Ct.  -jthjud.  Dist.  S.  N.   Y. 


OFFICERS. 


President, 
WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 

Vice-President, 
BENJAMIN  B.  SNOW. 

Corresponding  Secretary, 
FRANK  W.  RICHARDSON. 

Recording  Secretary, 
DAVID  M.  DUNNING. 

Treasurer, 
NELSON  B.  ELDRED. 

Librarian 
JOHN  H.  OSBORNE. 

Historical  Secretary 
CHARLES  M.  BAKER. 


TRUSTEES. 


John  H.  Osborne,  Nelson  B.  Eldred, 

Lewis  E.  Lyon,  Frederick  I.  Allen, 

D.  Warren  Adams,  Cyrenus  Wheeler,  Jr., 

John  N.  Knapp,  Charles  M.  Baker, 

David  M.  Dunning,  Frank  W.  Richardson, 

James  Seymour,  Jr.,  John  W.  O'Brien, 
Willis  J.  Beecher,  D.  D. 


COMMITTEES. 

On  Papers, 

Lewis  E.  Lyon,  Frank  W.  Richardson,  Charles  M.  Baker, 

B.  B.  Snow,  W.  H.  Meaker. 

Executive, 
C.  Wheeler,  Jr.,  John  H.  Osborne,  Willis  J.  Beecher. 

Finance, 

D.  M.  Dunning,  John  W.  O'Brien,  G.  B.  Longstreet. 

Me?nbership, 
James  Seymour,  Jr.,  Nelson  B.  Eldred,  G.  W.  Elliott. 

Room, 
H.  D.  Woodruff,  A.  W.  Lawton,  E.  H.  Townsend. 


LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 


HONORARY. 

Hon.  Andrew  D.  White,  Henry  Ivison,*  Esq, 

Ithaca,  N.  Y.  New  York  City. 

Hon.  Frederick  W.  Seward,  Joseph  Thomas,  LL.  D., 

Washington.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hon.  Henry  Farnham,  Hon.  Samuel  R.  Wells, 

New  Haven,  Ct.  Waterloo,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  Roscoe  Conkling,*  Sevellon  A.  Brown,  Esq., 

Utica,  N.  Y.  Washington. 

William  P.  Letchworth,  Esq.,  William  H.  Lewis,  Esq., 

Buffalo.  Katonah,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  James  G.  A.  Greighton,  Henry  B.  Dawson, 

Ottawa,  Canada.  Morrisania,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Justice  Blatchford,  Hon.  Andrew  Shuman,* 

Washington,  D.  C.  Chicago,  111. 

Gen'l  William  S.  Stryker,  Newark,  N.  J. 


LIST   OF    MEMBERS.  11 


CORRESPONDING. 

Daniel  Goodwin,  Chicago,  111. 

Rev.  George  Morgan  Hills,  Burlington,  N.  J. 

Mr.  Douglass  Brvmner,  Ottawa,  Canada. 

John  Ward  Dean,  Librarian, 

Rev.  E.  F.  Slafter,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  Boston,  Mass. 

R.  A.  OaKES,  Corresponding  Secretary, 

Daniel  Sheavin,  Librarian  and  Custodian. 

Jefferson  County  Historical  Society.  Watertown,  X.  Y. 

J.  Fletcher  Williams,  Librarian  and  Secretary. 

Minnesota  Historical  Society,  St.  Paul.  Minn. 

A.  A.  Graham,  Secretary. 

Ohio  State  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Addison  YanXame,  Librarian. 

Yale  College  Library.  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Frederick  D.  Stone,  Librarian. 

Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  Philadelphia.  Pa. 

F.  W.  PUTNAM,  Curator. 

Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology.  Cambridge.  Mass. 

Daniel  S.  Durrie,  Librarian. 

Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society,  Madison.  Wis. 

William  Harden,  Librarian. 

Georgia  Historical  Society.  Savannah.  Ga. 


12  LIST    OF    MEMBERS. 

JOHN  Moses,  Secretary  and  Librarian. 

Chicago  Historical  Society,  Chicago,  111. 

Dwight  E.  Bowers,  Librarian. 

New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society,  New  Haven. 

George  Hannah,  Librarian. 

Long  Island  Historical  Society,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

C.  B.  Tillinghast,  Acting  Librarian. 

Massachusetts  State  Library.  Boston,  Mass . 

FRANCIS  H.  Reuss,  Cor.  Secretary  and  Librarian. 

American  Catholic  Historical  Society,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

George  G.  Barnum,  Cor.  Secretary,  Librarian  and  Treasurer. 

Buffalo  Historical  Society,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Charles  W.  Darling,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Oneida  Historical  Society,  Utica,  N.  Y. 

D.  W.  Manchester,  Secretary. 

Western  Reserve  Historical  Society,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Norman  Seymour,  Secretary. 

Livingston  County  Historical  Society,  Dansville,  N.  Y. 

Col.  Wm.  P.  Sheffield,  Jr.,  Cor.  Secretary. 

Newport  Historical  Society,  Newport,  R.  I. 

John  P.  Gatchell,  Assistant  Librarian. 

Maryland  Historical  Society,  Baltimore.  M.  D. 

O.  V.  LYTLE,  Librarian. 

Waterloo  Historical  Society,  Waterloo.  N.  Y. 

F.  W.  Ricord,  Librarian. 

New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Bernard  Moses,  Secretary. 

California  Historical  Society,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

M.  W.  Davis,  Secretary. 

State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa  City,  Iowa. 


LIST    OF    MEMBERS.  13 

Ames  Perry, 

Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  Providence,  R.  I. 

John  Humphrey  Barbour,  Librarian. 

Trinity  College  Library.  Hartford,  Conn. 

George  W.  Harris,  Acting  Librarian. 

Cornell  University  Library.  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

C.  W.  Lord,  Librarian. 

Historical  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Ohio,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Charles  Isham,  Librarian. 

New  York  Historical  Society.  New  York. 

A.  TURNER,  Librarian. 

Smithsonian  Institute.  Washington,  D.  C. 

Frank  B.  Gay,  Secretary  and  Librarian. 

Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Hartford.  Conn. 

F.  Saunders,  Librarian. 

Astor  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Charles  J.  Hoadly,  State  Librarian. 

Connecticut  State  Library.  Hartford,  Conn. 

R.  A.  Brock,  Corresponding  Secretary  and  Librarian. 

Virginia  Historical  Society,  Richmond,  Va. 

Sheldon  Reynolds,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

"Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.  Wilkesbarre.  Pa. 

John  J.  Bell,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

New  Hamphire  Historical  Society,  Concord,  N.  H. 

Martha  A.  Bullard,  Secretary. 

Seymour  Library  Association,  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

Thomas  C.  Cornell,  Treasurer. 

AVestchester  County  Historical  Society. 


14 


LIST    OF    MEMBERS. 


RESIDENT. 


Rev.  Charles  Hawlev.* 
Gen.  William  II.  Seward. 
Rev.  Samuel  W.  Duffield.* 
Benjamin  B.  Snow. 
J.  Lewis  Grant.* 
Dennis  R.  Alward. 
David  M.  Dunning. 
Dr.  James  D.  Button.* 
John  H.  Osborne. 
Dr.  Blanch ard  Fosgate.* 
Lewis  L.  Carpenter. 
Frederick  I.  Allen. 
Fdward  H.  Townsend. 
James  R.  Cox. 
George  W.  Elliott. 
Willard  E.  Case. 
Charles  H.  Carpenter. 
Cyrenus  Wheeler,  Jr. 
Rev.  Charles  C.  Hemenway. 
Rev.  Prof.  Willis  J.  Beecher, 
William  F.  Wait. 
Darius  W.  Adams. 
Mrs.  Hannah  L.  Howland. 
Henry  D.  Woodruff. 
William  H.  Carpenter.* 
Albert  W.  Lawton. 
Rufus  Sargent.* 
John  T.  Hemenway. 
Henry  Morgan.* 
N.  Lansing  Zabriskie. 
David  M.  Osborne.* 


Dr.  David  H.  Armstrong.* 
James  Seymour,  Jr. 
WiLLrAM  G.  Wise.* 
Dr.  Sylvester  Willard.* 
Silas  L.  Bradley.* 
Frank  P.  Taber. 
Gen.  John  N.  Knait. 
Nelson  B.  Eldred. 
Lewis  E.  Lyon. 
Horace  V.  Howland. 
Clinton  D.  MacDougall. 
John  W.  O'Brien. 
Frank  W.  Richardson. 
Mrs.  D.  M.  Osborne. 
Mrs.  James  G.  Knapp. 
Warren  A.  Worden. 
Thomas  M.  Osborne. 
George  B.  Longstreet. 
Miss  M.  A.  West. 
Miss  J.  C.  Ferris. 
Eber  O.  Wheeler.* 
Dr.  Carlos  F.  MacDonalu.! 
Dr.  Theodore  Dimon.* 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Bolter. 
H.  Laurens  Storke. 
Rev.  J.  J.  Brayton.| 
William  H.  Meaker. 
Amasa  J.  Parker. 
Rev.  Prof.  James  S.  Riggs. 
Benjamin  M.  Wilcox. 
Dr.  W.  S.  Cheesman. 


*  Deceased. 

t  Removed  from  city. 


/ 


LIST   OF    MEMBERS. 


15 


Otis  M.  Goddard.! 

Franklin  L.  Griswoi.d.* 

Byron  C.  Smith. 

William  A.  Baker. f 

Charles  A.  Smith. 

W.  Delevan  Baldwin.! 

Gorton  W.  Allen. 

Chas.  M.  Baker. 

Dr.  Amanda  Sanford  Hickey. 

Mrs.  T.  M.  Pomeroy. 

Mrs.Wm.  H.  Seward. 

Henry  D.  Titus. 

James  Lyon. 

Richard  H.  Bloom. 

Mrs.  B.  B.  Snow. 

Henry  T.  Keeler. 

M*rs.  Cyrenus  Wheeler,  Jr. 

H.  A.  Morgan. 

Rev.  Prof.  E.  A.  Huntington. 

B.  H.  Leonard. 

H.  D.  Wilkin. 

George  F.  Wills. 

Rev.  Timothy  G.  Darling. 


Miss  Fidelia  B.  Olmstead. 
F.  E.  Storke. 
Dr.  F.  H.  Lee. 
Miss  C.  Dennis. 
Dr.  J.  M.  Jenkins. 
Miss  M.  W.  Bemis. 
Rev.  E.  P.  Sprague. 

E.  Gould  Woodruff. 

F.  T.  Peet. 
Emmett  Rhodes. 
C.  A.  Smith. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Hubbard. 
Wm.  A.  White. 
Dr.  Moses  M.  Fryf. 

E.  Clarence  Aiken. 
W.  P.  Thomson. 

F.  D.  Wright. 
Frederick  Allen. 
Dr.  J.  P.  Creveling. 
Mrs.  Jane  A.  Perry. 
Mrs.  Altie  H.  Smith. 
Rev.  Frank  II.  Hinman. 


*  Deceased. 

+  Removed  from  city. 


ANNUAL  MEETING. 


The  literary  exercises  of  the  thirteenth  annual  meeting  of  the 
Society  were  held  upon  invitation  at  the  residence  of  the  Pres- 
ident, Gen.  William  H.  Seward,  on  the  18th  day  of  February, 
1890. 

Papers  were  read  by  Eev.  Prof.  W.  J.  Beecher,  David  M. 
Dunning,  B.  B.  Snow  and  President  Seward,  after  which  the 
members  of  the  Society  and  their  friends  were  generously  enter- 
tained by  the  President  and  Mrs.  Seward  with  characteristic 
hospitality. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


A  SERIES  OF  PAPERS, 

Read  before  the  Cayuga  County  Historical  Society, 
1877-78. 

BY  B.   B.  SNOW. 


LE  RAISON  D'ETRE. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Historical  Society,  held  April 
10,  1877. 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Snow  be  invited  to  keep  a 
memorandum  of  the  local  events  of  the  vicinity  for 
three  months,  and  read  the  same  monthly  to  the 
Society. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn.  N.  Y..  April  11,  1877. 
My  Dear  Dr.  Schliemann  : 

It  is  due  to  you  that  you  be  introduced  to  the  Cayuga  County 
Historical  Society,  as  the  explorer  in  a  remote  future  age,  delv- 
ing among  the  ruins  of  a  long  forgotten  city,  whose  researches 
have  been  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  this  document,  in 
deciphering  which,  you  will,  I  fear,  gratify  a  curiosity  rather 
than  reap  a  benefit. 

It  is  due  to  the  Society,  to  say  to  you,  that  it  is  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  gathering  up  fragments  of  local  history,  of  the 
near,  or  remote  past,  and  preserving  them  for  the  curious  eye  of 
posterity,  and  in  furtherance  of  this  object,  the  writer  hereof  has 
been  designated  to  keep,  for  a  limited  period,  a  record  of  current 
events,  as  an  experiment  in  the  way  of  preserving  local  history. 
If  therefor  you  should  succeed  in  unearthing  no  document  of 
this  nature  of  a  date  subsequent  to  this,  you  may  rightly  infer 
that  the  experiment  proved  a  failure. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state,  that  this  document  is  attempted 
to  be  expressed  in  the  chirography  at  present  in  use  among  us 
as  a  people,  and  would  be  intelligible  to  the  average  expert  of 
our  day.  It  may  encourage  you  in  your  task  of  attempting  to 
decipher  it  to  know  that  we  of  the  present  day  are  striving  to 
interpret  the  meaning  of  certain  hieroglyphics  and  cuneiform 
inscriptions  which  have  come  to  us  from  an  age  as  distant  in  the 
past,  as  you  are  remote  from  us  in  the  future. 


20       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

By  way  of  excuse  for  the  meagre  amount  of  information 
which  my  paper  contains,  I  may  state  that  our  field  of  labor  is 
limited  to  the  County  of  Cayuga,  which  is  reported  in  the  cen- 
sus of  1875  as  having  a  population  of  61,213.  The  immediate 
scene  of  our  operations  is  the  city  of  Auburn,  which  by  the 
same  census  shows  a  population  of  18,359, — 1,425  of  whom  are 
today  reported  as  inmates  of  a  penal  institution  located  here, 
known  as  the  State  Prison  at  Auburn.  Our  sphere  of  observa- 
tion being  so  limited,  I  fear  that  the  chief  variety  in  my  daily 
record  will  be  in  its  recital  of  weather  changes,  except  as  I  may 
glean  an  item,  from  time  to  time,  from  the  outside  world. 

Having  thus,  in  a  preliminary  way,  put  ourselves  in  commun- 
ication, and,  as  I  trust,  established  a  pleasant  understanding,  I 
proceed  to  the  task  whereunto  I  have  been  nominated. 

My  record  commences  with  Wednesday  the  11th  day  of 
April  in  the  3?ear  1877  of  the  Christian  Era,  a  bright  cloudless 
day  whose  warm  sunshine  is  tempered  by  a  cool  air  from  the 
north.  Many  of  the  streets  are  quite  dusty  and  the  last  vestiges 
of  the  winter's  ice  are  being  picked  up  and  carted  off  from  our 
main  street.  The  robins  and  bluebirds  have  been  for  some  days 
our  guests,  and  vegetation  shows  the  near  approach  of  spring. 
The  assessors  have  commenced  their  annual  round  and  bask  in 
the  sunshine  at  our  front  gates,  ruminating  upon  the  value  of 
our  earthly  possessions  as  compared  with  last  year.  The  street- 
sprinkler  today  assumes  its  office  for  the  season  and  true  to  its 
well  known  propensity  scatters  most  water  where  least  is  needed, 
— on  the  cross-walks.  The  event  of  the  morning  is  the  definite 
announcement  that  Noah  P.  Clark,  Esq.,  has  been  appointed 
Postmaster  of  the  city,  an  announcement  which  had  been  pre- 
viously made,  but  which  began  to  be  regarded  with  distrust  by 
many,  for  the  reason  that  the  appointment  had  been  for  some 
cause  or  other  held  in  abeyance. 

The  report  reaches  us  in  the  afternoon,  of  the  burning  of  the 
Southern  Hotel  at  St.  Louis  early  this  morning,  whereby  several 
lives  were  lost 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL.        21 

A  Baseball  Association  is  organized  in  the  evening  with  Mr. 
Charles  P.  Burr  as  President,  preparatory  to  a  series  of  the 
National  game  during  the  coming  season. 

Wednesday,  April  12  th.  Today  is  the  twin  of  yesterday, 
bright,  cool  and  beautiful,  the  temperature  slightly  lower  and 
the  north  wind  somewhat  more  vigorous. 

The  t:  first  shad  of  the  season  "  in  our  local  market  is  reported 
today.  Potatoes  are  quoted  at  $1.50  per  bushel  which  is 
high  for  potatoes.  The  fact  should  rend  the  bosom  of  the 
potato-bug  with  remorse. 

A  farmer  from  one  of  the  southern  towns  reports  that  farmers 
are  sowing  spring  wheat  along  the  shore  of  Cayuga  Lake. 
Eeports  are  also  current  of  the  disastrous  effects  of  the  dry 
weather  and  frosty  nights  upon  winter  wheat  It  is  hoped  how- 
ever that  a  partial  crop  will  be  secured  from  the  lowlands,  if  the 
rust  and  the  weevil  shall  not  prove  too  destructive. 

Friday,  April  13th.  Another  bright  day,  calmer  and  some- 
what milder  than  yesterday,  succeeds  a  frosty  night.  This  is 
the  seventh  successive  unclouded  day. 

Mrs.  Alice  B.  Beardsley,  relict  of  Hon.  John  Beardsley,  end 
the  mother  of  Nelson,  Alonzo  G.,  and  Wm.  C.  Beardsley,  died 
in  this  city,  this  morning  aged  91  years. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Dumeld,  who  has  for  some  months  past,  officiated 
as  pastor  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church,  was  last  evening 
extended  a  call  to  the  pastorate  by  the  congregation. 

The  public  schools  close  for  a  vacation  of  two  weeks.  The 
Rev.  George  J.  (or  George  W.)  Mingins  of  some  note  as  an  evan- 
gelist, lectured  on  Temperance  at  the  Opera  House  in  the  evening. 
The  admission  fee  of  twenty-five  cents,  doubtless  operated  to  limit 
the  extensive  diffusion  of  the  important  truths  presented. 

Saturday,  April  14th.  Still  another  bright  day.  Extensive 
fires  are  reported  as  raging  in  the  woods  in  the  vicinity  of 
Roundout,  Ulster  County,  while   snow  is  reported  "  two  feet 


22       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

deep  "  in  Delaware  County,  the  result  of  recent  snow  storms. 
Reports  from  Atlanta,  Ga.,  speak  of  the  continuous  rains  as 
interfering  with  planting. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Osborne  returned  today  from  a  brief  trip  to  Europe. 

A  fine  display  of  Aurora  Borealis  occurred  in  the  evening. 

Sunday,  April  15th.  A  calm,  bright  day  of  sunshine  with 
light  fleecy  clouds  in  the  early  afternoon.  The  merest  toy  of  a 
new  moon  was  penciled  in  the  blue  of  the  western  sky  in  the 
early  evening. 

Monday,  April,  16th.  The  sun  rose  to  an  unclouded  sky 
this  morning  (as  I  am  informed)  with  the  wind  from  the  south. 
A  curtain  of  light  clouds  soon  intervened,  indicating  a  disposi- 
tion to  rain.  The  clouds  thickened  as  the  day  wore  on,  and  in 
the  afternoon  the  wind  veered  round  to  the  northwest,  a  score 
of  diminutive  rain-drops  fell,  and  that  was  all. 

The  body  of  Mr.  George  L.  Thompson,  who  was  mysteriously 
lost  overboard  from  the  steamer  Frontenac  in  Cayuga  Lake  on 
the  27th  of  October  last,  was  discovered  floating  in  the  lake 
yesterday  near  Union  Springs  by  a  Mrs.  Whittlesey,  who 
receives  the  promised  reward  of  $100  for  the  recovery  of  the 
body.  The  Common  Council  met  in  the  evening  but  transacted 
no  important  business. 

A  party  of  nineteen  adventurers  started  from  this  city  today 
to  settle  at  Dallas,  Dallas  County,  Texas. 

Tuesday,  April  17th.  Another  bright,  warm  day.  A  few 
clouds  skirmish  around  the  horizon  but  keep  a  safe  distance 
from  the  sun. 

The  long  expected  Tweed  disclosures  are  reported  today. 
Cayuga  County  attains  some  notoriety  thereby,  as  the  Senator 
from  this  district  heads  the  list  of  those  who  are  charged  with 
yielding  to  the  persuasiveness  of  the  "  Boss's  "  ducats.  One  of 
the  evening  papers  contains  an  account  of  a  violent  assault, 
with  supposed  intent  to  rob  Mr.  John  Elliott  of  this  city,  at  the 
Aurelius  station,  on  the  Central  railroad  last  evening. 


RECORD   OF    CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  APRIL.  23 

Wednesday,  April  18th.  The  clouds  gathered  courage 
during  the  night  and  took  full  possession  of  the  sky  which  they 
hold  today.  A  light  rain  commenced  about  noon,  continuing 
at  intervals  until  four  o'clock  when  it  set  in  steadily  and  con- 
tinued during  the  night 

Senator  Woodin  fully  and  vigorously  denied  in  the  Senate 
last  evening,  the  charges  in  Tweed's  disclosures  so  far  as  related 
to  himself,  and  asked  for  a  committee  of  investigation,  which 
was  accorded  him. 

A  grand  regimental  ball  under  the  auspices  of  the  49th  Regi- 
ment, was  given  at  the  Armory  in  the  evening.  The  first  frog 
of  the  season  is  heard  tonight.  There  is  a  rare  and  peculiar 
odor  of  spring  in  this  peep  and  purl  of  the  first  frog,  if  sound 
may  be  properly  said  to  convey  an  odor.  It  comes  unexpect- 
edly and  still  not  a  surprise,  in  the  early  shade  of  some  evening, 
when  you  feel  in  the  air  the  warmth  of  renewing  life.  Then 
from  the  swamps  and  lowlands  arises  the  loud,  clear  trill  of  this 
green-jacketed  batrachian,  not  sharp,  nor  shrill,  nor  varied,  but 
homophonous  and  prolonged  as  if  he  had  done  nothing  during 
the  long  sleep  of  winter,  but  compress  air  into  his  limited  reser- 
voir, to  pour  forth  in  a  madrigal,  just  before  the  first  warm 
spring  shower.  It  arouses  boyhood  memories  of  the  stories  we 
read,  of  "The  Boy  and  the  Frogs,"  with  the  captivating  wood- 
cut accompanying,  all  which  incited  unmistakable  tinglings  of 
conscience,  for  what  well  regulated  boy  ever  withstood  the  temp- 
tation of  poking  stones  at  a  frog ;  of  superstitions  entertained, 
that  "  the  cow  would  give  bloody  milk  "  if  we  killed  a  frog, 
while  driving  her  from  the  pasture ;  of  the  fable  of  the  frogs 
who  wanted  a  king :  and  the  like.  The  engagement  of  the 
minstrel  is  for  a  few  days  only,  however.  I  mistrust  that  he  is 
at  this  season  of  the  year,  a  minnesinger,  and  pours  his  canticle 
into  the  not  unwilling  ear  of  some  demure,  large  eyed  maiden 
frog,  who  wooed  and  won,  the  cares  of  domestic  life  leave  little 
time  for,  and  possibly  repress  the  inclination  to  indulge  in  the 


'24  RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

pastimes  of  his  buoyant  celibacy.  Much  more  might  be  said 
about  the  frog,  but  I  forbear.  Extensive  fires  are  reported  in 
the  woods  near  Scranton,  Pa. 

Thursday,  April  19th.  Still  raining,  which  interferes  with 
plowing  and  getting  in  spring  crops.  It  helps  grass  wonderfully 
however  and  we  console  ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  if  the 
wheat  crop  fail,  and  bread  be  scarce,  we  shall  have  plenty  of 
butter.  The  rain  abated  about  noon,  but  a  little  after  ten  in 
the  evening  a  short,  sharp  thunder  shower  came  over  from  the 
southwest — the  first  of  the  season. 

Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  lectured  to  a  large  audience  at 
the  Opera  House  in  the  evening,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  Subject,  "  The  Ministry  of 
Wealth." 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  was  held  in  the 
evening  to  designate  polling  places  for  the  approaching  election 
of  School  Commissioners. 

Friday,  April  20th.  A  considerable  fog  in  the  morning,  cool, 
with  a  misty  rain.  The  day  continued  cloudy  with  low  temper- 
ature, the  thermometer  standing  at  44  at  4  P.  M. 

Chester  Fanning  an  old  resident  of  this  city  died  today  aged 
84  years. 

The  President  issues  the  order  for  the  removal  of  United 
States  troops  from  New  Orleans  on  Tuesday  next  at  12  M. 

Saturday,  April  21st.  Cooler  and  more  unpleasant  than 
yesterday.  Thermometer  40°.  A  dull  rain  from  the  northwest 
with  an  occasional  suowflake  sifting  through,  prevails,  instead  of 
the  "  warmer  and  pleasant "  which  the  indications  predict  for 
the  "lower  lake  region."  The  clouds  break  away  about  noon, 
the  temperature  rises  and  the  day  shades  off  into  a  cloudless, 
starlit  evening. 

In  the  absence  of  any  local  events  of  importance,  it  may  be 
proper  to   mention  the  fact   that  well   founded  rumors  of  an 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL.       25 

impending  war  between  Eussia  and  Turkey  have  caused  a 
material  advance  in  breadstuffs.  Oswego  reports  an  advance 
of  $2.00  per  barrel  in  flour.  It  is  quoted  in  this  city  at  $11.00 
with  a  rising  tendency.  Three  comets  are  reported  by  astrono- 
mers as  visible  at  present. 

Mr.  Tweed  declined  to  respond  to  the  inquiries  of  the  Woodin 
investigating  committee.  He  seems  disposed  to  preserve  an 
armed  neutrality  in  the  pending  controversy. 

Sunday,  April  22nd.  A  warm  cloudless  day.  Corydon  H. 
Merriman,  for  many  years  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Auburn,  and 
since  the  decease  of  James  S.  Seymour,  president  thereof,  died 
today,  at  Canandaigua,  of  disease  of  the  heart,  aged  69  years. 
Mr.  Merriman  had  been  at  Canandaigua  for  some  months  under 
treatment  for  an  affection  of  the  brain. 

Monday,  April  23rd.  Another  bright  warm  day.  The  flags 
are  flying  in  commemoration  of  St  George's  day.  The  St. 
George's  Society  parade  in  the  afternoon  and  have  a  social  gath- 
ering in  the  evening.  The  Common  Council  meet  in  the  even- 
ing and  discuss  the  Aurelius  Avenue  Bridge. 

Daniel  Dean,  a  pauper  from  Moravia,  at  the  County  poor- 
house  committed  suicide  by  hanging.  Cause,  financial  embar- 
rassment 

Tuesday,  April  24.  A  bright  warm  morning,  but  cooler  and 
cloudy  in  the  afternoon  with  rain  from  the  northwest. 

Russia  today  formally  declared  war  against  Turkey  and  com- 
menced advancing  troops  into  Roumania. 

In  accordance  with  the  President's  order  the  United  States 
troops  in  New  Orleans  were  today  returned  to  their  barracks. 

Wednesday,  April  25th.  A  cool,  clear  day.  The  funeral 
of  Mr.  C.  H.' Merriman  was  largely  attended  at  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Rev.  Dr.  Hawley  officiating. 

A  mass  Temperance  meeting  was  held  at  the  Court  House  in 
the  evening,  at  which  a  permanent  organization  was  effected. 


26        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

Thursday,  April  26th.  A  bright  day  but  with  cool  north 
wind.     No  event  of  interest  has  come  to  my  notice  today. 

Friday,  April  27th.  The  sky  is  slightly  overcast  today  but 
the  air  is  milder.  A  wayward  sister  named  Jennie  A.  Olin  alias 
Belle  Stoddard,  aged  18,  residing  on  Nelson  street,  committed 
suicide  in  the  evening  by  shooting  herself,  incited  thereto  by 
the  failure  of  one  Charles  Johnson  to  reciprocate  her  attachment 

State  Commander  General  James  Tanner,  G.  A.  R,  lectured 
at  the  Opera  House,  under  the  auspices  of  Seward  Post,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Bath  Soldiers'  Home,  subject  "True  Blue." 
About  $300  was  realized. 

Saturday,  April  28th. — Rainy  much  of  the  day.  A  heavy 
shower  from  the  south  in  the  evening  accompanied  with  a  high 
wind.  The  announcement  is  made  that  the  Rev.  Charles  Haw 
ley,  D.  D.,  of  this  city,  has  been  selected  as  a  delegate  to  the 
Presbyterian  council  appointed  to  be  held  in  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land during  the  approaching  summer. 

Three  lunatics  scaled  the  wall  and  escaped  from  the  Prison 
Asylum  in  the  afternoon. 

Sunday,  April  29th. — Warmer  with  alternate  sunshine  and 
shadow.  St.  Mary's  church  (Catholic)  on  Clark  street  was 
dedicated  today.  Bishop  McQ.uaid  of  Rochester  conducted  the 
ceremonies,  assisted  by  Bishops  Lynch  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  and 
Ryan  of  Buffalo.     Bishop  Lynch  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon. 

The  village  of  Canajoharie  was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire  early 
in  the  morning.  By  the  falling  of  the  walls  of  the  burning  Nov- 
elty works  building,  this  morning,  at  Montreal,  Canada,  nine 
fireman  were  killed  and  ten  seriously  injured.  Ex-Senator  Wm. 
Gannaway  Brownlow,  familiarly  known  as  Parson  Brownlow 
died  at  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  aged  72. 

Monday,  April  30th. — Slightly  cloudy  and  cool.  A  fire 
started  in  the  basement  of  a  store  in  the  Auburn  House  block, 
early  in  the  morning  which  was  extinguished  with  little  damage. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY.        27 

Two  of  the  lunatic  convicts  who  escaped  Saturday  were  cap- 
tured and  returned  to  the  Asylum  this  morning. 

The  public  schools  re-opened  after  a  two  weeks  vacation. 

Tuesday,  May  1st. — A  cold  sour  May  day,  with  slight  snow 
in  the  early  morning.     Thermometer  42°. 

Office  of  the  Board  of  Education  removed  from  the  Seward 
Block  to  the  High  School  building.  The  National  Exchange 
Bank  removed  from  the  Colonnade  Block  to  the  Auburn  Savings 
Bank  Building.  Postmaster  Clark  assumes  the  duties  of  his 
position  designating  Mr.  H.  B.  Gilbert  as  assistant.  A  party  of 
ten  left  for  the  Black  Hills  in  search  of  Gold. 

The  Chief  of  Police  reports  51  arrests  for  the  month  of  April, 
40  of  which  were  for  drunkenness.  243  tramps  were  afforded 
lodging  in  the  station  house  during  the  month,  a  fact  not  so 
much  due  to  the  excellence  of  the  accommodations,  as  to  the 
indifference  of  the  tramp  in  view  of  his  necessities. 

Orrin  Hughitt,  formerly  resident  of  this  city,  and  father  of 
Judge  Wm.  E.  Hughitt,  died  of  paralysis  at  Dryden,  aged  72 
years. 

Wednesday,  May  2nd. — Cold  and  windy  with  alternate  cloud 
and  sunshine,  thermometer  ranging  from  44°  to  52<>  falling  in 
the  evening,  followed  by  a  sharp  freeze  during  the  night.  A 
fine  display  of  Aurora  was  visible  in  the  evening  extending  at 
times  far  beyond  the  zenith.  The  first  hand-organ  of  the  season 
pours  forth  its  feeble  and  broken  strain  upon  the  ear  of  the  way- 
farer today.  I  notice  that  the  hand-organ  delays  its  advent  since 
the  decease  and  exodus  of  our  local  artists  in  that  line.  Time 
was,  when  even  in  the  depth  of  winter,  the  "  Irish  Washerwoman  " 
and  kindred  melodies  were  ground  out  to  regale  the  listening 
ear.     Tempora  mutantur. 

Thursday,  May  3rd. — Cold,  clear  and  dry  with  somewhat  of 
wind  from  the  northwest.  The  dwelling  house  of  John  Swart, 
117  West  VanAnden  street  was  partially  destroyed  by  fire  early 


28        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY. 

in  the  morning,  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  an  incendiary. 
The  first  harp  of  the  season  responded  to  the  touch  of  a  swarthy 
Italian  upon  our  streets  today. 

Friday,  May  4th. — The  sky  is  overcast  in  the  morning,  a  slight 
rain  having  fallen  during  the  night.  A  dry  brisk  wind  from 
the  northwest  soon  arose  sweeping  the  clouds  away,  and  a  bleak, 
dusty  day  followed.  The  Texas  excursionists,  of  whom  mention 
was  made  some  days  since,  are,  one  by  one  returning,  content 
to  endure  Auburn  for  a  time  longer. 

Saturday,  May  5th. — The  wind  still  holds  in  a  cold  quar- 
ter. It  seems  to  be  coquetting  with  May,  coyly  edging  around 
towards  the  warm  south,  until  it  reaches  due  west,  when  it  trips 
away  back  to  the  northeast  and  again  to  the  northwest  dallying 
with  the  currents  from  the  frozen  lakes  of  the  north ;  it  visits  us 
dry  and  cool,  sadly  trying  our  patient  waiting  for  winter  to  leave 
the  lap  of  spring. 

The  Seymour  Library  association  held  its  first  annual  meeting 
since  its  organization  today. 

The  President  issues  a  proclamation  for  an  extra  session  of 
congress,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  October  next. 

A  decline  of  one  dollar  per  ton  in  the  retail  price  of  coal  is 
advertised  today  to  take  effect  Monday.  This  makes  the  price 
of  stove  coal  five  dollars  per  ton  which  is  said  to  be  the  lowest 
figure  reached  in  our  local  market  for  twenty  years.  I  notice 
sweet  potatoes  in  market  today  for  the  first  time  this  season. 

Sunday,  May  5th. — Still  the  same  chill,  dry  wind  cooling 
the  warmth  of  the  sunshine.  The  trees  seem  to  be  holding  back 
their  foliage  preparatory  to  a  sharp  "  spurt "  when  the  proper 
time  comes.  The  elms,  willows,  maples  and  a  few  coniferous 
trees  are  in  blossom,  while  the  horse-chestnut  can  scarcely  clench 
its  impatient  leaves  tight  enough  to  conceal  the  wealth  of  ver- 
dure which  the  brown  buds  enclose.  Besides  the  earlier  spring 
birds  the  fussy  little  chatterbox,  the  wren,  today  is  with  us,  and 


KECOKD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  TOR  MAY.        29 

this  morning  I  saw  for  the  first  a  stranger  to  me — a  bird  about 
as  large  as  the  song  sparrow,  evidently  purely  insectiverous,  of 
a  bluish  brown  plumage  as  to  its  neck  and  back,  with  yellow 
spots  on  the  back  of  its  head,  at  the  outer  base  of  its  wings,  and 
at  the  base  of  the  tail.  I  queried  whether  it  might  not  be  some 
familiar  friend  who  had  disguised  himself  by  donning  the  yellow 
spots,  in  deference  to  the  prevailing  fashionable  partiality  for 
yellow  decoration.  I  notice  the  re-appearance  within  the  past 
few  days  of  the  little  yellowish  fly,  whose  progeny  is  so  destruc- 
tive to  the  currant  and  gooseberry  foliage,  searching  diligently 
for  a  leaf  upon  which  to  deposit  its  eggs.  The  gooseberry  is 
sufficiently  advanced  for  his  purposes  but  the  currant  baffles 
him.  An  occasional  white  butterfly,  whose  larva?  are  so 
destructive  to  our  cabbage  and  cauliflower,  is  also  to  be  seen 
wabbling  around  over  flowering  hyacinths,  etc.,  and  even  the 
stolid  potato-bug  is  said  to  be  massing  his  forces  for  a  vigorous 
summer  campaign. 

Monday,  May  7th. — Ambitious  sweet  corn  was  severely 
rebuked  by  the  frost  last  night,  but  the  Sunday  evening  wooing 
of  May  with  the  north  wind  won  it  around  to  the  west  and  the 
morning  opens  clear  and  milder.  The  first  swallow  of  the  sea- 
son flits  through  the  air  this  morning  with  its  feeble  chirp,  and 
dandelions  in  bloom  for  the  first,  today  enliven  sunny  slopes. 
A  local  paper  reports  cherry  trees  in  blossom  but  I  am  unable 
to  verify  the  report  after  careful  search.  The  Commencement 
exercises  of  the  Theological  seminary  occur  this  week  opening 
with  the  examinations  today.  The  May  Circuit  Court  com- 
menced its  session  this  morning,  with  Justice  George  W.  Raw- 
son  presiding. 

The  Common  Council  met  in  the  evening  and  discussed  learn- 
edly and  long  the  Aurelius  Avenue  bridge  and  a  new  engine 
house  for  "  Hose  6,"  and  other  matters  of  minor  importance. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Seymour  Library  associa- 
tion Judge  C.  C.  D  wight  was  elected  President  of  the  association 
for  the  ensuing  year. 


30         RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY. 

Tuesday,  May  8th. — The  morning  opens  with  the  wind  due 
east,  the  sky  slightly  overcast  and  indications  of  rain  at  no  dis- 
tant day.  The  canal  opens  today  by  official  appointment  The 
first  professional  base  ball  game  of  the  season  took  place  between 
the  Crickets  of  Binghamton  and  the  new  Auburn  club  at  Seward 
Avenue  park  resulting  in  a  score  of  6  to  2  in  favor  of  the  visit- 
ing club. 

The  wind  held  steadily  in  the  east  most  of  the  day,  but  veered 
round  to  the  north  towards  sunset  with  stronger  indications  of 
rain.  The  Kev.  T.  J.  Duryea,  D.  D.,  of  Brooklyn  addressed  the 
society  of  missionary  inquiry  at  the  First  Presbyterian  church 
in  the  evening  in  connection  with  the  Theological  Seminary 
commencement  exercises. 

The  Cayuga  County  Historical  Society  held  its  regular 
monthly  meeting  in  the  evening.  The  paper  announced  from 
Dr.  Briggs  was  postponed  until  the  next  regular  meeting. 

And  here  My  Dear  Doctor,  ends  my  mingled  web  of  fact  and 
fancy  for  the  month.  If  the  period  had  been  more  fruitful  of 
incident,  I  should  have  indulged  less  freely  in  fancy  and  my 
record  would  have  possessed  more  of  sober  historical  dignity. 
So  regretting  the  barrenness  of  my  history,  I  apologize  for  the 
fruitfulness  of  my  fancy. 

Very  truly  Yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
Historiographer. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  May  9,  1877. 
My  Dear  Dr.  Schliemann  : 

It  was  with  no  little  trepidation,  that  I  presented  to  our 
Historical  Society  last  evening,  the  record  of  our  first  month's 
history,  which  I  had  prepared  for  your  reading.  The  familiar 
relations  which  I  felt  established  between  you  and  myself,  led 
me  into  a  freedom  of  expression,  which  I  fear  bordered  upon 
garrulousness,  and  did  not  well  comport  with  the  society's  idea 
of  a  sober  historical  narrative.  Still  as  no  severe  criticism  was 
openly  expressed,  I  venture  to  resume  my  record  for  the  coming 
month.  The  suggestion  was  made  that  a  record  of  the  temper- 
ature for  each  day  be  embodied  in  the  report,  a  suggestion  of 
which  I  gladly  avail  myself,  as  it  will  afford  me  at  least  one 
item  of  news  for  each  day,  without  any  considerable  effort  at 
research.  For  the  future  then  the  state  of  the  temperature  for 
each  day  at  one  o'clock  P.  M.  will  be  given. 

The  morning  opens  with  the  wind  in  the  northeast,  and  with 
a  slight  haze.  I  notice  the  .presence  of  martins  for  the  first 
this  morning,  but  they  probably  came  a  day  or  two  earlier. 
Gov.  Kobinson  yesterday  vetoed  the  act  conferring  upon  women 
the  privilege  of  serving  as  school  officers.  Thermometer  58°  at 
1  p.  M.  A  brisk  cool  north  wind  in  the  afternoon  and  quite 
dusty.  Fears  are  expressed  for  the  safety  of  the  steamship 
"  City  of  Brussels,"  which  sailed  from  New  York,  April  21, 
and   has  not   since  been    heard   from.     The   County   Medical 


32         RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY. 

Society  met  at  the  Court  House.  An  explosion  of  coal  damp 
in  the  Wadesville  mine  near  Pottsville,  Pa.,  resulted  in  the 
death  of  seven  miners.  Prof.  Gardner,  the  soap  man,  addressed 
a  large  audience  at  the  Court  House  in  the  evening,  on  Temper- 
ance, and  in  the  commencement  exercises  of  the  Theological 
Seminary,  Prof.  E.  B.  Welch  addressed  the  society  of  the 
Alumni  at  the  First  Church. 

Thursday,  May  10. — Cloudy,  wind  north,  with  a  slight, 
sprinkle  in  the  morning.  Thermometer,  45°  at  1  p.  m.  The 
larvas  of  the  currant  fly  begin  to  show  ravages  on  gooseberry 
leaves.  The  Woodin  Investigating  committee  present  their 
report,  completely  exhonerating  Mr.  Woodin  from  any  com- 
plicity with  Tweed's  crookedness,  closing  with  the  statement 
that  the  charges  not  only  failed  to  be  substantiated  but  were  dis- 
proved by  the  evidence.  The  Senate  unanimously  adopted 
the  report. 

The  Philadelphia  permanent  exhibition  in  the  main  building 
of  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  opened  today.  The  exercises  of 
the  graduating  class  of  the  Theological  Seminary  took  place  in 
the  evening,  the  graduates  numbering  fifteen. 

Rheumatic  pains  meander  through  sensitive  limbs  and  petu- 
lant molars  try  the  patience  of  their  much  enduring  possessors, 
indicating  that  we  are  within  the  neuralgic  radius  of  a  storm. 

Friday,  May  11. — Although  the  wind  continues  north-west 
and  the  sky  is  overcast,  the  weather  shows  a  disposition  to  con- 
ciliate. Thermometer  56"  at  1  p.  M.  W.  B.  Lynch,  late  of 
Auburn,  is  reported  to  have  been  drowned  by  the  upsetting  of 
a  boat  at  Lakeville,  Iowa,  on  the  6th  inst  The  walls  of  a  new 
Court  House  in  process  of  erection  at  Rockford,  111.,  fell  today, 
killing  twelve  workmen  and  wounding  several  more. 

Baseball  interest  today  centers  in  a  game  between  the  Live 
Oaks  of  Lynn  and  the  Auburn  Club,  the  latter  scoring  one  run 
and  the  visiting  club  three. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY.         33 

The  Trustees  of  the  Seymour  Library  Association,  at  a  meet- 
ing held  in  the  evening,  selected  Miss  Martha  A.  Bullard  for 
Librarian.  I  notice  the  magnolia  (white)  in  bloom  today  for 
the  first  time  this  season. 

Saturday.  May  12. — Clear  and  wanner  with  the  wind  from 
the  west  I  notice  this  morning  the  first  appearance  of  the  little 
greenish  yellow  bird,  which  is  such  an  adept  in  picking  the 
insects  and  worms  from  the  under  side  of  leaves.  I  do  not 
know  its  name.  Also  another  bird,  a  stranger  to  me,  in  shape 
and  plumage  much  like  the  cat  bird,  but  much  smaller.  Ther- 
momenter  68°,  cherry  trees,  currant  and  gooseberry  bushes  are 
slowly  struggling  into  bloom.  The  Auburn  nine  scored  three 
runs  to  five  for  the  Live  Oaks.  At  the  convention  for  the 
nomination  of  School  Commissioners  held  in  the  evening, 
Messrs  Davie,  Perry,  Moses  and  Trowbridge  were  nominated. 

Sunday,  May  13. — Wind  west,  and  clear  in  the  morning, 
followed  by  scattered  clouds  and  north  wind  at  noon,  and  a 
slight  haze  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Thermometer  67°. 
Chimney  swallows  first  appeared  this  morning,  and  I  notice 
the  apple  tree  worm  spinning  its  web  preparatory  to  a  raid  upon 
the  yet  unopened  leaf. 

Edwin  R  Grridley  died  today,  aged  61  years.  He  was  a  genial 
man,  a  "  fellow  of  infinite  jest,'1  but  his  life's  afternoon  lay  more 
in  shadow  than  in  sunshine. 

Monday,  May  14th. — Wind  south  working  around  to  the 
west  at  noon.  Thermometer  76°.  Dry,  warm  and  slightly 
hazy.  The  steamship,  City  of  Brussels  is  heard  from  today, 
working  her  way  across  the  Alantic  under  sail,  having  broken 
her  shaft  when  two  days  out  from  New  York.  The  Bob-o-link 
comes  today.  A  New  England  poet  announces  his  coming 
there  in  June  thus, 

Sunshine,  winged  and  voiced, 
Gladness  of  woods,  skies,  waters,  all  in  one, 
The  Bob-o-link  has  come. 


34        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY. 

In  base  base  ball,  the  Alleghenies  of  Pittsburgh  score  seven 
to  two  for  the  Auburn  club.  A  sleepy  looking  new  moon  lay- 
cradled  in  the  haze  of  the  west  in  the  early  evening.  Another 
wayward  sister  named  Cora  Arnold,  aged  17  years  sought  the 
sleep  that  knows  no  waking,  by  taking  laudanum.  She  was 
restored  by  the  timely  resort  to  electricity. 

Tuesday,  May  loth. — Wind  south,  and  hazy.  The  cherry 
trees  are  in  full  bloom,  and  of  course  the  Oriole  comes.  The 
Oriole  makes  no  mistakes.  The  other  spring  birds,  in  their  zeal 
to  secure  eligible  sites  for  nesting  or  other  cause,  not  unfrequently 
have  occasion  to  regret  their  early  advent,  sleeping  cold  o'nights 
and  hungering  because  of  the  snow  covered  ground.  But  the 
Oriole  watches  his  season.  He  waits  till  the  cherry  "  dressed 
for  bridal "  shall  welcome  him,  and  some  warm  May  morning, 
wafted  upon  the  balmy  south  wind,  he  bursts  upon  us  with  his 
loud  clear  notes,  "  a  glance  of  summer  fire,"  and  then  we  may 
by  assured  that  spring  has  come.  His  advent  is  as  distinctive 
as  that  of  the  first  thunder  shower,  and  no  matter  what  rumors 
may  prevail  as  to  his  having  been  seen  by  careless  observers, 
you  will  always  find  the  blossoming  of  the  cherry  tree  and  the 
coming  of  the  Oriole  to  be  co-incident  He  is  seven  days  later 
this  year  than  last. 

The  election  of  school  comissioners  occured  today,  Messrs 
Davie,  Moses  and  Perry  being  the  successful  candidates.  Ther- 
mometer 77°,  the  wind  varying  during  the  day  from.,  south  to 
northwest  and  back.  New  potatoes,  said  to  be  from  Bermuda, 
and  green  peas  are  in  market,  each  commanding  one  dollar  per 
peck.  Extensive  fires  are  reported  in  the  woods  of  Clinton 
county,  in  Canada  and  in  Massachusetts.  In  the  evening  the 
first  mosquito  of  the  season  drones  its  monotonous  hum  about 
my  ears,  as  I  sit  reading,  and  a  June  bug  attracted  by  my  light, 
blunders  through  the  open  window,  bumps  around  against  the 
ceiling,  rattles  down  the  wall  to  the  floor,  rests  a  moment,  then 
gathers  himself  and  whirs  straight  for  my  light     After  several 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS    FOR    MAY.  35 

ineffectual  efforts,  I  succeed  in  bringing  him  to  the  floor  with 
my  folded  newspaper,  when  I  gather  him  up  and  throw  him  out 
through  the  window.  A  June  bug  is  always  an  object  of  special 
interest  in  church,  during  the  evening  service,  more  particularly 
to  the  younger  portion  of  the  congregation,  and  I  have  noticed 
that  the  officiating  clergyman  is  not  always  quite  at  ease  when 
the  visitor  approaches  his  domain.  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to 
have  devoted  so  much  space  to  these  insects,  neither  of  them 
being  historical,  and  so  far  as  my  reading  extends  not  mentioned 
either  in  sacred  or  profane  history,  for  which  reason,  however, 
I  may  be  pardoned  for  impaling  them  upon  this  page. 

Wednesday,  May  16th. — A  slight  sprinkle  of  rain  last 
evening,  and  this  morning  the  wind  is  northwest,  cloudy,  but, 
warm,  and  a  muggy  forenoon  succeeds.  Thermometer  82°.  A 
mild  shower  from  the  southwest  of  short  duration  at  2  P.  M. 
Pear  and  plum  trees  are  in  bloom  today.  The  circuit  court 
adjourned  this  morning.  A  sharp  thunder  shower  accompanied 
with  wind  at  6  P.  M. 

Thursday,  May  17th. — A  fresh  morning  with  wind  from 
the  south  and  light  clouds.  Somewhat  sultry,  with  thermom- 
eter at  79°.  A  fine  steady  light  rain  set  in  about  2  o'clock.  The 
first  cucumber  of  local  growth  aspired  to  enrich  a  grocer,  to  the 
extent  of  fifteen  cents. 

Friday,  May  18th. — Wind  south,  clear  and  warm.  The  cat- 
bird comes  this  morning,  noiseless  and  mysterious  looking  as 
an  evil  spirit  When  he  has  found  an  old  nest  for  his  mate,  he 
will  be  more  communicative.  Thermometer  86°,  warm  and 
sultry  with  a  strong  wind  from  the  south.  A  hail  storm  visits 
New  England,  and  a  tornado  sweeps  across  the  lower  Hudson, 
destroying  five  ice  houses  in  its  course.  In  local  base  ball,  the 
Athletics  score  six  and  the  Auburns  four. 

Saturday,  May  19th. — Warm  and  clear.  Wind  northwest, 
and  thermometer  81°.     Early  in  the  season.  I  noticed  a  little 


36        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY. 

speckled  woodpecker  industriously  pecking  away  at  the  dead 
limb  of  an  apple  tree  in  my  garden,  preparing  a  place  for  his 
nest  I  anticipated  much  pleasure  of  my  new  neighbor,  and 
was  not  a  little  disappointed  when  I  found  that  a  plucky  little 
wren  had  ejected  him  and  appropriated  the  fruits  of  his  labors. 
The  wren  had  scarcely  completed  his  household  arrangements, 
when  an  English  sparrow  coveting  the  snug  retreat,  perched 
himself  upon  a  limb  in  front  of  the  opening,  and  hour  after 
hour,  day  in  and  day  out,  kept  up  his  incessant  peep.  The 
wren  fcolded  and  twittered  and  fluttered  at  his  stolid  aggressor, 
but  all  to  no  purpose,  until  at  length  I  interfered  and  stoned 
the  sparrow  away.  Misapprehending  my  motive,  the  wren  left 
also,  and  now  there  is  a  house  to  let  in  that  hollow  limb.  I  con- 
fess to  a  dislike  for  sparrows —they  never  come — they  are  always 
here.  If  they  would  migrate  somewhere,  for  nine  months  of 
the  year,  they  might  be  tolerable  for  the  other  three  months. 
There  is  nothing  birdlike  in  their  song,  it  is  about  as  musical 
and  not  unlike  the  peep  of  a  lost  chicken,  except  as  it  is  varied 
into  a  chatter  when  they  wrangle  among  themselves.  They  are 
scavengers  and  their  looks  and  ways  partake  of  their  occupation. 
There  is  nothing  airy  or  buoyant  in  their  flight, — they  fly  to 
get  out  of  the  way,  as  a  flying  fish,  or  a  winged  toad  might 
I  notice  that  three  or  four  families  of  them  have  built  character- 
istic nests  in  the  tops  of  the  elms,  at  the  corner  of  Garden  and 
North  streets.  The  nests  look  as  if  a  freshet  had  visited  some 
storm-exposed  meadow,  and  had  swept  off  the  hay-cocks,  to 
lodge  them  in  the  tops  of  the  trees.  The  nests  appear  to  be 
covered  over,  and  all  of  them,  whether  by  chance  or  design, 
have  their  entrance  or  front  door  towards  the  west,  from  which 
I  infer  that  the  sparrow  does  not  care  to  catch  the  first  glimpse 
of  the  morning  sun,  the  only  positive  indication  of  intelligence 
I  have  ever  noticed  in  them.  I  have  never  observed  their 
building  in  trees  before,  and  I  query  whether  this  may  not  be 
a  link  in  the  process  of  evolution,  and  that  a  more  intelligent 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY.        3 1 

race  of  sparrows  is  to  succeed.  If  such  a  race  should  be  evolved? 
as  shall  arise  to  the  dignity  of  destroying  potato  bugs,  I  might 
be  reconciled  to  them. 

Sunday,  May  20th. — A  slight  rain  during  the  night 
Slightly  cloudy  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  but  clear  in  the 
afternoon.  Wind  north  and  northeast  Thermometer,  79°. 
The  first  humming  bird  of  the  season  appears,  the  apple  trees 
being  in  full  bloom.  Horse  chestnut  trees  are  in  nearly  full 
leaf  and  in  partial  bloom,  maples  are  well  in  foliage,  elms  are 
more  backward,  and  lindens,  locusts,  and  the  mountain  ash  show 
only  the  beginnings  of  their  summer  verdure.  The  forests 
show  only  a  slight  tint  of  green  on  the  brown  background  of 
their  winter  habit 

Monday,  May  21st — "Wind  south.  A  light  rain  set  in  at 
8  a  M.,  continuing  at  intervals  most  of  the  day,  clearing  in  the 
afternoon.  Thermometer  68°.  Common  Council  met  in  the 
evening  and  discussed  the  interests  of  Hose  3,  5  and  6,  and 
sharply  divided  on  the  Aurelius  Avenue  bridge  question. 

News  reaches  us  of  the  capture  of  Ardaban  by  the  Russians, 
on  Friday  last,  an  important  strategic  point  in  Asia  Minor. 
News  from  the  seat  of  war  comes  to  us  slowly,  possibly  from 
the  difficulty  in  transmitting  Russian  and  Turkish  names  over 
the  wires.  Correspondents  however  state  that  little  progress 
has  been  made  by  the  invading  Russians,  on  account  of  the 
unpropitious  state  of  the  weather.  The  fact  is  doubtless  as 
stated,  but  the  reason  for  it  I  conceive  to  be  other  than  that 
given.  When  an  advancing  column  is  necessarily  delayed  two 
or  three  days  before  a  city  to  acquire  the  pronunciation  of  its 
name,  so  as  to  determine  whether  it  is  the  place  they  were 
instructed  to  capture,  progress  must  necessarily  be  slow.  There 
is  a  deep  significance  in  the  Russian  strategy  in  Asia  Minor, 
which  I  mistrust  is  not  generally  appreciated.  It  is  this,  that 
by  first  directing  their  efforts  against  cities  of  simple  names, 
like  Yan   and   Kars,   they  may  pave   the  way  to  cope  with 


38  KECORI)    OF    CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR    MAY. 

Erzeroum  and  Ersingjan.  and  so  by  gradual  approaches,  at 
length  successfully  contend  with  cities  of  the  magnificent  nomi- 
nal proportions  of  Constantinople.  I  shall  watch  for  the  vindi- 
cation of  my  theory  with  no  little  interest.  I  first  noticed  the 
kingbird  today. 

Tuesday,  May  22cL — Wind  north,  cooler  and  cloudy,  with 
showers  at  intervals  during  the  day.  Thermometer  58°.  At 
the  launching  of  the  steamship  Saratoga,  at  Chester,  Pa,  seven 
workmen  were  killed.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Education 
in  the  evening,  O.  F.  Knapp.  Esq.,  was  elected  president  for 
the  ensuing  year. 

Wednesday,  May  23rd. — Brisk  north  wind.  Cool  and  clear, 
clouding  up  in  the  afternoon.  Thermometer  53°.  I  first  see 
young  robins  trying  their  pinions  today.  A  cold  rain  in  the 
evening,  the  mercury  descending  to  34°  Gov.  Robinson  calls 
an  extra  session  of  the  Senate  immediately  upon  the  coming 
adjournment. 

Thursday,  May  24th. — Snow  is  reported  this  morning  in 
various  localities,  and  from  1£  to  2  inches  deep  in  Spafford  and 
Pompey,  Onondaga  Co.  The  morning  opens  cold  and  cloudy, 
with  the  wind  northwest.  Thermometer  50°  at  1  P.  M.  The 
Legislature  adjourns  sine  die.  The  Senate  convenes  in  extra 
session  immediately  after  adjournment,  and  adjourns  to  meet 
at  Saratoga,  July  13,  to  act  upon  the  report  of  the  committee 
in  the  case  of  bank  Superintendent' Ellis. 

Among  the  important  measures  discussed  during  the  session, 
and  which  failed  of  passage  was  the  apportionment  bill,  providing 
for  a  reapportionment  of  the  Legislative  representation  upon 
the  basis  of  the  census  of  1875,  and  the  act  to  encourage  hens 
to  lay  eggs  of  uniform  size,  establishing  one  pound  as  the 
weight  which  all  upright,  fair  dealing  hens  should  be  willing  to 
put  into  a  dozen  eggs.  The  Legislature  has  been  in  session 
130  days,  the  longest  session  on  record  under  the  100  day  limit 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY.        39 

Friday,  May  25th. — Wind  northwest  Cool  and  cloudy 
in  the  morning.  Thermometer  58°.  In  local  base-ball,  the 
Bostons  score  3  runs  to  the  Auburn's  1,  which  is  encouraging 
to  the  friends  of  the  Auburn  nine.  In  the  evening  a  temper- 
ance meeting  is  held  at  the  Court  House.  Mrs.  Gr.  Osborn 
Letch  worth  gives  readings  at  the  Academy  of  Music  and  a 
Prof.  Reynolds  amuses  an  audience  at  the  Opera  House  with 
experiments  in  mesmerism.  Some  tired  looking,  much- 
travelled  string  beans  appear  in  market  to  day. 

Saturday,  May  26th. — Wind  north.  A  clear  fresh  air,  and 
slightly  milder.  Thermometer  67°.  The  Auburn  nine  triumph 
over  a  crack  club  from  Rochester,  with  a  score  of  7  to  0,  which 
greatly  elates  the  Auburn  admirers  of  the  national  game.  I 
notice  the  prevalence  of  the  pear  tree  blight  this  season,  not  the 
leaf  blight,  but  the  kind  which  strikes  the  body  or  a  limb  of  the 
tree  and  sears  it  to  certain  destruction.  A  slight  sprinkle  of 
rain  in  the  evening. 

Sunday,  May  27th. — Clear  and  pleasant,  with  wind  from  the 
north.  Thermometer  68°.  Albert  L.  Sisson,  for  several  years 
Police  Justice  of  the  city,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  holding 
disputed  possession  of  the  office,  died  today,  aged  nearly  35 
years. 

Monday,  May  28th. — Wind  southwest,  clear  and  warm. 
Thermometer  76°.  I  notice  the  cherrybird  today,  also  the  Pee- 
wit or  Phebebird  which  is  a  late  comer  I  think.  The  inquiry 
into  the  lunacy  of  Watson  Whittlesey  ended  today  in  the  dis- 
agreement of  the  jury.  The  case  has  occupied  four  weeks  lack- 
ing two  days  and  has  excited  an  unusual  degree  of  interest. 
A  fine  display  of  the  Aurora  in  the  evening  was  somewhat 
dimmed  by  the  light  of  a  nearly  full  moon. 

Tuesday,  May  29th. — Wind  south,  clear  and  warmer.  Ther- 
mometer 80°.  Southern  strawberries  are  in  market  at  30  cents 
per  quart.     A  public  reception  was  given  to  Senator  Wood  in  at 


40        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MAY. 

the  Academy  of  Music,  in  the  evening,  Col.  E.  B.  Morgan  of 
Aurora,  presiding.  John  L.  Motley,  the  celebrated  historian, 
died  in  London,  aged  63  years.  Fletcher  Harper,  the  last  of 
the  "  Harper  Brothers,"  died  today. 

Wednesday,  May  30.— Decoration  day.  Wind  west,  clear 
and  warm.  Thermometer  81°.  The  customary  exercises  of 
Decoration  Day  were  observed,  and  in  the  evening  the  exercises 
consisted  of  a  poem  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Long,  of  Union  Springs,  and 
an  oration  from  Rev.  S.  W.  Duffield.  A  largely  witnessed  game 
of  base-ball  in  the  afternoon  resulted  in  a  score  of  four  for  the 
Auburn  club,  to  one  for  the  Buckeyes.  Deacon  Silas  W. 
Arnett  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  aged  76.  He  was  well 
known  in  our  community  as  a  man  of  decided  convictions  upon 
all  the  political,  social,  moral  and  religious  questions  of  the  day. 
His  zeal  and  earnestness  in  advocating  his  views  made  him  at 
times  seem  somewhat  bellicose,  and  to  some  extent  impaired 
his  influence,  but  no  one  ever  questioned  his  integrity  of  purpose. 
He  was  distinctively  Deacon  Arnett,  not  that  he  was  the  only 
Deacon  in  the  city,  or  in  his  church,  but  he  was  one  of  the  few 
to  whom  the  title  Deacon  seems  cognominal  or  patronymic.  To 
have  called  him  simply  Mr.  Arnett  or  Squire  Arnett  would 
have  destroyed  his  individuality, — nobody  would  have  recog- 
nized him,  but  as  Deacon  Arnett,  he  towered  and  was  known 
of  all  men. 

Thursday,  May  31.— Wind  west,  and  quite  warm.  Reports 
are  received  of  a  great  tidal  wave  on  the  Pacific  coast,  following 
the  earthquake  of  the  night  of  May  9th,  when  the  city  of  Iqui- 
que,  on  the  coast  of  Peru  and  several  other  places  were  destroyed, 
with  a  loss  of  from  600  to  800  lives.  Thermometer  83°.  The 
average  temperature  since  May  10th  at  one  o'clock  each  day, 
has  been  69|°,  the  lowest  being  45°  May  10th,  and  the  highest 
86°  May  18th.  Lilies  of  the  valley  are  in  their  prime  and  the 
wild  azalea  is  in  bloom. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE.        41 

Friday,  June  1st — The  day  opens  warm,  clear  and  dry. 
A  false  alarm  of  fire  occurred  in  the  night  Thermometer  86°. 
An  accident  on  the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad,  occasioned  the  loss 
of  four  lives  and  severely  injured  several  passengers.  The  potato 
bug  begins  the  deposit  of  eggs  today.  Francis  Murphy,  the 
Apostle  of  Temperance,  addressed  a  small  audience  at  the  Opera 
House,  an  admission  fee  being  charged. 

Saturday,  June  2nd. — Wind  fresh  from  the  southeast,  and 
slightly  hazy.  Thermometer  86°.  A  slight  sprinkle  of  rain  in 
the  afternoon.  In  base-ball,  the  Auburn  club  scored  4  and  the 
Buckeyes  2. 

Sunday,  June  3rd. — Wind  south,  and  a  hazy  atmosphere. 
A  slight  rain  at  1  o'clock  with  thermometer  at  74°.  A  fine  mild 
shower  occurred  about  3  P.  it.  The  mountain  ash  is  in  bloom, 
also  the  peonies  and  snowballs. 

Monday,  June  4th. — The  morning  opens  with  a  mild 
westerly  wind  and  subdued  sunshine.  Thermometer  71°.  A 
tornado  sweeps  over  Mt  Carmel,  111.,  destroying  several  build- 
ings and  killing  upwards  of  thirty  persons.  A  waterspout 
sweeps  down  upon  the  northern  part  of  Iowa.  Extensive  forest 
fires  are  reported  in  northern  Michigan.  The  Common  Council 
meet  in  the  evening  and  order  a  "  two  arch  stone  bridge  "  across 
the  Owasco  outlet  at  Aurelius  Ave. 

Tuesday,  June  5th. — Wind  south,  cool  and  cloudy.  Ther- 
mometer 61°.  Today  is  calf  day.  As  this  is  a  local  observance 
I  should  perhaps  explain  that  the  New  York  Central  railroad 
sets  apart  Tuesday,  of  each  week,  as  the  only  day  it  will 
accept  calves  (of  the  quadrupedal  species)  as  passengers.  So 
with  the  early  dawn  of  each  Tuesday  morning,  the  sufficiently 
fatted  calf  bids  adieu  to  the  green  pastures  and  still  waters  of 
his  nativity,  and  being  assisted  into  the  comfortable  conveyance 
of  his  proprietor,  takes  his  first  and  last  ride,  journeying  to  the 
Central  depot,  where  he  is  transhipped  for  ]S"ew  York.     In  any 


42        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

of  the  principal  approaches  to  the  city,  this  procession  of  calves 
may  be  seen  of  a  Tuesday  morning,  each  conveyance  card- 
ing from  one  to  six  or  eight  calves  beside  the  driver,  wending 
their  way  market- ward. 

A  cold  easterly  rain  set  in,  in  the  afternoon.  The  Board  of 
Education  held  its  regular  monthly  session  in  the  evening. 
Fred  M.  Terrill  died  today,  after  a  lingering  illness,  aged  35  years. 

Wednesday,  June  6th. — A  northeast  rain  commenced 
early  in  the  morning  and  continued  until  about  4  p.  m.  Ther- 
mometer 61°.  Locust  trees  are  in  bloom  today.  A  railroad 
accident  occurred  near  Bath,  in  England  today,  by  the  giving 
away  of  a  bridge  of  some  thirty  feet  span,  by  which  a  dozen 
lives  were  lost  The  Board  of  Education  hold  a  special  session 
in  the  evening  and  order  a  primary  school  house  to  be  built,  in 
district  No.  1.,  in  the  rear  of  Seymour  Chapel. 

Thursday,  June  7th. — A  sullen  morning  after  the  rain,  with 
stolen  smiles  of  sunshine  through  the  clouds.  Wind  north, 
and  clearing  in  the  afternoon.  Thermometer  66°.  The  higher 
grades  of  the  public  school  children  indulge  in  the  luxury  of 
the  regent's  examination  today  and  tomorrow.  Two  teams  of 
the  49  th  Eegiment,  N.  Gk  S.  N.  Y.,  go  to  Syracuse  to  shoot  at 
a  mark,  and  take  six  prizes,  including  the  first,  whereupon  their 
companions,  who  staid  at  home,  receive  them  upon  their  return 
in  the  evening  with  music. 

Friday,  June  8th. — A  clear  fresh  air  with  light  wind  from 
the  southeast.  Thermometer  78°.  Eleven  persons  are  killed  at 
Bridgeport,  Ct.,  by  the  falling  walls  of  a  burning  building.  The 
Eries  humble  the  pride  of  the  Auburn  nine,  by  a  score  of  4  to  3. 

Saturday,  June  9th. — Warm,  with  a  brisk  wind  from  the 
south  which  continues  during  the  day,  bringing  a  slight  sprinkle 
in  the  evening.  Thermometer  78°.  I  notice  the  chirrup  of  the 
cricket  for  the  first  time  this  season,  last  evening.  It  seemed 
to  me  early,  as  I  have  associated  the  cricket  with  the  dry,  cool, 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE.        43 

dog-day  evenings.  The  Auburns  retaliate  upon  the  Eries,  in 
base-ball,  with  a  score  of  5  to  1.  The  board  of  education  hold 
their  annual  teacher's  examination  today.  Local  strawberries 
color  with  resentment  at*  the  influx  of  carpet  baggers  from  New 
Jersey  and  vicinity,  and  today  the  first  invoice  from  Owasco  is 
reported  in  market,  prepared  to  carry  on  a  war  of  extermination 
against  all  foreigners. 

Sunday,  June  10th. — The  Sunday  morning  nap  of  our  citi- 
zens was  shortened  by  an  alarm  of  fire  about  7  o'clock  A.  M. 
The  fire  proved  to  be  the  dry  house  of  the  Auburn  Woolen 
mill,  a  detached  building  which  was  partially  destroyed  and 
considerable  wool  was  damaged.  Total  loss  about  $30,000.  A 
heavy  rain  set  in,  in  the  morning  continuing  until  about  10-J 
o'clock,  clearing  with  a  cool  wind  from  the  west.  Thermometer 
58°. 

Monday,  June  11th. — A  clear,  bright,  fresh  morning  with 
wind  from  the  southwest.  Thermometer  65°.  The  eggs  of  the 
potato  bug  deposited  a  week  ago  last  Friday,  are  hatching- 
today,  from  which  I  infer  that  the  "period  of  incubation  "  is 
about  ten  days.  The  bugs  do  not  eat  the  leaf  upon  which  they 
are  hatched  as  does  the  currant  worm,  but  crawling  to  the  upper 
side  of  the  leaf,  they  take  a  general  survey  of  the  situation  and 
then  make  their  way  to  the  upper  and  tenderer  leaves  for 
breakfast.  The  newcomers  are  very  voracious  and  are  mainly 
destructive  of  the  vines.  I  notice  fresh  looking  green  peas  in 
market  today  for  the  first.  I  made  some  inquiries  respecting 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  Historical  Society,  and  learned  that 
they  were  raised  in  the  town  of  Sennett,  and  are  valued  at  one 
dollar  per  peck.  This  of  course  includes  the  pods.  Considera- 
ble excitement  prevails  in  base-ball  circles  today,  on  account  of 
an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Rochester  sportsmen  to  entice  away 
a  portion  of  the  Auburn  nine.  The  attempt  proved  unsuccess- 
ful. I  notice  that  the  New  York  papers  report  the  fire  at  the 
Woolen   factory   yesterday  morning,  as   involving   a   loss   of 


44        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

$100,000,  adding  that  the  main  building  was  not  insured,  but 
omitting  to  state  that  it  was  not  burned.  This  has  led  me  to 
reflect  whether  some  of  the  items  I  have  culled  from  the  papers 
may  not  have  come  through  a  similar  magnifying  medium  and 
thus  have  impaired  the  reliability  of  my  history.  I  trust  not 
however. 

James  Russel  Lowell  is  announced  as  having  been  tendered 
and  having  accepted  the  mission  to  Spain. 

Tuesday,  June  12th. — Bright  and  cloudless  in  the  morning 
with  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  south,  clouding  towards  noon 
with  indications  of  rain.  Thermometer  78°.  From  the  beauti- 
ful development  of  spring  in  our  city,  I  had  been  led  to  believe 
that  the  season  gave  promise  of  an  unsuaily  abundant  harvest 
In  conversation  with  Mr.  Perrigo,  however,  a  few  days  since, 

1  learn  that  I  am  mistaken.  He  says  that  the  cold  dry  winds 
of  the  early  spring  seriously  impaired  the  growth  of  grass; 
that  the  wheat  stalk  is  small ;  that  spring  sown  grain  suffered 
from  the  drouth,  corn  did  not  come  up  well,  and  the  chances 
favor  a  very  light  crop  of  potatoes  on  account  of  the  depre- 
dations of  the  Colorado  beetle.     Mr.  Perrigo  is  a  granger. 

An  unusual  degree  of  base-ball  interest  attended  the  game 
today,  between  the  Syracuse  Stars  and  the  Auburn  nine,  in 
which  the  former  were  victors  by  a  score  of  5  to  4. 

Burglars  entered  the  house  of  Mr.  Charles  Standart  about 

2  o'clock  this  morning,  and  escaped  with  some  $350  booty  and 
subsequently  visited  the  house  of  Mr.  Nelson  Payne  on  the 
Sennett  road  north  of  the  city,  securing  some  $90  additional 
booty.  The  mayor's  veto  of  the  Aurelius  Avenue  bridge  project 
is  made  public  today.  The  wind  shifted  to  the  northwest  about 
6  P.  M.,  bringing  rain  with  gusts  of  wind,  and  thunder  in  the 
distance. 

And  here  my  Dear  Doctor,  ends  my  second  month's  record. 
In  glancing  over  it  I  find  that  I  have  omitted  some  incidents 
which  1  had  intended  to  embody  in  it,  but  trusting  them  to 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE.        45 

memory  for  a  day,  memory  failed  of  its  duty.  It  was  in  mind 
to  note  the  day  of  the  safe  arrival  of  the  City  of  Brussels  at 
Liverpool,  after  a  tedious  voyage  under  sail  across  the  Alantic, 
also  the  date  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Tayler  Lewis,  a  distinguished 
Professor  in  Union  College,  at  the  age  of  75  years,  and  I  think 
there  were  some  other  items  which  I  do  not  recall.  I  have  not 
before  alluded  to  the  fact  that  General  Grant  is  being  received 
by  the  nobility  of  England  with  more  cordial  and  distinguished 
attention  than  has  ever  been  accorded  by  them  to  any  Ameri- 
can citizen.  Dignitaries  are  vieing  with  each  other  for  his 
presence  at  dinner,  and  tomorrow  Oxford  University  is  to  con- 
fer upon  him  the  distinguished  honor  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law, 
and  the  day  following  he  is  to  be  accorded  the  freedom  of  the 
city  of  London,  a  prerogative  which  is  held  in  high  esteem  by 
Englishmen,  and  an  honor  rarely  bestowed. 

I  have  occasionally  given  items  of  the  Eastern  war  which 
has  been  slowly  progressing.  The  principal  scene  of  conflict 
thus  far,  has  been  in  Asia  Minor,  where  with  varying  success, 
the  odds  has  been  with  the  Russians,  who  are  slowly  investing 
Kars  and  Erzeroum.  The  beautiful  blue  Danube  still  rolls 
between  the  opposing  armies  in  Europe,  and  it  is  beginning  to 
be  often  questioned  when  the  advance  on  Richmond  will  begin. 
The  Czar  has  assumed  command  of  the  Russian  army  in  person, 
with  headquarters  at  Bucharest,  chiefly  it  is  asserted  because 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  and  his  chief  of  Staff,  Gen.  Nepokoits- 
chitzky  frequently  disagree.  Count  Schouvaloff  was  made 
bearer  of  dispatches  to  the  British  Government,  to  the  effect 
that  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  Russians  to  fill  up  the  Suez 
Canal,  or  otherwise  interfere  with  it,  which  had  a  very  soothing 
effect  upon  the  British  public.  Such  is  the  present  status  of 
affairs. 

T  ought  somewhere  to  mention,  and  can  perhaps  nowhere  better 
than  here,  the  fact  that  local  improvements  in  the  way  of 
building,  or  repairing  in  our  city  are  quite  limited  this  season. 


46        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

Messrs.  Schoonraaker  and  Perry  have  replaced  a  wooden 
structure  on  North  street,  with  two  comfortable  brick  stores ; 
Mr.  Jesse  D.  Smith  is  heroically  putting  an  elaborate  new  front 
to  his  dry  goods  establishment  on  Genesee  street,  and  the  little 
wooden  building  on  Genesee  street  for  many  years  occupied 
by  Dr.  Robinson  for  an  office,  has  given  way  to  a  more  preten- 
tious brick  structure.     Very  few  dwellings  are  attempted. 

The  general  depression  in  business  interests  which  has 
characterized  the  last  three  or  four  years,  shows  little  sign  of 
improvement.  Largely  depreciated  values  and  reduced  wages 
induce  a  stagnation  in  business  from  which  the  recovery  is 
slow.  As  indicating  that  all  classes  of  community  are  disposed 
to  accept  the  situation  and  accommodate  themselves  to  circum- 
stances, I  notice  that  the  little  red-haired  Irishman  who  has 
formerly  been  in  the  habit  of  accosting  me  in  the  street,  with 
the  request  for  "  tin  cints  to  git  me  a  bit  of  tobaccy  wid," 
latterly  shrewdly  limits  his  petition  to  a  "  cint  till  I  buys  me 
a  pipe  wid."  But  I  must  close.  Begging  your  indulgence  for 
the  unwarrantable  length  of  my  record,  I  remain, 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
Historiographer. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.  June  13,  1877. 
My  Dear  Dr.  Schliernann : 

I  approach  the  closing  month  of  my  stewardship  in  collating 
the  current  events  of  local  history,  with  a  pleasure  which  is  not 
un mingled  with  regret ;  pleased  to  be  relieved  from  the  responsi- 
bility for  giving  prominence  to  facts  and  incidents  of  insignifi- 
cant importance,  or  for  omitting  mention  of  more  weighty 
matters  which  perhaps  should  have  claimed  my  attention.  I 
find,  upon  reviewing  my  record  thus  far,  that  it  has  been  to  a 
great  extent  a  part  of  myself,  which  I  think  is  true  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  of  the  writings  of  all  who  write  anything.  I  see 
that  I  might  have  morticed  into  the  record  a  great  many  pieces 
of  gnarled  and  knotted  philosophy,  but  I  have  construed  my 
mission  as  one  rather  of  relaxation  than  of  deep  thought,  hence 
the  omission.  The  continuance  of  my  task  awaits  me  however, 
and  I  defer  apologies  to  a  more  suitable  occasion. 

The  morning  opens  bright  and  fresh,  with  the  wind  in  the 
southwest.  The  Historical  Society  held  its  regular  monthly 
session  last  evening,  and  listened  to  an  interesting  introductory 
paper  by  Dr.  Lansingh  Briggs,  on  "Medicine  as  a  Science." 
The  County  Medical  Society  held  its  regular  session  at  the 
Court  House.  Thermometer  78°,  with  a  fresh  wind  from  the 
south,  during  the  day.  The  cornerstone  of  the  Soldiers'  Home 
at  Bath,  was  laid  today,  the  address  being  delivered  by  the 
Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher.     Auburn  has  contributed  nearly 


48        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

$900  to  this  institution,  through  the  efforts  of  Seward  Post, 
G.  A.  R.  The  first  strawberry  festival  of  the  season  was  twins 
this  year,  one  being  held  at  the  Baptist  Church  and  the  other  at 
the  Methodist  Church  on  Exchange  street,  in  the  evening,  both 
of  which  were  successes. 

Thursday,  June  14th. — Warm,  with  wind  from  the  west 
A  fine  shower  early  in  the  morning.  The  Jane  Fair  of  the 
Cayuga  County  Agricultural  Society  commenced  today,  with  a 
fine  display  of  horses,  cattle,  and  the  usual  attractions  of  an 
Agricultural  Fair,  except  the  horse  trot,  which  gives  place  to  a 
rifle  match,  on  the  plan  of  the  National  Guard  matches.  The 
200  yard  match,  limited  to  residents  of  Cayuga  County,  was 
shot  today,  the  first  prize,  a  $25  suit  of  clothes,  being  secured 
by  Fred  A.  Wright.  Thermometer  76°,  with  apparently  heavy 
showers  and  wind  in  the  south.  Severe  storms  of  rain  and  hail 
with  high  winds  reported  in  the  vicinity  of  Ponghkeepsie. 
Two  bridges  were  blown  down  near  Northampton,  Mass.,  result- 
ing in  the  loss  of  two  lives.  The  river  boat,  Dean  Richmond, 
broke  some  part  of  her  machinery,  near  Sing  Sing,  killing  one 
passenger  and  badly  frightening  the  others. 

Friday,  June  15th. — A  sultry  morning  with  rising  wind 
from  the  southwest,  and  rain  areas  hinted  at  by  the  official 
"Indications."  Thermometer  86°.  I  note  the  prevalence  of 
blight,  destroying  the  fruit-bearing  twigs  of  the  late  ripening 
varieties  of  pears,  also  of  apple  trees.  I  think  I  have  heard 
this  plague  charged  to  insects.  In  local  base  ball,  the  Indian- 
apolis club  scored  3  to  the  Auburn  club  2.  The  Fair  continued 
today.  In  the  rifle  match  the  Oswego  Regiment  team  secured 
the  first  prize,  which  was  a  Burdick  Reaper,  valued  at  $160. 
A  boy  named  Herbert  Bard,  was  sunstruck  while  witnessing 
the  match,  his  hair  having  been  too  closely  mowed  for  the  time 
of  the  year.  He  subsequently  died.  James  W.  Beekman,  of 
New  York,  died  today,  aged  62  years.     He  was  a  prominent 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE.        49 

member  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  and  an  bonorary 
member  of  this  society. 

Saturday,  June  16th. — A  dull,  rainy  morning  succeeds  a 
rainy  night,  with  wind  from  the  southwest.  The  annual  exam- 
ination of  applicants  for  the  Cornell  University  Scholarships  is 
held  today,  two  applicants  only  appearing,  to  neither  of  whom 
was  a  certificate  awarded.  The  rain  ceased  about  noon,  with 
strong  wind  from  the  west.  Thermometer  80°.  Senator  Conk- 
ling  sailed  for  Europe  today.  The  Rev.  John  S.  C.  Abbott, 
author  of  the  Rollo  Books,  and  of  some  repute  as  a  historian 
for  juveniles,  died  today,  aged  72  years. 

Sunday,  June  17th. — Clear,  fresh  air,  with  wind  from  the 
northwest.  Thermometer  73°.  A  Temperance  Camp  Meeting 
is  held  at  Freeville  on  the  S.  C.  R.  R.,  to  which  a  special  train 
was  run  today.  The  Owasco  Lake  is  undergoing  its  annual 
process  of  purification,  and  is  offensive  both  to  the  taste  and 
smell. 

Monday,  June  18th. — The  morning  opens  cool  and  pleasant 
with  a  fresh  wind  from  the  northwest.  Thermometer  80°.  My 
sparrow  died  today.  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  introducing  this 
scrap  of  personal  history  into  my  record,  inasmuch  as  in  my 
last  month's  paper,  I  took  occasion  to  make  some  aspersions 
upon  the  English  Sparrow.  A  few  mornings  since,  I  found  the 
ycung  of  a  nest  of  sparrows  on  the  ground,  blown  from  the 
nest  by  the  wind  of  the  previous  night.  Two  were  killed  by 
the  fall,  but  the  third  parachuted  himself  in  some  way,  in  safety 
to  the  ground.  I  could  but  pity  his  helpless  condition,  and  the 
common  instincts  of  humanity  led  me  to  place  him  in  a  basket 
of  cotton,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  stand  in  loco  parentis.  It 
was  astonishing  what  an  appetite  this  fledgling  had.  The  least 
jar  at  any  moment,  would  cause  his  mouth  to  fly  open,  like  an 
old  fashioned  shingle  fly-trap.  He  would  eat  at  any  time.  His 
motto  appeared  to  be  quantity  first,  quality  afterwards.     Quan- 


50        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

tity,  with  him,  was  as  essential  as  to  the  most  pronounced 
Greek  vowel.  I  think  he  would  have  eaten  a  rubber  shoe,  but 
would  have  preferred  a  rubber  boot.  Whether  from  my  lack 
of  knowledge  as  to  his  proper  diet,  or  lack  of  discretion  as  to 
meal  time,  or  other  cause,  the  bird  in  time  began  to  show  signs 
of  approaching  dissolution,  his  swallowing  capacity  grew  less 
vigorous,  and  this  morning  I  found  him  dead.  I  was  sorry  that 
he  died.  1  would  have  given  him  his  hoard  during  his  minority, 
free  of  charge,  had  he  lived,  and  a  respectable  outfit  to  begin 
the  world  with.  Having  said  thus  much,  and  noticing  that  a 
happy  pair  of  sparrows  are  in  peaceable  possession  of  the  hollow 
limb  of  the  apple  tree,  unmolested  by  me,  I  trust  to  have  made 
my  peace  with  the  sparrow  tribe,  and  drop  them  from  my 
record.  The  Common  Council  met  in  the  evening,  appointed 
a  committee  of  conference  on  the  Aurelius  Avenue  Bridge 
question,  and  ordered  the  carriage  of  Hose  1  to  be  painted. 

Tuesday,  June  19th. — Wind  fresh  from  the  northwest,  warm 
and  sultry.  The  prevailing  winds  and  sultry  weather  indicate 
atmo-pheric  disturbances,  and  storms  are  reported  in  various 
localities.  Thermometer,  82°.  Gov.  Robinson  arrives  in  the 
evening  to  attend  the  Shield's  anniversary  tomorrow.  He  is 
received  with  salvos  of  artillery  and  "  music  by  the  band," 
escorting  him  to  the  home  of  Hon.  Charles  N.  Ross,  whose 
guest  he  is  during  his  stay  in  the  city.  Gen.  Shields,  who  came 
by  the  same  train  was  unintentionally  overlooked  and  quietly 
escorted  himself  to  the  Osborne  House.  He  was  unsuccessful 
in  hiding  his  light  under  a  bushel  however,  and  was  soon  found 
out  and  tromboned  into  the  company  of  the  other  celebrities. 
The  Board  of  Education  held  a  special  meeting  in  the  evening, 
and  awarded  the  contract  for  building  the  new  school  bouse  in 
District  No.  1,  to  James  G  Stout,  for  $4,i00,  which  was  subse- 
quently increased  to  $4,500,  owing  to  an  error  in  Mr.  Stout's 
figures. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE.        51 

Wednesday,  June  20th. — A  mild,  clear  morning,  with  the 
wind  from  the  southeast.  I  find  that  I  omitted  to  mention,  in 
my  record  for  Friday  last,  that,  early  in  the  morning  of  that 
day,  a  frail  woman  named  Cora  French,  shot  and  killed  a  saloon- 
keeper named  John  H.  Barrett,  at  a  house  of  ill  fame  on  Gay- 
lord  street,  and  then  shot  herself,  probably  fatally,  although 
she  is  still  living. 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Shield's  Guards  is  being 
celebrated  today.  Gen.  James  Shields,  in  whose  honor  the 
company  is  named,  is  present  as  orator.  Gen.  Wade  Hampton, 
acting  governor  of  South  Carolina,  arrived  in  the  morning,  to 
take  part  in  the  exercises.  A  procession  of  military  aud  fire- 
men paraded  the  streets  to  Burt's  Grove,  where  speeches  were 
made  by  Governors  Robinson  and  Hampton,  and  Gen.  Shields. 
In  the  evening,  a  reception  was  given  by  Mr.  Ross,  and  a  ball 
was  given  at  the  Armory,  by  the  Guards.  The  celebration  got 
to  be,  unintentionally  doubtless,  somewhat  top-heavy,  and 
proved  to  be  rather  an  ovation  to  Hampton  and  Robinson,  than 
a  celebration  of  the  Shield's  anniversary. 

Thermometer,  72°.  The  day  has  been  one  of  marvelous 
beauty.  The  air  is  laden  with  the  perfume  of  roses,  and  the 
strawberry  crimsons  the  delicate  short-cake  in  even  the  rnost 
frugal  household.  This  delicious  fruit  is  unusually  fine  and 
plentiful  this  season.  Next  to  eating  strawberries,  I  enjoy  see- 
ing the  birds  eat  them.  I  was  much  interested  this  morning  in 
watching  a  patriarchal  robin,  whose  neck  from  age  or  other 
cause  was  graced  with  a  ring  of  white  feathers,  who  was  intro- 
ducing his  son  to  the  delicacies  of  my  Golden  Queen  berries. 
The  old  bird  plucked  the  half  of  a  large  berry  and  deposited 
it  somewhat  vigorously  in  the  capacious  maw  of  the  waiting, 
bob-tailed  youth,  who,  after  two  or  three  sturdy  efforts,  suc- 
ceeded in  hiding  it,  smacking  his  chops  after  the  manner  of 
birds  with  evident  satisfaction.  The  old  bird  looked  over  at 
me  somewhat  inquiringly,  and  then  cocking  his  head,  looked 


52        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

down  wisely  and  patronizingly  upon  his  son,  as  if  saying, 
"  These  are  fine  berries,  my  son — fair  size,  but  they  lack  the 
delicate  flavor  of  the  wild  field  berries  which  I  used  to  get, 
when  I  was  of  your  age."  Statements  like  this,  and  incidents 
of  their  ancestors'  youthful  exploits,  serve  to  impress  youth 
with  the  importance  and  wide  experience  of  their  fathers,  and 
I  doubt  not  that  this  youth  will  brag  over  other  boy  robins  of 
his  acquaintance,  of  what  his  father  did  when  he  was  a  boy, 
how  he  used  to  get  strawberries  as  big  as  apples  and  as  sweet 
as  everything. 

The  commencement  exercises  of  the  Young  Ladies'  Institute 
were  held  in  the  evening,  at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  at 
which  six  young  ladies  were  graduated. 

Thursday,  June  21st. — A  slight  rain,  early  in  the  morning. 
Warm,  with  a  brisk  wind  from  the  southwest.  Thermometer, 
78°.  At  1  P.  M.,  the  wind  shifted  to  the  northwest,  bringing 
rain  which  continued  until  evening.  A  destructive  fire  occurred 
at  St.  Johns,  New  Brunswick,  destroying  a  large  part  of  the 
business  portion  of  the  city,  occasioning  the  loss  of  some  fifteen 
millions  of  property  and  of  some  thirty  or  more  lives. 

Friday,  June  22nd. — Cooler,  after  the  rain  during  the  night, 
with  a  fresh  northwest  wind.  Thermometer,  62°.  The  second 
installment  of  the  currant  worms  begins  to  show  its  ravages 
upon  currant  and  gooseberry  leaves.  Eleven  men  were  hanged 
in  Pennsylvania  today,  convicted  Mollie  McGuires,  of  the  min- 
ing region.  The  Orphan  Asylum  strawberry  festival  was  held 
in  the  evening,  the  notable  feature  of  which  was  the  presence 
of  Gen.  Shields.  The  day  closed  cool  with  the  thermometer 
at  50°,  at  10  P.  M. 

Saturday,  June  23rd.  Cool  and  pleasant,  with  wind  from 
the  southwest.  Thermometer,  68°.  Mr.  Perrigo  informs  me 
that  there  were  frosts  in  some  portions  of  the  county,  last  even- 
ing, which  I  think  questionable.  The  Supreme  Court  at  Gen- 
eral   Term    decides   the  contested    election   case,   as  to  police 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNK        53 

justice,  in  favor  of  Mr.  Teller.  Gen.  Shields  lectured  to  a  small 
audience,  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  in  the  evening;  subject, 
"Reminiscences  of  the  Mexican  War."  The  Mexican  War  is 
too  old  to  create  much  enthusiasm.  Messrs.  Frost  and  McKelvy 
commenced  a  ten  days'  Temperance  Revival,  at  the  Opera 
House,  in  the  evening. 

Sunday,  June  24th. — A  bright,  pleasant  morning,  with  wind 
from  the  west.  Thermometer,  78°.  Robert  Dale  Owen,  of 
some  notoriety  as  a  controversialist,  and  latterly  as  the  dupe 
of  a  well  executed  trick  in  spiritual  manifestations,  died  today, 
aged  76. 

Monday,  June  25th. — A  bright  morning,  after  a  slight  rain, 
with  wind  in  the  southwest,  working  around  to  the  northwest 
in  the  afternoon.  Thermometer,  82°.  The  annual  examina- 
tions of  the  public  schools  commence  today  and  continue 
through  the  week.  The  city  of  Marblehead,  Mass.,  is  almost 
wholly  destroyed  by  fire.  A  wide-spread  tornado  passes  over 
Illinois,  Indiana  and  Ohio,  proving  very  destructive  to  crops, 
trees  and  buildings  in  its  course.  A  mad  dog  is  reported  to 
have  been  killed  in  William  street,  today.  News  comes  of  the 
crossing  of  the  Danube  by  the  Russians  on  Friday,  at  Bra'ila, 
with  little  opposition  from  the  Turks.  The  place  of  crossing 
was  below  the  chief  Turkish  defences  and  near  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Delta.  The  Common  Council  meet  in  the  evening 
and  provide  for  the  enforcement  of  the  ordinance  requiring 
dogs  to  be  muzzled  by  their  owners,  or  shot  by  the  police. 

Tuesday,  June  26th. — Wind  south  and  cloudy.  Thermom- 
eter, 73°.  The  supervisors  hold  their  annual  picnic  at  Ensenore, 
More  Russians  are  reported  as  crossing  the  Danube  at  Galatz, 
near  the  former  crossing  place.  News  is  received  of  the  death 
of  D.  P.  Wallis,  by  drowning  in  the  Allegany  river,  near  Clinton, 
Pa.,  the  body  having  been  in  the  water  some  days  when 
discovered 


54        RECORD  OP  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE. 

Wednesday,  June  27th. — Wind  north,  clear  and  pleasant 
Thermometer,  76°.  President  Hayes,  who  with  a  portion  of 
his  cabinet  is  visiting  Boston,  attends  the  commencement  exer- 
cises of  Harvard  University,  and  is  made  LL.  D.  A  similar- 
honor  is  conferred  by  Union  College,  upon  Governor  Robinson. 

The  first  series  of  the  potato  bug  of  this  year's  growth  is 
arriving  at  full  size,  and  is  apparently  about  assuming  the  dig- 
nity of  wings.  I  have  watched  the  development  of  this  insect 
(if  I  am  right  in  calling  it  an  insect)  with  a  great  degree  of 
interest ;  latterly  with  especial  reference  to  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion. My  observations  lead  me  to  caution  those  who  would 
assert  that  he  has  no  intelligence  upon  which  to  build.  He  has 
some  instinct,  if  you  please,  of  assthetics,  as  is  evidenced  by 
his  wearing  a  striped  coat.  He  is  cunning,  for  when  disturbed, 
if  a  bug  of  mature  life,  he  falls  to  the  ground,  draws  in  his 
legs  and  plays  possum,  but  in  infancy  and  youth  clings  to  the 
parent  stem  with  great  tenacity.  He  is  adapted  to  the  law,  for 
when  poked  off  into  a  basin  of  kerosene,  he  pulls  for  the  shore 
and  attempts  to  crawl  up  the  side  of  the  basin,  showing  a 
knowledge  of  the  great  natural  law  of  self-preservation.  He  is 
adapted  to  politics,  as  the  young  changes  its  coat  three  or  four 
times  before  reaching  maturity.  Finally,  he  is  versed  in  the 
principle  of  natural  selection,  as  is  shown  by  his  choosing  for 
his  diet  the  potato,  the  food  of  the  lords  of  creation,  in  prefer- 
ence to  pig- weed  and  "  pussley"  which  would  just  as  well  answer 
the  purpose  of  a  bug  who  ate  merely  for  the  sake  of  eating. 
This  is  as  far  as  I  have  got  in  my  investigations. 

Thursday,  June  28th. — A  mild  northeast  wind  and  a  cleat- 
sky.  Thermometer,  78°.  Police  Justice  Teller  enters  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  today. 

Friday,  June  29th. — A  southerly  wind  with  scattered  clouds 
and  warmer.  Thermometer,  77°.  I  notice  the  first  invoice  of 
imported  green  cabbages  in  market  today. 


RECOED  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JUNE.        55 

The  commencement  exercises  of  the  High  School  are  held  at 
the  Shimer  Opera  House  in  the  evening,  a  class  of  seven  mem- 
bers graduating.  A  slight  rain  fell  in  the  early  evening.  The 
Public  Schools  close  for  vacation. 

Saturday,  June  30th. — A  southeast  wind  and  slightly  over- 
cast. Thermometer  80°.  The  average  temperature  for  the  month 
of  June,  at  IP  M.,  has  been  74  7°.  The  extremes  have  been  86°  on 
the  1st,  2nd  and  15th,  and  58°  on  the  10th,  although  the  lowest 
temperature  was  reached  on  the  evening  of  the  22nd. 

Sunday,  July  1st. — Sunday  morning  naps  were  disturbed  by 
a  shower  from  the  northwest  with  continuous  but  light  thunder. 
The  heavier  part  of  the  storm,  which  was  apparently  accom- 
panied with  hail,  passed  to  the  north.  Thermometer  84o  A 
strong  westerly  wind  prevailed  in  the  afternoon  which  tried 
the  endurance  of  the  full  foliaged  trees.  The  first  fire-flies  or 
"  Lightning  bugs  "  of  the  season  flashed  through  the  air  in  the 
evening. 

Monday,  July  2nd. — Cool  and  cloudy,  with  fresh  northwest 
wind.  Thermometer  74°.  The  storm  of  yesterday  was  charac- 
terized by  an  unusual  fall  of  water  in  the  locality  of  Utica, 
causing  the  canal  and  the  Mohawk  river  to  overflow.  Severe 
storms  are  also  reported  from  the  west  and  south. 

Amos  T.  Carpenter,  for  many  years  an  esteemed  resident  of 
the  city,  died  today  aged  89. 

Ripe  currants,  black,  and  red  raspberries  and  cherries  succeed 
strawberries  in  market  today. 

The  Common  Council  meet  in  the  evening  and  discuss  the 
Aurelius  Avenue  bridge. 

Tuesday,  July  3rd. — A  southerly  wind  and  somewhat 
cloudy.  Reports  of  serious  reverses  to  the  Russian  army  in 
Armenia  are  received.  New  potatoes  boldly  enter  the  market 
today  at  $2  00  per  bushel,  but  the  continued  influx  during  the 
day,  reduced  the  price  to  $.80  per  bushel  in  the  evening.     So 


56        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY. 

far  as  I  have  tested  them  I  think  a  little  more  age  would  add  to 
their  excellence  and  I  mistrust  that  cultivators  are  digging 
them  to  secure  a  respite  from  the  battle  with  potato  bugs. 

(Mem.  I  notice  that  it  impairs  the  usefulness  of  the  potato 
bug,  to  soak  him  in  kerosene  oil.)     Thermometer  78°. 

The  Board  of  Education  held  its  regular  monthly  session  in 
the  evening,  and  the  usual  3rd  of  July  bonfires  and  small  fire- 
works were  indulged  in  by  Young  America. 

Wednesday,  July  4th. — The  anniversary  of  our  National 
Independence  is  ushered  in  with  a  hundred  guns,  more  or  less, 
and  the  ringing  of  bells.  A  clear  sky  and  a  cool  northerly 
wind  contribute  to  the  prospect  of  a  pleasant  day.  Thermom- 
eter 79°.  An  Indian  game  was  advertised  for  Seward  Avenue 
Park  in  the  forenoon,  but  from  failure  to  procure  transportation 
or  other  cause,  the  poor  Indian  disappointed  the  expectations  of 
the  white  face.  An  immense  throng  of  strangers,  estimated 
variously  at  from  10,000  to  20,000  visited  the  city  to  witness 
the  "  sham  battle  "  at  the  Fair  Grounds,  a  reproduction  on  a 
small  and  harmless  scale  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Grand  Army.  The  affair  was  a  success  so  far 
as  the  number  of  spectators  could  make  it,  but  the  limited 
number  of  combatants  of  the  opposing  forces,  afforded  little 
opportunity  for  the  display  of  gallantry  or  for  blowing  any  raw 
recruit's  eyes  full  of  powder.  The  usual  amount  of  vociferous 
crimination  and  recrimination  was  indulged  in  as  to  the  failure 
of  the  army  to  turn  out,  and  the  battle  will  be  fought  over 
again  and  again,  with  wordy  weapons,  for  many  days  to  come. 
Altogether  the  day  has  been  a  memorable  one  for  Auburn. 

Thursday,  July  5th. — Wind  southwest,  and  slightly  over- 
cast. A  lull  from  the  excitement,  tumult  and  noise  of  yester- 
day, with  no  incident  of  importance,  characterizes  the  day. 
Miss  Bullard  produces  the  Cantata  of  the  Flower  Queen  at  the 
Academy  of  Music  in  the  evening  for  the  benefit  of  the  Sey- 


REC0UD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY.        57 

mour  Library,  the  singers  being  from  her  classes  in  the  public 
schools.  The  Board  of  Education  holds  an  adjourned  meeting 
and  appoints  the  public  school  teachers  for  the  ensuing  year. 
Thermometer  76°. 

Friday,  July  6th. — Cloudy  in  the  morning  but  clearing  dur- 
ing the  day  with  a  fresh  wind  from  the  north.  Thermometer 
73°.     Miss  Bullard  repeats  her  concert  in  the  evening. 

Saturday,  July  7tb. — A  bright,  clear  day,  the  weathercocks 
indicating  a  slight  northerly  current  of  air,  but  the  undercurrent 
is  from  the  south.  Thermometer  80°.  History  seems  to  be 
taking  a  vacation,  the  most  important  local  events  being  occa- 
sional falls  from  cherry  trees,  resulting  in  a  sprained  wrist  or 
broken  arm,  and  a  basket  of  scattered  cherries. 

Sunday,  July  8th. — A  warm  morning,  relieved  by  a  fresh 
breeze  from  the  south  and  southwest,  with  scattered  clouds. 
Thermometer  83°.  Today  was  the  nominated  day  for  the  world 
to  come  to  an  end.  The  world  continued  to  rotate  however,  as 
on  ordinary  days,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  slight  shower  in 
the  evening,  was  not  widely  different  from  former  peaceful 
Sabbaths. 

Monday,  July  9th. — Warm  and  somewhat  sultry  with  mild 
rain  from  the  south  and  west,  accompanied  with  thunder. 
Mr.  Perrigo  says  the  weather  promises  badly  for  haying,  which 
is  now  in  its  midst,  and  will  be  apt  to  rust  wheat.  Fierce  tor- 
nadoes pass  over  the  eastern  part  of  this  state  and  Massachusetts, 
and  through  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  destroying  buildings  and  crops, 
and  occasioning  some  loss  of  life  in  the  latter  locality.  Torna- 
does have  been  unusually  frequent  and  destructive  in  the  west 
this  season,  the  property  destroyed  amounting  to  several  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  Thermometer  72°.  In  local  base  ball,  the 
"  Crickets,"  of  Binghamton  come  to  Auburn,  and  to  grief,  by  a 
score  of  13  to  6  in  favor  of  the  Auburn  club. 

I  notice  that  the  Linden  or  Basswood  tree  is  in  full  bud,  but 


58       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY. 

not  yet  in  bloom.  I  know  of  no  later  flowering  tree  in  this 
locality.  Today  being  washing  day,  the  showers  have  some- 
what tried  the  patience  of  Bridget,  who  was  late  in  "  getting 
her  clothes  out." 

Tuesday,  July  10th. — The  morning  opens  with  smart  show- 
ers from  the  west  and  northwest.  The  weather  is  what  Mr. 
Perrigo  would  call  "  ketchy  "  As  the  day  advanced  the  sky 
cleared,  a  fresh  wind  from  the  west  sprang  up,  and  the  threat- 
ening aspect  of  the  morning  was  not  fulfilled.  The  Sunday 
School  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  initiated  the  Sunday 
School  picnic  season,  by  a  trip  to  Fair  Haven.  Other  enjoya- 
ble occasions  of  a  similar  nature  are  advertised  by  the  various 
Sunday  Schools,  in  hot  succession,  and  large  temporary  acces- 
sions to  the  Sunday  School  ranks  may  be  reasonably  anticipated. 
Huckleberries  are  in  market  for  the  first  today,  and  the  purple- 
lipped  boy  need  no  longer  necessarily  be  charged  with  having 
been  in  a  swimming.     Thermometer  74°. 

The  usual  Tuesday  calf  cavalcade  made  its  pilgrimage  through 
our  streets  today,  on  its  way  to  the  depot.  Some  of  the  speci- 
mens were  finer  than  any  I  have  before  noticed  this  season. 

And  now  my  dear  doctor  my  task  is  ended.  It  has  extended 
over  a  period  of  slow,  but  wonderful  transformation,  from  the 
gray  barrenness  of  early  spring  to  the  rich  bloom  and  verdure 
of  a  perfect  summer,  gladdened  with  the  promise  of  an  unusu- 
ally abundant  harvest.  A  season  of  more  perfect  development 
is  rarely  accorded  us.  What  wonder  then  that  I  should  have 
drawn  largely  from  nature  in  making  up  my  daily  record? 

It  is  my  purpose  at  an  early  day  to  retire  to  a  rural  retreat 
in  the  neighborhood  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Perrigo,  where  I  shall, 
for  a  few  weeks,  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  goddess  Ceres,  rather 
than  court  the  muse  of  History.  I  trust  that  some  worthy 
successor  among  my  historian  brethren,  will  take  up  the  tale 
where  I  leave  it,  and  continue  it  in  my  absence.  Duties  have 
pressed  heavily  upon  me  during  the  past  month,  and  in  writing 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY.        59 

up  my  notes,  I  find  them  at  times  to  have  become  musty  and 
mildewed  from  lapse  of  time,  which  must  excuse  the  lack  of 
freshness  characterizing  my  record. 

I  may  add  a  few  general  notes  of  the  month  which  may  be 
of  interest  The  Eussian  war  has  dragged  its  slow  length  along. 
The  Turks  have  overcome  the  Montenegrins;  the  Russians 
have  crossed  to  the  south  shore  of  the  Danube,  suffering  heavy 
losses,  but  inflicting  no  less  upon  the  Turks.  In  Asia  Minor 
the  Turks  achieved  a  marked  success  over  the  left  wing  of  the 
Russian  Army,  threatening  to  raise  the  siege  of  Kars,  and  put 
an  end  to  the  advance  on  Erzeroum.  The  latest  advices  report 
there-establishment  of  the  Russian  lines  and  the  renewal  of  the 
siege. 

An  Indian  outbreak  in  Oregon  creates  some  prospect  of 
another  Indian  campaign.  Sitting  Bull  is  reported  as  raiding 
upon  the  territories,  from  his  retreat  in  the  British  possessions. 
The  question  arises  as  to  the  propriety  of  chasing  him  across 
the  line,  as  has  lately  been  done  on  the  Mexican  border  by  the 
United  States  troops,  in  pursuing  the  bandits  across  the  Rio 
Grande. 

General  Grant  has,  within  a  few  days,  retreated  from  the 
hospitalities  of  England  to  the  quiet  of  Belgium,  en  route  for 
Norway  and  Sweden,  and  a  general  tour  of  the  continent. 

President  Hayes  has  issued  an  order,  depriving  federal  office 
holders  of  the  luxury  of  taking  leading  parts  in  political  cam- 
paigns, and  for  the  future,  stars  in  that  line,  will  have  to  content 
themselves  with  taking  the  parts  of  stock  actors  and  "supes." 

And  now  with  my  pax  tecum,  I  take  my  leave. 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 

Historiographer. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  July  7,  1877. 
B.  B.  Snow,  Esq., 

Dear  Sir : — The  undersigned,  your  associates  in  the  Cayuga 
County  Historical  Society,  appreciating  the  value  of  the 
"  Monthly  Eecord  of  Current  Events  "  which  you  have  prepared 
and  read  before  our  association  at  their  last  three  meetings,  join 
in  the  earnest  request  that  you  will  continue  these  very  inter- 
esting papers,  not  only  for  our  present  gratification,  but  to  aid 
the  society  in  carrying  out  one  of  the  main  objects  of  its  organ- 
ization— the  preservation  of  local  history  in  an  acceptable  form 
for  future  reference. 


J.  H.  Osborne, 
L.  E.  Carpenter, 
Wm.  G.  Wise, 
J.  T.  M.  Davie, 
Samuel  W.  Duffield 

C.  D.  MacDougall, 
Byron  C.  Smith, 

D.  M.  Osborne, 
a  W.  Allen, 
W.  D.  Baldwin, 
Wm.  A.  Baker, 

A.  a  Beardsley,  Jr., 
J.  W.  Dunning, 
Jas.  Seymour,  Jr., 

E.  D.  Woodruff, 
Nelson  B.  Eldred, 
H.  J.  Knapp, 
Geo.  R  Peck, 

B.  Fosgate, 
E.  R  Fay, 


J.  D.  Button, 
W.  H.  Seward, 
D.  M.  Dunning, 
J.  Lewis  Grant, 
Charles  M.  Baker, 
Charles  Hawley, 
S.  Willard, 
Theo.  Dimon, 
Wm.  B.  Woodin, 
Dennis  R  Alward, 
Chas  Standart, 
T.  J.  Kennedy, 
F.  R  Taber, 
Lansingh  Briggs, 

D.  E.  Clapp, 

W.   HOLLISTER, 

H.  L.  Storke, 
John  S.  Clark, 
W.  H.  Carpenter, 

E.  S.  Newton, 
Samuel  Lyon. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  July  11,  1877. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Schliemann  : 

The  clay  opens  clear,  with  a  fresh  wind  from  the  northwest. 
The  Historical  Society  held  its  regular  monthly  session  last 
evening,  and  listened  to  an  entertaining  paper  from  J.  Lewis 
Grant,  Esq.,  describing  a  sportsman's  tour  in  the  wilds  of 
Canada.  The  society  with  the  laudable  determination  of  per- 
petuating something  of  local  history  that  might  by  possibility 
come  to  your  notice,  voted  to  continue  the  duties  of  local 
historian,  and  with  a  delicate  and  commendable  consideration 
for  yourself,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  you  may  have  devoted 
much  time  and  research  to  the  labor  of  deciphering  the  record 
thus  far  presented,  and  to  the  end  that  you  might  not  be  com- 
pelled to  acquaint  yourself  with  an  entirely  unfamiliar  style  of 
hieroglyphics,  voted  to  continue  your  present  correspondent 
temporarily  in  his  position.  This  will  excuse  to  you,  what 
might  otherwise  seem  presumption  on  my  part,  in  intruding 
my  observations  on  your  notice.  The  thermometer  indicates 
a  temperature  of  72°  at  1  p.  m.  The  Sunday  School  of  St. 
Peter's  Church  hold  their  annual  picnic  at  Ensenore. 

Thursday,  July  12th. — A  clear  warm  morning  with  wind 
from  the  west.  The  Wall  street  M.  E.  Church  Sunday  School 
go  picnicing  to  Ensenore.  The  Water  Works  Company 
commences  laying  iron  mains  through  State  street.  The  water 
in  the  Owasco  Lake  Outlet  at  the  upper  dam,  is  reported  at  9 


62        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY. 

inches  above  the  crest  of  the  dam,  which  is  18  inches  lower 
than  on  the  corresponding  day  last  year.  The  Orangemen 
celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Boyne  today  in  various 
localities  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  collisions 
with  the  Catholics  are  reported  at  Montreal,  resulting  in  the  loss 
of  three  or  four  lives.  Thermometer  80°.  The  Psi  Upsilon 
Fraternity  hold  a  social  re  union  at  the  St.  James  Hotel  in  the 
evening.     A  fine  shower  in  the  evening  with  moderate  thunder. 

Friday,  July  13th. — A  charming  cool  morning  with  wind 
northwest  The  first  circus  of  the  season,  with  menagerie 
accompaniment,  parades  the  streets  in  the  morning.  Among 
the  distinguished  arrivals  reported  in  the  old  world,  I  note  that 
of  the  Potato  Bug  in  Germany.  He  is  reported  as  arriving 
packed  in  saw-dust  and  was  received  with  kerosene  and  an 
illumination  which  he  declined'  and  set  out  at  once  for  the 
potato  fields.  Evidently  his  mission  is  one  of  business  rather 
than  pleasure.     Thermometer  70°. 

Saturday,  July  14th. — A  bright  warm  morning  with  a 
slight  current  of  air  from  the  south.  In  accordance  with  the 
intention  which  I  announced  in  my  last  communication,  I  today 
enter  upon  the  seclusion  of  rural  life.  I  have  arranged 
with  an  esteemed  friend  of  careful  habits,  to  keep  a  record  of 
the  temperature  for  me  during  my  absence,  that  I  may  have 
daily,  at  least  one  reliable  item  of  interest  in  my  record.  To 
the  casual  observer,  it  may  seem  a  simple  matter  to  keep  a 
record  of  the  temperature.  Experience,  however,  has  satisfied 
me  to  the  contrary.  It  is  like  getting  up  early  in  the  morning, 
easy  enough  when  you  have  ouce  formed  the  habit,  but  you 
are  apt  to  forget  it  until  the  habit  is  well  fixed.  During  the 
past  month  I  had  occasion  to  be  absent  a  day,  and  impressed 
upon  the  household,  the  importance  of  securing  the  record  for 
me.  Upon  my  return  in  the  evening,  the  matron  of  the  house- 
hold reported,  "  well  I  declare,  I  forgot  all  about  it,  but  it  was 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY.        63 

about  the  same  as  yesterday."  Another  member  of  the  house- 
hold, whose  altitude  had  been  somewhat  neglected,  from  a  tip- 
toe observation,  reported  the  mercury  well  up  to  "  blood  heat," 
while  the  housemaid,  who  was  projected  on  the  beanpole  style 
of  architecture,  looking  down  from  her  height,  marked  the 
range  well  down  towards  the  "  freezing  point."  I  was  therefore 
compelled  to  adopt  a  mercurial  instead  of  a  golden  mean,  and 
make  the  record  "  about  the  same  as  yesterday." 

If  I  were  to  undertake  a  daily  record  of  events  as  has  here- 
tofore been  my  practice,  its  perusal  would  be  like  reading  the 
alternate  pages  of  a  book,  as  the  daily  papers  upon  which  lam 
wholly  dependent,  come  to  me  with  an  almost  impudent  irreg- 
ularity. I  have  thought  best  therefore  to  group  the  different 
subjects  rather  than  attempt  to  detail  them  in  strictly  chronologi- 
cal order.  I  begin  therefore  with  the  weather,  which  has  been 
exceptionally  fine  during  the  whole  summer.  Throughout  the 
harvest  season  scarcely  a  drop  of  rain  fell  to  interfere  with  the 
securing  of  the  crops.  I  have  noted  rain  as  follows.  Tuesday, 
July  17,  rainy;  and  a  severe  storm  with  wind  from  the  south- 
west on  the  night  of  the  18th.  Rain  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
27th,  and  a  slight  rain  in  the  afternoon  of  the  28th.  A 
lazy  rain  Aug.  8th,  and  a  fine  shower  on  the  10th,  both 
in  the  afternoon.  A  severe  thunder  gust  with  heavy  rain 
on  Sunday  the  12th.  A  heavy  shower  in  the  late  afternoon  of 
the  loth,  and  still  another  the  16th.  Aug.  24th  was  showery 
with  a  strong  south  wind,  a  heavy  shower  falling  about  5  P.  M. 
A  fine  shower  the  night  of  the  28th.  No  distinctively  rainy 
days  have  occurred  during  the  summer.  The  wind  has  been 
light  and  variable,  the  prevailing  winds  being  from  the  west 
and  northwest.  Exceptional  to  this,  the  last  day  of  July  and 
the  1st  and  2nd  days  of  August,  a  strong  south  wind  prevailed, 
followed  by  three  days  of  strong  northerly  wind.  Prior  to  the 
rains  of  the  10th  and  12th  of  August,  the  earth  became  parched 
and  gardens  suffered  materially  from  lack  of  rain.     Pasturage 


64        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  TOR  JULY. 

also  suffered  to  the  extent  of  increasing  the  price  of  butter  from 
16  to  25  cents  per  lb.  The  temperature  though  warm,  has  been 
free  from  those  extremes  of  heat  which  sometimes  characterize 
our  summers.  The  average  temperature  for  July  was  79.9°,  the 
highest  being  89°  on  Sunday  the  29th,  and  the  lowest  70°  on 
Friday  the  13th.  For  August  the  average  was  79.2°,  the 
extremes  being  90°  on  Monday  the  8th,  and  68°  on  Friday 
the  31st. 

The  record  of  crimes  is  somewhat  startling.  On  Friday  July 
13,  Edmond  Hoppins  killed  Philip  Proudfoot,  of  Sterling,  by 
striking  him  with  a  ball  club.  The  provocation  for  the  deed 
was  the  fact  that  Proudfoot  was  charged  with  having  seduced 
Hoppins'  sister  under  promise  of  marriage.  Both  were  young 
men.  Hoppins  was  committed  to  jail  to  answer  the  charge  of 
murder.  On  Thursday,  August  9th,  William  Brown  and 
James  Rooney  of  the  town  of  Scipio,  got  into  an  altercation  in 
the  harvest  field,  the  dispute  arising  as  to  which  should  rake  a 
certain  swath  of  oats.  Brown  struck  Rooney  on  the  head  with 
his  rake,  as  he  claims  in  self  defence,  killing  him.  Brown 
attempted  suicide,  but  was  unsuccessful,  not  cutting  his  throat 
in  the  right  place.  He  was  committed  to  jail  but  was  subse- 
quently bailed.  On  the  same  day,  Charles  Moon  residing  in 
the  town  of  Ira,  was  shot  and  killed  by  a  man  disguised  as  a 
tramp.  Moon's  father-in-law  Lester  Brotherton,  an  ex-convict, 
was  arrested  and  committed  for  the  offence,  although  he  denies 
any  knowledge  of  it  and  claims  to  be  able  to  establish  an  alibi. 
The  alleged  provocation  is  the  fact  that  Moon  testified  against 
Brotherton  when  the  latter  was  committed  to  prison. 

The  event  of  most  general  interest  has  been  the  "  Railroad 
War,"  which  originated  in  a  strike  of  the  employes  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  railroad,  on  account  of  a  reduction  in  wages. 
The  trouble  spread  rapidly  to  the  Pennsylvania  Central  railroad 
and  other  lines,  until  most  of  the  roads  of  the  northern  and  west- 
ern states  were  involved.     A  general  suspension  of  traffic  and 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY.        65 

travel  for  a  few  daj^s  resulted.  Tn  Baltimore,  Pittsburgh,  Hor- 
nellsville.  Buffalo  and  in  some  of  the  western  cities,  mobs  were 
collected,  trains  were  forcibly  stopped,  much  property  was  de- 
stroyed and  many  lives  sacrificed.  The  militia  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New  York  were  ordered  out  and  government  troops,  as  far  as 
available,  were  brought  into  requisition.  The  most  disastrous 
occurrence  was  at  Pittsburgh,  July  21,  when  a  collision  took 
place  between  the  militia  and  the  mob,  several  lives  being  sacri- 
ficed on  both  sides.  The  mob  getting  the  better  of  the  conflict, 
burned  a  large  number  of  railroad,  buildings,  engines  and  cars. 
The  destruction  of  property  amounted  to  some  four  or  five 
millions  of  dollars.  Tuesday,  July  24th,  the  49th  regiment  of 
this  city  was  ordered  to  Buffalo  to  guard  railroad  property  in 
that  city.  The  regiment  returned  on  Friday  the  27th,  without 
the  loss  of  a  man.  They  reported  themselves  as  hospitably 
received  in  the  enemy's  country  and  were  commended  for  their 
soldierly  bearing  and  prompt  discharge  of  duty.  It  must  be 
admitted,  however,  that  the  militia  did.  not  in  all  instances  meet 
the  public  expectation  in  quelling  the  riots,  and  the  opinion 
was  occasionally  expressed  that  the  regulars  were  more  efficient 
for  that  purpose.  Perhaps  the  prompt  measures  of  Sheridan 
in  Chicago,  afforded  some  ground  for  this  belief.  The  war 
lasted  about  ten  days  and  gradually  subsided,  leaving  a  remnant 
existing  among  the  coal  miners  of  Pennsylvania. 

Although  characterized  by  the  press  generally  as  a  "  Rail- 
road War,"  and  confined  as  it  was  mainly  to  railroad  lines,  it 
had  more  or  less  sympathy  from  all  classes  of  labor,  and  active 
participators  from  the  manufacturing  and  non-laboring  classes 
of  community.  William  H.  Vauderbilt  distributed  $100,000 
among  the  loyal  employes  of  the  New  York  Central  railroad, 
after  the  strike  was  ended,  and  dismissed  all  employes  who 
were  engaged  in  obstructing  the  road. 

Tn  the  obituary  column,  I  have  noted  the  following  :  July 
17,  at  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Col.  Lyman  L.  Wilkinson,  for  many 


66       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  AUGUST. 

years  a  resident  of  this  city,  somewhat  noted  as  a  Democratic 
politician,  given  to  speech  making  at  ward  gatherings,  and  on 
presentation  occasions.     Age  67. 

July  27. — Col.  J.  M.  Healy,  a  prominent  resident  of  the 
town  of  Sennett,  at  the  age  of  79. 

July  28. — George  W.  Peck,  editor-in-chief  of  the  Daily 
Advertiser,  shot  himself  fatally  in  a  fit  of  temporary  insanity. 
He  had  been  indisposed  for  some  time,  and  latterly  seemed 
possessed  with  a  mania  for  self-destruction.  He  was  a  gentle- 
man much  respected  in  our  community  with  a  large  circle  of 
friends.  The  circumstances  attending  his  death  were  peculiarly 
sad,  and  shed  a  gloom  over  the  entire  community.  His  age 
was  57. 

July  31. — EJmund  C.  Skaddan,  a  prominent  resident  of  the 
town  of  Brutus  was  accidentally  drowned  while  bathing  in  the 
Seneca  River.     His  age  was  56. 

August  3. — Edward  Wheeler  of  Fleming,  died  from  the 
effect  of  a  cancer.     Age  68. 

August  7. — William  H.  Chase  of  Union  Springs,  died  of 
apoplexy,  aged  78.  He  was  a  prominent  clergyman  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  a  writer  of  considerable  ability,  and  an 
exemplary  man  in  all  his  relations  in  life.  He  left  a  will  exe- 
ted  in  due  form,  containing  the  singular  bequest  of  his  remains 
and  all  his  worldly  goods  to  his  Creator. 

August  14.  Thomas'Cushman,  for  many  years  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace  of  the  town  of  Scipio,  died,  aged  87. 

August  20. — Emery  Osborn  died,  aged  67.  He  was  much 
esteemed  in  community  as  a  reliable  business  man,  and 
enjoyed  in  a  marked  degree,  the  confidence  of  our  public.  For 
many  years  prior  to,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was 
engaged  in  the  meat  market  business,  succeeding  his  father 
therein. 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR    AUGUST.  67 

On  the  same  day  died  Henry  Beers,  aged  65,  a  well  known 
resident,  of  the  humbler  walks  of  life.  He  was  a  German  bv 
birth, and  in  his  younger  days  was  characterized  for  his  industry? 
and  throughout  life  for  his  integrity. 

August  25. — William  Moore  died,  aged  70  years.  He  was 
a  writer  of  some  ability,  and  formerly  contributed  liberally  in 
his  line  to  the  local  papers,  but  latterly  was  understood  to  be 
the  regular  Auburn    correspondent   of    the    Syracuse   Sunday 

News. 

August  29. — Brigham  Young,  the  Mormon  leader,  died  at 
Salt  Lake  City,  aged  76.  He  was  formerly  a  resident  of  this 
county.  He  left  seventeen  widows  to  mourn  his  loss,  and 
forty  four  orphans,  a  sufficient  number  to  start  a  respectable 
orphan  asylum.  He  was  the  father  of  fifty-six  children,  but 
the  number  of  his  wives  was  never  made  public.  Most  of  his 
family  attended  his  funeral  but  are  not  reported  as  showing 
deep  grief.  As  each  widow  will  be  entitled  by  law  to  a  life 
estate  of  one  third  of  his  property,  it  becomes  an  interesting 
question  where  there  will  be  thirds  enough  found  to  go  around. 

August  30. — JRaphael  Semm.es,  notorious  as  the  commander 
of  the  Alabama  during  the  latter  years  of  the  rebellion,  died  at 
Mobile,  aged  68.  He  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
and  for  some  years  previous,  in  the  practice  of  law  at  MobiJp. 
Of  general  events  I  have  made  the  following  notes  : 
The  Eussian  invasion  of  Turkish  Territory  has  thus  far 
resulted  disastrously  to  the  invaders.  In  Armenia  no  general 
battle  has  taken  place,  but  the  fighting  has  been  mainly  to  the 
advantage  of  the  Turks.  The  campaign  in  that  locality  seems 
almost  ended  for  the  year,  and  has  been  discreditable  to  the 
Russian  army.  In  Bulgaria,  the  Russians  after  crossing  the 
Danube  and  establishing  their  base  of  supplies,  pushed  rapidly 
forward  across  the  Balkans  with  their  cavalry,  securing  the 
important  Schipka  Pass.     In  a  general  attack  on  Plevna,  July 


68        RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY. 

30th  and  81st,  they  met  their  Bull  Run,  and  were  completely 
and  disastrously  routed.  This  necessitated  the  falling  back  of 
their  advanced  forces,  a  careful  watching  of  their  lines,  and 
emboldened  the  Turks  to  assume  the  offensive.  Reinforce- 
ments are  being  rapidly  forwarded  on  both  sides,  and  a  general 
engagement  may  occur  any  day.  The  Russians  seem  to  luck 
in  generalship,  while  the  Turks  surpass  in  that  respect. 

General  Grant  after  a  brief  continental  tour  has  returned  to 
Scotland,  where  he  was  as  cordially  received  as  in  England. 
He  was  made  a  Burgher  of  Edinburgh,  and  has  been  tendered 
the  freedom  of  innumerable  cities  in  Scotland. 

Senator  Conkling  returned  from  his  European  tour  early  in 
August,  and  was  given  a  reception  on  his  arrival  in  New  York, 
and  on  the  14th  of  August  by  his  friends  in  Utica.  Gov. 
Tilden  quietly  departed  for  Europe  in  July  and  has  quietly 
made  his  tour  thus  far  without  getting  into  the  papers. 

The  Indian  War  in  Montana  has  been  progressing  vigorously 
with  varying  success.  On  the  11th  of  July,  Gen.  Howard  had 
an  engagement  with  the  Indians  on  the  Cottonwood  in  which 
the  Indians  were  not  badly  worsted.  Gen.  Howard's  command 
suffered  severely.  On  the  9th  of  August  another  severe  engage- 
ment occurred  at  Big  Hole,  between  Gen.  Gibbons1  com- 
mand and  the  Indians,  in  which  the  Indians  got  decidedly  the 
best  of  it.  Sitting  Bull  is  still  reported  in  the  British  Dominion 
awaiting  ambassadors  from  the  United  States  Government  to 
treat  for  peace.  The  campaign  does  not  promise  a  speedy  close 
and  the  indications  are  that  more  than  the  handful  of  troops 
which  the  Government  is  able  to  send  will  be  needed  to  put  an 
end  to  hostilities. 

Prominent  among  the  centennial  celebrations  of  the  year  was 
that  of  the  battle  of  Oriskany,  on  the  7th  day  of  August  It  was 
attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  people  and  was  addressed  by 
Ex-Governor  Seymour,  the  orator  of  the  day  being  the  Hon. 
Ellis  H.  Roberts  of  Utica.     On  the  loth  of  August  and  the  two 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JULY.         69 

following  days  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Ben- 
nington occurred.  All  New  England  was  there  and  the  occa- 
sion is  reported  as  one  of  much  interest.  The  President  and 
his  cabinet  also  attended  after  which  they  made  a  tour  of  some 
of  the  prominent  New  England  localities,  indulging  in  speech- 
making,  shaking  hands,  and  the  customary  amusements  of  a 
Presidential  party,  swinging  around  the  circle. 

Of  seriatim  events  of  local  or  general  interest,  I  find  the  fol- 
lowing in  my  notes. 

Saturday,  Julyl4th. — Courtney  of  Union  Springs,  the  cham- 
pion oarsman,  is  prevented  by  sickness  from  rowing  a  match  at 
Greenwood  Lake,  N.  J.,  with  his  rival  Riley.  It  is  asserted  and 
generally  credited  that  Courtney  was  drugged. 

Monday,  July  16th. — The  assessors,  having  completed  their 
rounds,  advertise  for  a  revision  of  the  assessment  roll  by  those 
feeling  aggrieved.  The  Common  Council  meet  in  the  evening 
and  discuss  the  Aurelius  Avenue  Bridge  and  accept  a  gift  of 
21  acres  of  land  from  Lyman  Soule,  Esq.,  for  a  cemetery. 

Tuesday,  July  17th, — The  Universalist  Sunday  School  pic- 
nic is  held  at  Ensenore. 

Wednesday,  July  18th.  The  Exchange  street  Methodist 
Sunday  School  picnic  at  Ensenore.  The  local  baseball  club 
starts  on  its  tour  for  a  series  of  games  in  several  eastern  cities. 
The  State  Senate  meets  in  extra  session  at  Saratoga  to  investi- 
gate the  charges  against  Ellis,  superintendent  of  the  bank  depart- 
ment, for  laches  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 

Thursday,  July  19th.  The  Campbellite  Sunday  School  pic- 
nic at  Ensenore.     I  notice  the  first  locust  of  the  season  today. 

Friday,  July  20th — The  first  sweet  corn  of  the  season  is 
reported  today,  the  fruit  of  Abel  Hudson's  labors. 

Tuesday,  July  24th. — The  Central  Church  Sunday  School 
picnic  at  Fair  Haven. 


70        RECORD  OK  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  AUGUST. 

Wednesday,  July  25th. — The  second  annual  clam  bake  at 
Burdick's  Point  on  Owasco  Lake,  is  participated  in  by  some 
two  hundred  people  from  the  city. 

Thursday,  July  26. — I  first  notice  the  chirrup  of  the  cricket 
in  the  evening,  and  the  first  peaches  appear  in  market..  The 
Cayuga  Lake  railroad  is  sold  today  on  the  first  mortgage  bonds, 
for  $20,000. 

Tuesday,  July  31st — The  base-ball  club  returns  from  its 
tour,  having  played  nine  games,  winning  five,  losing  three,  with 
one  drawn  game.  I  confess  to  some  neglect  in  my  notes  of  the 
National  game.  Our  home  club  has  played  with  varying 
success,  but  stands  a  chance  of  securing  the  state  championship. 
They  seem  to  find  themselves  entirely  unequal  to  cope  with 
the  Stars  of  Syracuse,  although  they  easily  win  against  clubs 
who  are  frequently  successful  in  contests  with  the  Stars.  The 
base-ball  fever  has  raged  fiercely  this  season,  throughout  the 
country.  My  chief  interest  in  it  has  been  in  dodging  balls  in 
my  daily  rounds. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  1st. — The  Howgate  Polar  expedition 
sails  from  New  London,  Ct.,  today.  A  singular  fact  connected 
with  it  is,  that  a  gentleman  of  Cincinnati  contributes  $500 
toward  the  expenses  of  the  expedition,  hoping  to  confirm  his 
theory  that  an  open  passage  exists  through  the  center  of  the 
earth,  from  the  north  to  the  south  pole.  He  expects  the 
present  expedition,  if  it  succeeds  in  reaching  the  north  pole,  to 
sail  through  the  tunnel  and  come  out  at  the  south  end  thereof. 

The  chief  of  police  reports  94  arrests  by  the  police,  for  the 
month  of  July.  Frank  Walworth  who  murdered  his  father, 
and  was  sentenced  to  State  Prison  for  life  therefor,  is  today 
pardoned  and  set  at  liberty  by  Gov.  Robinson. 

Thursday,  Aug.  2nd. — The  Ross  Hose  Co.  picnic  at  Newark 
Valley  today. 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR    AUGUST.  71 

Monday,  Aug.  6th. — The  Common  Council  further  discuss 
the  Aurelius  Ave.  bridge. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  7th. — The  Board  of  Education  meet  in 
regular  monthly  session. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  8th. — The  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic 
Church  picnic  at  Ensenore. 

Monday,  Aug.  13th. — The  London  circus  exhibits  to  a  large 
crowd  of  spectators. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  14th. — The  Auburndale  camp-meeting  com- 
mences today.  Flour  is  reported  as  declining  from  $9  to  $8 
per  barrel. 

Prof.  Hall  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Observatory,  at  Washington, 
discovers  a  satellite  of  the  planet  Mars. 

Thursday,  Aug.  16th. — li  Hose  6  "  picnic  at  Taghanic  and 
the  St.  George's  society  at  Fair  Haven. 

Friday,  Aug.  17th. — Bank  Superintendent  Ellis  is  found 
guilty  of  the  charges  preferred  against  him,  and  is  removed. 
The  governor  nominates  Hon.  Allen  C.  Beach  for  his  successor, 
but  the  nomination  is  rejected  by  the  Senate,  by  a  vote  of  15 
to  15. 

Prof.  Hall  discovers  a  second  satellite  of  the  planet  Mars. 
These  moons  are  quite  diminutive  in  size  and  are  distant  from 
Mars  -1,000  and  6,000  miles  respectively.  Mars  is  nearer  the 
earth  this  summer  than  at  any  time  for  the  past  thirty  years, 
and  has  been  exceedingly  brilliant.  The  discovery  of  these 
moons  is  not  expected  to  affect  the  business  interests  of  the 
country  materially,  although  we  thus  acquire  considerable 
territory  by  discovery.  To  the  scientific  world,  the  event  is 
important  as  tending  to  establish  the  nebular  theory.  A  rumor 
prevails  however  of  the  discovery  of  a  third  moon  revolving  from 
west  to  east.  If  this  should  prove  true,  it  will  upset  some 
cherished  astronomical  theories. 


72       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  AUGUST. 

Saturday,  Aug.  18. — The  State  Senate  adjourns,  having 
been  in  session  just  one  month,  in  the  trial  of  Ellis,  and  attend- 
ing the  Saratoga  horse  races. 

Monday,  Aug.  20th. — The  Common  Council  order  a  stone 
bridge  to  be  built  over  the  Owasco  outlet  at  Aurelius  Avenue, 
at  a  cost  of  something  over  $8,000,  awarding  the  contract  to 
C.  C.  Petty,  Esq.,  of  this  city.  The  assessors  report  the  assessed 
valuation  for  the  year  to  be,  real  estate,  $7,199,950 ;  Personal, 
$1,859,450;  Total,  $9,059,400.  The  total  assessment  for  1876 
was  $8,667,825.  There  is  a  falling  off  of  some  $50,000,  in 
personal  property,  and  an  increase  in  the  real  estate  valuation 
of  upwards  of  $450,000. 

Thursday,  Aug.  23rd. — A  total  eclipse  of  the  moon  occurred 
today.  As  it  commenced  at  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  the  sky  was 
cloudy  in  the  evening,  it  was  invisible  here. 

Friday,  Aug.  24th. — The  Second  Presbyterian  Church  Sun- 
day School  picnic  at  Ensenore. 

Saturday,  Aug.  25th. — The  mayor  vetoes  the  Aurelius 
Avenue  stone  bridge  project. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  28th. — Courtney,  Eiley  and  Plaisted  row  at 
Saratoga.  Courtney  winning  the  race  easily.  Plaisted  who 
was  favorite  next  to  Courtney  was  distanced. 

Friday,  Aug.  31st. — Today  1  resume  my  labors,  after  my 
long  recreation,  and  shall  once  more  devote  my  attention  to 
noting  local  events  for  this  record.  I  observe  many  changes 
in  the  aspect  of  things,  which  have  been  wrought  during  my 
absence.  The  bright  buoyant  verdure  of  the  spring  and  early 
summer  has  assumed  a  ripening  grayish  hue  foreboding  the 
sere  and  yellow  leaf.  The  robins  silently  hover  about  in  com- 
panies, eating  the  ripening  grapes  and  sucking  the  sweet  juices 
of  the  plums  ;  the  bob-o-link  has  donned  his  sober  suit  of  gray, 
preparatory  to  playing  his  role  of  rice-bird  in  southern  marshes  ; 
the  oriole  has  doffed  his  gay  plumage  and  sings  no  more  ;  the 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS   FOR   SEPTEMBER.  73 

swallows  have  disappeared,  the  dusty  looking  blue  bird  suns 
himself  sleepily,  giving  forth  at  intervals  a  feeble  chirp  :  the 
sparrow  begins  to  chatter  noisily :  the  cricket  sets  up  his 
monotonous  serenade  in  the  early  afternoon  :  the  days  shorten 
and  the  autumn  time  cometh.  The  grocers'  stands  groan  under 
their  loads  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  peaches  being  remarkably 
abundant  and  of  fine  quality.  The  harvest  has  been  bountiful, 
beyond  anything  for  many  a  year.  T  hear  of  wheat  yielding  as 
high  as  52-J  bushels  to  the  acre,  which  is  nearly  or  quite  double 
the  average  yield.  I  notice  that  the  water  at  the  upper  dam 
of  the  Owasco  outlet  is  reported  as  18  inches  belowr  the  crest  of 
the  dam,  showing  a  fall  of  27  inches  since  the  12th  of  July. 

Saturday,  Sept.  1st. — Cooler  with  rain  from  the  north. 
Thermometer  65°  and  cloudy.  Alvin  Adams,  the  founder  of 
the  American  Express  Company,  died  today  at  Watertown, 
Mass.,  aged  75  years. 

Sunday.  Sept.  2nd. — Wind  northwest  and  cloudy.  Ther- 
mometer 620,  Rev.  M.  J.  Loughlin,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  St.  Marys 
Catholic  church,  resigns  his  charge  today  on  account  of  impaired 
health  resulting  from  the  arduous  duties  of  his  long  pastorate, 
and  other  causes.     He  goes  to  Lima  in  this  state. 

Monday.  Sept.  3rd. — A  cold,  sour  day,  with  thermometer  at 
58°  and  occasional  rain  during  the  day.  The  public  schools  open 
with  the  unusuall}7  large  attendance  of  1,974  pupils.  The  new 
primary  school  building  on  Franklin  street  is  completed  and 
opens  with  68  pupils  in  attendance.  The  Common  Council 
meet  in  the  evening  and  order  the  tax  levy  for  the  year  of 
$83,700.  This  is  nearly  $20,000  less  than  the  levy  of  last  year. 
The  chief  of  Police  reports  108  arrests  for  the  month  of  August. 
The  September  term  of  the  county  court  convenes  with  little 
business  before  it.  A  disastrous  fire  occurs  in  New  York,  origi- 
nating in  a  Piano  manufactory  on  Tenth  avenue,  by  which  sev- 
eral lives  were  lost 


74  RECORD    OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  SEPTEMBER 

Louis  Adolphe  Thiers,  ex-President  of  the  French  Republic, 
died  in  Paris  today,  aged  81  years.  He  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most statesmen  of  the  age  and  his  death  is  regarded  as  a  severe 
blow  to  the  Republican  party  of  France. 

The  Russians  latterly  seem  to  be  retrieving  their  ill  success 
in  Bulgaria,  having  successfully  resisted  the  attempts  of  the 
Turks  to  regain  Schipka  Pass  in  the  Balkan  mountains  and 
today  by  a  brillant  attack  they  capture  Lovatz,  an  important 
strategicjpoint,  looking  to  an  advance  on  Plevna. 

Tuesday,  Sept  4th. — Slightly  cloudy  but  warmer,  with  wind 
in  the  south.  Thermometer  72°.  The  Board  of  Education  meets 
in  regular  monthly  session  in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  5th. — A  mild  autumn  day  with  southerly 
wind.  Thermometer  75°.  Crazy  Horse,  a  noted  Indian  chief- 
tain, who  surrendered  to  the  United  States  forces  in  May  last, 
died  today.  He  was  suspected  of  designing  to  join  the  hostile 
Indians,  and  was  placed  in  arrest.  Attempting  to  escape  he 
was  accidentally  bayoneted  and  died  of  his  wounds. 

Thursday,  Sept.  6th. — Cooler  and  cloudy,  with  a  northerly 
wind.  Thermometer  66°.  An  Auburn  team  of  the  49th  Regi- 
ment, Capt.  D.  M.  Dunning  commanding,  start  for  Creedmoor 
to  secure  several  prizes  in  the  rifle  matches  to  take  place  next 
week.  The  laboring  men  hold  a  meeting  at  the  Court  House, 
to  consider  measures  for  bettering  their  condition. 

Friday,  Sept.  7. — A  rainy  night  preceded  a  rainy  morning, 
clearing  towards  noon.  Thermometer  59°.  The  unusual 
occurrence  latterly,  of  a  convict  escaping,  disturbed  the  monot- 
ony of  the  prison  today,  and  occasioned  a  vacancy  in  one  of  the 
positions  of  prison  keeper.  A  son  of  Ex-Alderman  White, 
died  today  of  lockjaw,  induced  by  the  loss  of  a  leg  crushed  by 
being  run  over  by  the  Southern  Central  cars,  on  the  28  ult. 

Saturday,  Sept.  8th. — Cloudy  in  the  morning  but  clearing 
towards  noon,  with  wind   from  the  northeast.     Thermometer 


Record  of  current  events  for  September.  To 

66".  Prof.  Edward  Hall,  D.  D.,  for  upwards  of  twenty  years  a 
professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  this  city,  died  today, 
aged  75. 

Sunday,  Sept.  9ih. — Clearing  and  pleasant.  Thermometer 
72°.  Rev.  W.  Mulheron,  late  of  Lima,  assumes  the  pastoral 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  is  reported 
that  the  Russians  today,  after  three  days'  righting,  capture 
Plevna,  routing  the  Turks  as  completely  and  disastrously  as 
they  were  themselves  routed,  at  the  same  place  a  month  since. 

Monday,  Sept.  10. — Somewhat  cool,  and  overcast  with  a 
southeast  wind.  Thermometer  76".  The  failure  of  Frank 
Leslie,  widely  known  as  a  publisher  of  periodicals,  is  announced 
today. 

Tuesday,  Sept,  11th. — Somewhat  cloudy,  and  threatening 
with  brisk  south  wind.  Thermometer  73°.  The  annual  fair 
of  the  Cayuga  County  Agricultural  Society  opens  today,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  an  indication  of  rain.  There  is  no  remedy 
for  a  drouth  equal  to  a  County  Fair,  excepting  possibly  a 
Masonic  excursion. 

I  confess,  my  dear  Doctor,  to  a  dislike  of  taking  history  at 
long  range,  as  I  have  been  compelled  to  do  for  the  past  two 
months.  With  the  assurance  that  I  will  not  again  attempt  it,  I 
share  in  your  regret  at  the  meagre  fruits  of  your  toil  in 
deciphering  this  record,  trusting  that  the  future  may  develop 
something  more  interesting  and  profitable. 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
Historiograph  er. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  Wednesday  Sept.  12,  1877. 
My  dear  Doctor  Schliemann  : 

I  resume  my  daily  annals  somewhat  more  cheerfully  in  the 
hope  that  the  changing  season  and  the  near  approach  of  our 
annual  political  agitation  will  afford  sufficient  items  to  make  my 
record  acceptable  and  of  profit  to  you. 

The  morning  opens  with  a  fresh  south  wind,  and  with  light 
clouds.  The  Historical  Society  was  favored  last  evening,  by 
H.  H.  Bostwick,  Esq.,  with  an  interesting  sketch  of  the  late 
William  Bostwick,  an  early  settler  of  this  city.  The  working- 
men's  meeting  at  the  Court  House  was  addressed  by  the  Hon. 
Milo  Goodrich,  Col.  T.  J.  Kennedy  and  Capt  M.  H.  Hogan  ; 
and  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions.  The  movement  seems  to 
look  to  the  formation  of  a  workingmen's  party  to  operate  in  the 
approaching  political  campaign.  Later  advices  discredit  the 
capture  of  Plevna  by  the  Russians  on  Sunday,  but  state  that 
they  are  going  to  capture  it.  These  war  notes  forcibly  recall 
the  dispatches  during  the  late  Rebellion.     Thermometer  78°. 

The  second  day  of  the  County  Fair  indicates  a  quite  limited 
success  for  it.  The  entries  are  few  and  the  attendance  thin. 
The  failure  to  include  the  agricultural  horse-trot  among  the 
attractions,  may  have  diminished  the  interest  to  some  extent. 
The  colored  people  hold  a  picnic  today  at  Burt's  Grove.  The 
colored  band  dispensed  music  during  the  parade  to  and  from 


"RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR   SEPTEMBER.  77 

the  grounds,  the  principal  parts  being  carried  by  the  base  drum 
and  the  trombone. 

The  regimental  team  of  the  49th  Regiment  quietly  return  from 
Creedmoor  in  the  evening,  whither  they  had  been  to  engage  in 
the  rifle  match.  The  bulls-eye  seems  to  have  been  too  small, 
or  too  far  off  for  their  success. 

Thursday,  Sept  13th. — Clear  and  warm,  with  light  wind  from 
the  south.  The  indications  of  a  storm  have  passed  away  and 
the  day  is  clear  and  unusually  warm  for  the  season.  Ther- 
mometer 84°. 

The  County  Fair  closes  today  and  is  quoted  a  failure,  the 
attractions  not  being  sufficient  to  induce  even  a  storm.  The 
workingmen's  party  organized  in  the  evening.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  the  "  Talking  men  "  of  the  community  are  not  entirely 
ignored  in  the  movement. 

Friday,  Sept.  14th. — A  bright  warm  morning,  with  a  slight 
current  of  air  from  the  north.  Copious  dews  have  fallen  during 
the  past  two  nights.  The  light  rain  fall  of  the  year  is  indicated 
by  the  low  stage  of  the  water  in  the  lake,  it  being  twenty-five 
inches  below  the  crest  of  the  upper  dam,  which  is  six  inches 
lower  than  any  previous  record.  Thermometer  83°.  The 
International  Rifle  match,  in  which  the  British  and  American 
teams  met  at  Creedmoor,  closed  today,  the  Americans  retaining 
the  championship  by  92  points.  Republican  and  Workingmen's 
caucuses  held  in  the  evening. 

Saturday,  Sept.  loth. — Clear  and  pleasant  with  wind  from 
the  south,  freshening  to  a  brisk  breeze  as  the  day  progresses. 
Thermometer  84°.  The  Republican  Assembly  Convention  for 
the  second  district  met  at  Moravia  and  nominated  W.  Leslie 
Noyes  of  Owasco  for  member  of  assembly  on  the  63rd  ballot, 
and  appoint  the  usual  delegates  to  the  state  and  senatorial 
conventions. 

The  workingmen's  senatorial  convention  met  at  Weedsport 
and  nominated  Wm,  J.  Moses  of  this  city  for  senator.     Tweed 


78  Ti^coRP    OF    rpRRENT    EVENTS    FOR    SEPTEMBER. 

details  his  "little  narrative"  to  the  New  York  aldermanic  com- 
mittee today. 

Sunday,  Sept.  16th. — The  south  wind  continues,  the  sky 
somewhat  clouded  and  the  air  sultry.     Thermometer  82°. 

Monday,  Sept  17th. — A  smart  south  wind,  and  cloudy- 
Thermometer  80".  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  wind  changed  to 
northwest,  blowing  strong  and  bringing  rain  which  continued 
during  the  evening.  The  annual  reunion  of  Cowan's  Battery 
was  held  today.  Rev.  Dr.  Board  man,  pastor  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church,  resigns  his  charge  after  a  pastorate  of  six- 
teen year's  duration. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  18th. — A  cool  morning,  partially  cloudy 
with  wind  from  the  northwest.  Thermometer  60".  The  annual 
inspection  of  the  Fire  Department  occurs  today  ;  visiting  com- 
panies from  Ithaca  and  Canandaigua  join  in  the  parade.  A 
shipwreck  is  reported  at  Fair  Haven,  a  coal  barge  having  been 
blown  on  to  the  pier  and  sunk  during  the  storm  last  evening. 
No  lives  lost. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  19th. — A  bright  autumn  day,  slightly 
cool  from  the  north  wind.  Thermometer  68 ".  Stanley,  the  cele- 
brated explorer  reports  himself  at  the  mouth  of  the  Congo  river, 
having  traversed  the  entire  length  of  the  river,  which  in  its  upper 
course  was  known  to  Livingstone  and  others  as  the  Lualaba. 
Stanley  is  the  second  explorer  of  modern  times  who  has  crossed 
the  continent  of  Africa  from  east  to  west  near  the  equator,  and 
his  explorations  will  possess  much  interest,  especially  of  a  geo- 
graphical nature. 

Thursday,  Sept.  20th. — A  southwest  wind  this  morning 
softens  the  temperature,  the  sky  being  somewhat  overcast 
Thermometer  70°.  I  take  occasion  to  note  in  my  record  of  today 
what  may  seem  an  intrusion  upon  the  privacy  of  domestic  life  ; 
but  I  feel  assured,  my  dear  doctor,  that  the  respected  president 
of  our  society  will  pardon  me  for  advising  you  of  the  hymeneal 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR    SEPTEMBER.  79 

events  which  have  of  late  transpired  in  his  household,  his  eldest 
son  having  been  married  on  Tuesday,  and  his  only  daughter 
being  happily  married  today.  I  plead  in  excuse  that  it  is  not 
a  frequent  occurrence  for  two  members  of  a  household  to 
indulge  in  the  luxury  of  matrimony  with  so  brief  an  interval, 
but  I  can  understand  that  in  this  instance,  professional  demands 
upon  the  head  of  the  household  had  so  accustomed  him  to  the 
experience  that  the  undertaking  may  not  have  seemed  of  so  great 
magnitude. 

The  Republican  Assembly  District  Convention  for  the  first 
district  meets  at  Weedsport  and  nominates  William  H.  Eaker 
of  Cato  for  member  of  assembly,  and  selects  state,  judicial,  and 
senatorial  delegates.  Local  politics  are  exciting  considerable 
interest.  Auburn  is  distinguished  at  the  Buffalo  State  Green- 
back Convention  by  the. selection  of  our  townsman,  B.  B.  Willey, 
Esq.,  for  presiding  officer,  and  by  the  nomination  for  attorney 
general,  of  Warren  T.  Worden,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  acknowl- 
edged early  ability,  but  so  far  advanced  in  the  autumn  of  life 
as  to  be  perhaps  a  little  loose  on  the  stem  for  the  rugged  require- 
ments ot  the  position.     A  slight  rain  in  the  evening. 

Friday,  Sept.  21st. — A  cool  fall  day,  with  north  wind. 
Thermometer  59°.  Warmly  contested  Republican  caucuses  are 
held  in  the  evening.  It  is  astonishing  with  what  certainty  rail- 
road accidents  occur  in  pairs  or  triplets  even.  Yesterday  a 
train  on  the  wrong  track  at  Clyde,  on  the  New  York  Central, 
resulted  in  a  collision,  killing  an  engineer,  and  tonight  a  mis- 
placed switch  at  Rome  demolishes  another  train,  severely  injur- 
ing several  employes.     The  state  fair  at  Rochester  closes  today. 

Saturday,  Sept.  22nd. — The  mercury  nestled  down  close, 
last  night,  to  avoid  the  cold,  and  stood  at  42°  at  7  o'clock  this 
morning.  There  was  no  frost  in  this  locality  but  I  hear  of 
light  frosts  in  some  portions  of  the  county.  The  day  is  bright 
and  pleasant  with  thermometer  62°,  and  wind  in  the  north. 
The  Republican  County  Convention  meets  at  the  Court  House, 


80  RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR    SEPTEMBER. 

the  exciting  contest  being  over  a  nominee  for  sheriff,  Mr.  John 
Choateof  this  city  being  the  successful  competitor.  Richard  C. 
Steel  and  John  T.  M.  Davie  were  nominated  for  County  Judge 
and  for  Surrogate,  respectively. 

Sunday,  Sept.  23rd. — A  south  wind  and  clear  sky,  warm, 
with  thermometer  at  72°.  Jean  Joseph  Leverrier,  the  most 
noted  astronomer  of  the  present  century,  died  at  Paris  today, 
aged  66  years.  His  famous  mathematical  calculations,  which, 
foretold  with  almost  unerring  certainty  the  location  of  an  un- 
known world,  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  planet  Neptune  iu  1847. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  disappointed  and  soured  for  life  because 
his  name  was  not  given  to  the  newly  discovered  planet 

The  harvest  moon  has  been  exhibiting  for  the  last  two  or  three 
evenings  to  delighted  spectators. 

Monday,  Sept.  24tb. — Warmer,  with  south  wind  and  clear, 
thermometer  78°.  The  patent  office  at  Washington  was  badly 
damaged  by  fire  today,  although  the  loss  in  models  is  not  great 

Tuesday,  Sept  25th. — The  wind  continues  in  the  south  and 
the  temperature  increases  notwithstanding  the  scattering  clouds. 
Thermometer  8 L°.  A  convict  named  Thorpe  knocks  a  fellow 
convict  named  Howard  from  the  third  gallery  at  the  Prison, 
killing  him.  The  Democratic  caucuses  for  the  city  are  held  in 
the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Sept  26th. — The  wind  is  at  its  old  tricks  of  dry 
times,  opening  in  the  south  in  the  morning  and  gradually  work- 
ing around  by  way  of  the  west  to  the  north  in  the  evening,  with 
frequent  light  clouds.  Thermometer  80°.  The  chief  talk  on 
the  streets  today  is  the  great  single  scull  race  at  Ensenore 
tomorrow.  The  Republican  State  Convention  assembles  at 
Rochester,  and  is  notable  for  the  personal  attack  of  Senator  Conk- 
ling  upon  George  W.  Curtis,  construed  as  indicating  an  issue 
with  the  administration  policy. 


RECORD   OF    CURRENT    EVENTS   FOR   SEPTEMBER.  81 

Thursday,  Sept.  27th. — The  morning  opens  with  a  dense 
fog  which  obscures  the  sun  until  nearly  nine  o'clock  when  it 
clears  off  warm  and  pleasant,  with  a  slight  haze,  a  day,  worthy 
the  most  fastidious  Indian  summer,  following.  The  wind  slight, 
from  the  north,  veering  to  the  east  and  south  in  the  afternoon. 
The  scull  race  was  rowed  in  the  afternoon,  Courtney  easily 
winning,  with  Riley  second  and  Johnson  third. 

An  amateur  match  between  Messrs.  Eldred  and  Atwater  of 
this  city,  in  which  the  former  won,  preceded  the  great  contest. 
A  large  concourse  of  people,  variously  estimated  at  from  eight 
to  fifteen  thousand,  witnessed  the  contests  which  were  in  all 
respects  an  entire  success.     Thermometer  78°. 

Friday,  Sept.  28th. — A  southwest  wind  and  a  close  sultry 
air,  with  a  slight  sprinkle  of  rain  about  noon.  Light  thunder- 
showers  go  around  to  the  south.  Thermometer  78°.  The 
Democratic  assembly  convention  is  held  at  Moravia,  and  nom- 
inates Mr.  John  M.  Freese  of  Aurelius,  for  member. 

Saturday,  Sept.  29th. — A  dense  fog  in  the  morning  renders 
it  useless  for  one  to  get  up  early  to  see  the  sun  rise.  The  mist 
clears  away  soon  after  nine,  and  a  clear  day  succeeds.  The 
weather  vane  points  dreamily  to  the  west,  where  the  last  cur- 
rent of  air  left  it,  but  wanders  around  to  the  east  in  the  after- 
noon in  a  bewildered  manner,  as  if  hunting  for  the  wind  which 
was  trying  to  hide  from  it.     Thermometer  72°. 

The  first  assembly  district  Democratic  convention  assembles 
at  Cato,  and  nominates  EL  B.  Converse  of  Port  Byron,  for 
member.  A  Prohibition  county  convention  is  held  at  the 
Court  House  and  nominates  a  county  ticket,  with  H.  V.  How- 
land  for  county  judge. 

Sunday,  Sept  30th. — The  official  "  indications  "  have  for 
several  days  been  prophesying  "  rain  areas  and  falling  baro- 
meter "  for  the  "  lower  lake  regions,"  but  the  weather  has 
calmy  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  its  way  with  a  dignified  dis- 


82  RECORD    OF    CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER. 

regard  of  the  predictions  of  its  official  observer,  and  September 
hands  over  to  October,  its  treasures  of  ripening  fruits  and  chang- 
ing foliage,  upon  as  perfect  a  Sabbath  as  could  have  been  that 
which  inspired  the  immortal  hymn  of  "  holy  George  Herbert :" 

"  Sweet  day,  so  cool,  so  calm,  so  bright. 
Bridal  of  earth  and  sky." 

A  clear  warm  sunshine,  a  mild  south  wind  with  the  Ther- 
mometer at  82°,  mark  a  wide  contrast  between  the  exit  and  the 
advent  of  September.  The  average  range  of  the  thermometer 
for  the  month,  has  been  72.5°,  the  extremes  being  58°  on  the 
3rd,  and  84°  on  the  13th  and  15th.  On  fourteen  days  of  the 
month,  the  temperature  has  not  been  below  75°  at  1  o'clock  P.  M. 
Rev.  Dr.  Board  man  preaches  his  parting  discourse  to  his  con- 
gregation in  the  evening.  Kev.  J-  Alabaster  assumes  his 
pastoral  duties  at  the  Exchange  St.  Methodist  Church  in  the 
evening. 

Monday,  Oct  1st. — October  seems  loth  to  change  the  order 
of  things  as  September  bequeathed  it,  and  the  month  opens 
with  a  warm  clear  day  with  brisk  south  wind  and  thermometer 
at  84°.  The  Circuit  Court  commences  its  sessions  with  Judge 
Eumsey  presiding.  A  small  body  of  dissenters  from  the  Repub- 
lican local  nominations,  met  at  the  Osborne  House  and  resolved 
to  have  another  county  convention.  The  Common  Council 
meets  in  the  evening,  and  the  inevitable  Aurelius  Avenue 
bridge  is  the  theme  of  an  animated  debate. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  2nd. — The  wind  still  holds  frailly  to  the 
south,  with  a  clear  warm  sky.  Thermometer  80°.  The  Chief 
of  Police  reports  77  arrests  for  the  month  of  September. 

A  musical  convention,  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Emerson 
of  Boston,  commences  its  sessions  today.  The  Board  of 
Education  holds  a  quiet  session  in  the  evening.  The  "  oldest 
inhabitant  "  now  takes  you  by  the  buttonhole  and  impressively 
informs  you  that  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Auburn  anywhere 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  years,  but  that  his  well  has  never 
been  dry  before. 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT   EVENTS    FOR    OCTOBER.  83 

Wednesday,  Oct  3rd. — Clear  and  warm  with  the  wind  still 
in  the  south  and  more  brisk.  The  Democratic  State  Conven- 
tion assembles  in  Albany  and  is  chiefly  distinguished  by  the 
bitter  contest  between  the  Tammany  and  anti-Tammany  fac- 
tions in  which  the  former  is  as  usual  triumphant. 

Rev.  Dr.  R  B.  Welch  is  formally  inducted  into  the  Professor- 
ship of  Christian  Theology  of  the  Seminary,  at  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  evening.  Mr.  Perrigo  called  on  me  today. 
His  broad  full  face,  bronzed  by  the  harvest  sun,  was  in  marked 
contrast  with  his  spotless  shirt  bosom,  which  stood  out  like  a 
big  white  blister  upon  his  breast.  He  was  evidently  quite 
excited  upon  the  political  situation  and  spoke  warmly  of  the 
selfishness  of  Auburn  in  "gobbling  up,"  as  he  expressed  it,  all 
the  important  positions  upon  the  local  ticket.  In  vain  I  assured 
him  that  I  was  simply  a  local  historian  and  eschewed  politics 
from  necessit}^  no  less  than  from  choice, — that  history  must  be 
impartial.  I  finally  arrested  him  by  a  quiet  inquiry  as  to 
whether  it  had  rained  lately  in  his  locality,  when  he  at  once 
became  eloquent  upon  the  drouth.  He  had  a  well  in  his  house 
and  one  in  his  barnyard,  but  had  to  pump  all  the  water  for  his 
stock.  Some  of  his  neighbors  had  to  bring  water  two  or  three 
miles  for  their  stock.  Fall  feed  was  all  dried  up  :  no  butter  was 
being  made ;  late  sown  fall  wheat  was  ruined ;  potatoes  were 
yeilding  poorly  and  would  be  worth  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  bushel 
before  next  spring,  and  with  the  advice  to  me  to  buy  a  load  now, 
and  put  in  my  cellar,  he  took  his  leave. 

Thursday,  Oct  4th. — The  wind  which  has  been  roving 
around  for  some  days  in  search  of  the  equinoctial,  fixed  itself 
steadily  in  the  south  last  night  and  blew  strong  till  it  brought 
it  This  morning  the  rain  commenced  and  continued  most  of 
the  day  with  strong  wind,  which  changed  to  the  north  shortly 
after  one  o'clock.  Thermometer  64°.  I  was  skeptical  yesterday, 
when  a  man  predicted  rain  before  tonight,  but  he  assured  me 
if  I  only  had  faith,  it  would  rain.     My  faith  in  him  was  some- 


84  RECORD   OF   CURRENT    EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER. 

what  weakened,  in  that  he  offered  to  bet  me  that  his  pre- 
diction would  prove  true.  If  he  had  told  me  that  he  based  his 
prediction  upon  his  corns,  or  rheumatic  pains,  or  some  other  bod- 
ily ailment,  instead  of  his  faith,  I  should  have  been  more  ready 
to  credit  it. 

Friday,  Oct.  5th. — Cool  and  cloudy  with  a  northerly  wind. 
The  equinoctial  was  emphatic  but  of  short  duration.  In  many 
localities  damage  is  reported  from  the  excessive  rain,  and  ship- 
ping suffered  from  the  severity  of  the  wind.  Thermometer 
52".  Clear  and  cool  in  the  evening  with  indications  of  frost. 
A  successful  concert  of  the  musical  convention  at  the  Opera 
House  in  the  evening. 

Saturday,  Oct.  6th. — The  wind  changed  to  the  west  about 
9  o'clock  last  evening  and  clouds  came  to  the  rescue,  averting 
the  threatened  frost.  The  wind  is  a  little  north  of  west  this 
morning,  with  thick  clouds,  and  cool.  The  robins  held  a  mass 
meeting  in  the  apple-tree  and  resolved  to  go  south.  A  belated 
cricket  chirped  feebly  last  evening  as  if  wearied  in  closing  out 
his  concert  for  the  season,  and  indications  of  fall  weather  are 
unmistakable.  Thermometer  48°.  A  cyclone  of  political  con- 
ventions swept  over  the  county  today.  The  Eepublican  Sena- 
torial Convention  at  Port  Byron  renominated  the  Hon.  Wm.  B. 
Woodin  for  Senator*.  A  Prohibition  Assembly  Convention  at 
the  same  place  nominates  Rev.  Julius  Bobbins  of  this  city  for 
Member  of  Assembly.  The  Democratic  County  Convention  met 
at  the  Court  House  and  nominated  Thomas  Reed  of  Auburn  for 
Sheriff  and  S.  Edwin  Day  of  Moravia  for  County  Judge.  The 
Workingmen's  County  Convention  met  at  the  Academy  of  Music 
and  nominated  H.  V.  Howland  for  County  Judge  and  Charles 
Hoskins  for  Sheriff.  The  Dissenters'  Convention  met  at  the 
same  place  and  endorsed  the  nominees  of  the  Workingmen's 
Convention.  The  woods  are  full  of  candidates  this  fall,  and 
unless  the  intelligent  voter  exercises  great  care,  he  will  vote  for 
somebody  that  his  political  friends  did  not  intend  he  should. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER.  85 

Sunday,  Oct.  7th. — The  morning  opens  bright  with  wind  in 
the  south,  but  the  sky  becomes  overcast'  as  the  day  progresses. 
Thermometer  59°.  Rev.  Mr.  Stacy  enters  upon  his  pastoral 
duties  with  the  Wall  St.  Methodist  Church. 

Monday,  Oct.  8th. — A  strong  southeast  wind  commenced 
during  the  night,  continued  with  much  violence  during  most  of 
the  day,  the  result  doubtless  of  the  ordering  of  cautionary  signals 
at  Oswego,  Rochester,  and  Buffalo  by  the  department  at  Wash- 
ington. A  slight  rain  fell  during  most  of  the  afternoon. 
Thermometer  55°.  The  trial  of  the  convict  Thorpe  for  murder 
commenced  in  the  Oyer  and  Terminer. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  9th. — The  morning  opened  clear  with  the 
wind  in  the  southwest  and  warmer.  The  clouds  gathered 
somewhat  as  the  day  advanced,  but  cleared  in  the  evening,  with 
the  wind  in  the  north.  Thermometer  60°.  Mr.  H.  V.  Howland 
declines  to  accept  the  triple  honor  of  the  nomination  for  county 
judge  tendered  him  by  the  Prohibition  and  Workingmen's  and 
Dissenters'  Convention.  A  new  moon,  not  unlike  a  section  of 
melon  rind  in  appearance,  hangs  dreamily  above  the  western 
horizon  in  the  evening. 

Of  the  events  of  general  interest  which  have  transpired  since 
my  last  report,  I  note  the  following  : 

The  Turco-Russian  War  has  changed  little  in  its  aspect, 
although  much  fighting  has  transpired  and  severe  losses  have 
been  sustained  on  both  sides.  The  Russians  have  been  unable 
to  secure  Plevna,  although  repeated  attempts  have  been  made 
to  storm  the  place.  Nor  have  the  Turks  been  successful  in 
wresting  the  Schipka  Pass  from  the  Russians,  although  desper- 
ately attempting  it.  In  Armenia  no  movement  has  been  made, 
until  within  the  last  few  days  the  Russians  made  a  spasmodic 
effort  to  cut  off  the  Turkish  communications  with  Kars,  but 
without  success.  The  campaign  for  the  year  may  be  said  to  be 
at  an  end,  and  is  in  all  respects  extremely  discreditable  to  Rus- 
sian Generalship. 


86  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER. 

General  Grant  has  remained  in  England  and  Scotland,  and 
has  been  feted  until  he  has  acquired  considerable  facility  at 
speechmaking.  The  President  has  made  quite  an  extended 
tour  of  some  of  the  western  and  southern  states  during  the 
month,  and  seems  to  have  been  enthusiastically  welcomed, 
especially  in  the  south. 

Gen.  Howard  has  been  chasing  and  fighting  the  Nez  Perces, 
but  with  little  prospect  of  exterminating  them.  The  campaign 
seems  destined  to  continue  into  another  season.  A  delegation 
of  friendly  Indians  visited  Washington,  and  made  their  wants 
known  to  the  President,  their  Great  Father,  limiting  their 
demands  to  ulster  overcoats  for  the  whole  tribe,  mowers  and 
reapers,  brick  school-houses  and  such  other  conveniences  as 
their  white  brethren  indulged  in. 

As  it  is  the  first  state  which  has  tried  the  experiment  so  far 
as  I  am  advised,  I  note  the  fact  that  the  State  of  Colorado 
voted  down  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the 
state,  conferring  upon  women  the  right  of  suffrage. 

The  month  has  been  notable  for  the  failure  of  Savings  Banks, 
both  in  the  east  and  west,  and  startling  developments  of  stupen- 
dous frauds  have  been  made,  notably  those  of  Morton,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, in  the  over  issue  of  street  railway  shares,  and  the 
raising  of  insurance  certificates  by  Gilman  of  New  York, — the 
fraud  in  the  latter  instance  amounting  to  upwards  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  So  ends  my  first  fall 
record. 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
Historiographer. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Wednesday,  Oct.  10,  1877. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Schliemunn  : 

I  deem  it  prudent  to  preface  my  record  for  the  coming  month, 
with  the  remark,  that  the  political  sky  is  somewhat  lurid  just 
now,  and  will  probably  become  more  so  as  the  month  advances. 
The  unoffending  citizen  is  quietly  probed  on  all  available 
occasions  as  to  his  predilections  for  this  or  that  candidate,  or  this 
or  that  policy,  until  even  the  humblest  individual  can  scarcely  fail 
to  realize  that  he  is  an  important  cog  in  the  great  wheel  that  runs 
the  political  machine.  This  society  however,  constitutionally, 
and  from  natural  selection,  ignores  politics.  If  therefore,I  should 
inadvertently  note  some  fact  in  my  record  which  might  be  con- 
strued in  the  interest  of  any  particular  candidate  or  policy,  it 
should  be  charged  to  my  own  indiscretion,  and  not  be  regarded 
as  reflecting  the  views  of  the  society.  With  this  anchor  to  the 
windward,  I  resume  my  task. 

The  morning  opens  with  a  brisk  southeast  wind,  and  cloudy. 
A  slight  rain  in  the  afternoon.  Thermometer  62°.  The  His- 
torical Society  at  its  session  last  evening,  listened  to  an  elabo- 
rate, carefully  prepared,  and  highly  interesting  biographical 
sketch  of  the  late  Elijah  Miller,  prepared  by  the  Hon.  B.  F. 
Hall. 

State  elections  were  held  yesterday  in  Iowa  and  Ohio,  the 
result  being  timidly  Republican  in  the  former,  and  apatheti- 
cally Democratic   in    the  latter.     The   process  of  plating  the 


88  RECORD   (>F   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  OCTOBER. 

badly  dilapidated  pavement  of  Genesee  St.  with  tar  and  gravel, 
commenced  today,  at  the  corner  of  South  St.  A  conference  of 
Adventists  commenced  its  session  at  the  Academy  of  Music. 
The  Democratic  Senatorial  convention  meets  at  Port  Byron, 
and  nominates  the  Hon.  Chas.  N.  Boss  for  Senator. 

The  Republican  Judicial  convention  of  the  7th  judicial  dis- 
trict, meets  at  Rochester,  and  re-nominates  Judge  Charles  C. 
Dwight  of  this  city,  for  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
Common  Council  meets  in  the  evening  and  designates  the 
polling  places  for  the  coming  election,  *nd  directs  the  collection 
of  the  city  tax  levy. 

An  esteemed  member  of  the  Historical  Society,  whose  verac- 
ity is  unimpeachable,  assures  me  that  a  shower  of  snails  in  shells 
fell  in  his  garden  during  thestorm  of  Monday  night.  He  knows 
that  they  "  rained  down,"  and  showed  me  a  handful  of  the 
brown,  translucent  shells,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  length 
and  of  uniform  size.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  toads,  ashes,  sul- 
phur, etc.,  to  "  rain  down,"  and  I  remember  to  have  read  of  a 
shower  of  fresh  beef  somewhere  down  in  Kentucky,  but  I  think 
a  shower  of  snails  has  never  before  been  reported.  Possibly 
they  came  from  the  moons  of  Mars.  I  think  it  more  probable, 
however,  that  a  colony  of  snails  somewhere  indiscreetly  got  on 
a  lark,  and  were  incontinently  swept  up  by  a  cyclone,  to  be 
landed  in  my  neighbor's  garden.  At  any  rate  the  snails  were 
there  after  the  shower. 

Thursday,  Oct.  11th. — Although  the  wind  had  continued 
in  the  south  and  west  during  the  day,  the  air  has  been  cool, 
and  a  drizzling  rain  most  of  the  day  has  given  us  a  foretaste  of 
what  we  may  expect  during  the  coming  fall.  The  jury  in  the 
case  of  Thorpe  brought  in  a  verdict  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree,  and  the  court  took  up  the  second  murder  trial,  that  of 
Brown  for  killing  Rooney.  Mr.  Moses  announces  his  declina- 
tion of  the  nomination  for  senator,  by  the  workingmen's  con- 


RECORD   OF    CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER.  89 

vention.  The  city  treasurer  advertises  the  collection  of  the 
city  tax. 

My  neighbor  reports  a  second  invoice  of  snails  last  night. 
I  think  he  is  becoming  slightly  skeptical  as  to  the  "  raining 
down  "  theory,  and  inclines  to  the  belief  that  their  coming  may 
be  accounted  for,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  formation 
of  dew ;  that  is,  that  they  arise  from  the  ground  and  condense  as 
it  were,  upon  the  sidewalks,  etc.  Scientists  will  of  course,  draw 
their  own  conclusion, — it  is  my  duty  simply  to  record  the  fact. 

Friday,  Oct.  12th. — A  cold  rain  from  the  northwest  charac- 
terizes the  morning  and  most  of  the  day.  Thermometer  47°. 
The  second  trial  of  Riley  for  shooting  Harris  in  this  city 
December  last,  commenced  today. 

Brown  was  acquitted  and  discharged  from  custody. 

Saturday,  Oct.  13th. — Cloudy  with  wind  in  the  northwest, 
but  warmer.  Thermometer  53°.  Clear  in  the  afternoon.  The 
jury  convicted  Riley  of  manslaughter  in  the  third  degree,  and 
he  was  sentenced  to  the  Elmira  Reformatory, — his  being  the  first 
sentence  to  that  institution  from  this  county.  Thorpe  was  today 
sentenced  to  be  hanged  on  the  7th  of  December  next,  and  the 
court  adjourned  to  November  8,  to  try  the  remaining  prisoners 
charged  with  murder,  each  of  whom  is  claimed  by  his  counsel 
to  be  insane.  Gilman,  the  forger  of  insurance  scrip,  pleaded 
guilty  before  Recorder  Hackett,  and  is  sentenced  to  state  prison 
for  five  years,  the  shortest  term  the  crime  admits  of. 

Sunday,  Oct.  14th. — October  is  dealing  kindly  with  us,  not- 
withstanding the  few  inclement  days  of  last  week.  The  sky 
was  sufficiently  threatening  this  morning  to  afford  an  excuse 
for  fair-weather  christians  to  stay  at  home,  but  at  noon  it  was 
cloudless  and  the  air  balmy  as  a  spring  day.  Thermometer  78°. 
Wind  slight  from  the  south. 

Monday,  Oct.  15th. — A  bright  clear  day  with  wind  from  the 
south.  Thermometer  72°.  Congress  convened  in  extra  session 
today,  and  the  house  elected  Mr.  Randall  speaker. 


90  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  16th. — Yesterday  sat  up  late  last  night, 
beguiled  by  the  "  sweet  silver  light  of  the  moon,"  and  today 
gets  up  this  morning  moody  and  cross,  with  a  northwest  rain. 
It  clears  shortly  after  nine  o'clock,  but  soon  clouds  over  and 
the  evening  brings  rain.  Thermometer  60°.  News  from  the 
elections  held  in  France  on  Sunday  last,  report  a  Republican 
victory,  but  with  a  net  gain  to  the  Imperialists.  An  important 
victory  of  the  Russians  over  the  Turks  near  Kars  yesterday,  is 
reported.  The  Boards  of  Registration  hold  their  first  meeting- 
today  to  register  voters  for  the  approaching  election. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  17th. — A  day  of  cloud  and  sunshine  with 
northerly  wind  and  thermometer  at  56°.  The  political  commu- 
nity is  much  exercised  today  by  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Woodin 
from  the  senatorial  contest.  The  sole  remaining  candidate  will 
be  lonesome  until  some  one  is  put  in  the  field  to  share  his  solitude. 

Thursday,  Oct.  18th. — Another  partially  cloud}'  day  with 
south  wind  and  thermometer  64°.  A  report  comes  that,  the 
Egyptian  Obelisk,  known  as  Cleopatra's  needle,  which  was  being 
transported  to  London,  was  abandoned  at  sea,  off  Cape  Finisterre, 
during  a  gale  last  Sunday  evening.  It  would  be  sad  to  have 
so  time-honored  a  relic  become  food  for  fishes. 

Friday,  Oct  19th. — A  dark  morning  with  a  modest  rain 
from  the  northwest.  Thermometer  52°.  The  Cleopatra's  needle 
which  was  abandoned  at  sea,  was  picked  up  all  right  after  the 
gale,  having  floated  some  160  miles,  and  is  again  headed  or 
pointed  for  London. 

The  workingmen  hold  a  meeting  at  the  Court  House,  in  the 
evening,  which  is  addressed  by  a  Mr.  Junio  of  Syracuse.  Mr. 
F.  G.  Day  and  wife,  leave  for  New  York  tod.iy  to  sail  in 
tomorrow's  steamer  for  Europe,  where  Mr.  Day  enters  upon  his 
duties  as  commercial  agent  at  Geetsemude,  a  small  port  near 
Bremen. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  OCTOBER  91 

Saturday,  Oct.  20th. — The  rain  continued  most  of  the 
night,  and  the  morning  opens  cool  and  rainy  with  smart  north- 
west wind.     Thermometer  42°. 

The  Prohibition  convention  at  Weedsport,  nominates  Samuel 
Bibbins  for  Senator.  Mr.  Bibbins  resides  in  Brutus,  and  is  old 
enough  to  make  a  good  senator. 

Sunday,  Oct.  21st. — A  dismal  October  day  with  rain  from 
the  northwest.  Thermometer  44°.  Gilman,  the  insurance 
forger,  reaches  Auburn  today,  having  been  transferred  from 
Sing  Sing  Prison.  Having  been  formerly  actively  interested 
in  the  theoretical  consideration  of  prison  discipline,  he  will  now 
have  an  opportunity  to  study  its  practical  aspects. 

Monday,  Oct  22nd. — The  weather  has  recovered  from  its 
late  unpleasantness  and  is  clear  and  bright,  but  cool  with  north- 
west wind.  Thermometer  45 .  The  Republican  Senatorial 
convention  re-assembles  at  Port  Byron,  and  nominates  Hon. 
Theo.  M.  Pomeroy  of  this  city,  for  senator.  John  T.  Pingree, 
Esq.,  of  this  city,  is  today  nominated  for  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  by  the  Democratic  Judicial  convention  at 
Rochester.  I  surmise  that  this  nomination  was  not  made  in 
the  expectation  of  the  success  of  the  candidate,  but  rather 
in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the  intelligent  and  patriotic  elector 
who  always  "  wants  to  vote  a  clean  ticket." 

An  explosion  of  fire  damp  in  a  mine  near  Glasgow,  Scotland, 
resulted  in  the  death  of  upwards  of  230  miners.  This  is  said 
to  be  the  most  serious  casualty  of  the  kind  which  has  ever 
occurred. 

Tuesday,  Oct  23rd. — The  mercury  descended  to  32°  about  8$ 
o'clock  last  evening,  but  soon  took  an  upward  turn,  not  in  time 
however  to  prevent  a  slight  frost,  which  nipped  the  tenderer 
leaves  of  out  door  vegetation.  This  is  the  first  frost  of  the 
season. 

The  morning  opens  clear  and  bright,  with  a  slight  westerly 
wind.     Thermometer  59°.     The  Greenback  convention  at  Sodus 


92       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  OCTOBER. 

today,  nominates  B.  B.  Willey,  Esq.,  of  this  city  for  senator, 
and  endorses  Mr.  Pingree's  nomination  for  judge.  I  think  Mr. 
Willey  will  not  decline  the  nomination, — he  is  too  zealous  for 
that  Of  course  it  is  impossible  at  this  early  day,  to  estimate 
accurately  the  Greenback  vote,  but  from  the  best  information  I 
can  gather,  his  chances  of  success  are  of  that  shadowy  nature, 
which  is  not  calculated  to  encourage  any  but  the  most  sanguine 
natures.  Still  if  he  runs,  he  will  get  one  vote  at  least,  and  that 
will  give  him  a  place  among  the  "  Scattering."  This  I  believe 
completes  the  local  nominations,  and  gives  all  parties  a  ticket, 
except  the  "  Breadwinners,"  who  have  only  invaded  our  locality 
to  give  our  distinguished  fellow  citizen,  Mr.  Worden,  a  place 
on  their  state  ticket.  His  star  seems  to  be  in  the  ascendant,  as 
he  is  running  for  three  different  state  offices  on  as  many  different 
tickets. 

The  Hook  and  Ladder  Co.  celebrate  their  53rd  anniversary 
in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  24th. — The  morning  opens  warm,  with  a 
wind  from  the  south,  the  sunshine  slightly  subdued  by  light 
clouds.  Thermometer  65°.  The  workingmen  hold  another 
meeting  at  the  Court  House  in  the  evening,  and  catch  a  tartar 
in  their  speaker,  a  Mr.  Daggett  of  Brooklyn,  who  expressed  his 
approval  of  the  efforts  made  to  suppress  the  riots  at  Pittsburgh 
last  summer,  whereupon  he  was  silenced  by  his  audience,  and 
more  congenial  local  talent  was  called  in  to  enlighten  the  assem- 
bled multitude. 

The  crickets  chirruped  merrily  in  the  evening,  but  nearly  all 
the  summer  birds  have  taken  their  leavTe,  the  last  to  go,  as  they 
were  first  to  come,  being  the  robins  and  bluebirds, 

Thursday,  Oct  25th.— A  drizzling  rain  from  the  north,  with 
thermometer  at  48°.  The  remains  of  the  late  Colonel  Keogh, 
who  was  slain  at  the  Custar  massacre,  were  buried  with  military 
honors  in  Fort  Hill  cemetery  today,  in  the  lot  of  Mr.  Throop 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   OCTOBER.  93 

Martin.     Memorial  services  for  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Edwin  Hall 
were  held  at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  evening. 

Friday,  Oct,  26th. — A  cold  northeast  rain  prevails  the 
whole  day.  Thermometer  40°.  Items  of  historical  interest 
are  rare  just  now.  I  conclude  that  the  public  is  too  much 
engaged  in  politics  to  do  anything  for  history.  And  still  the 
canvass  is  progressing  with  unusual  quiet.  No  public  meetings 
have  been  held  in  this  locality,  and  few  in  other  parts  of  the 
state. 

The  cordial  greetings  of  candidates  with  their  constituents  and 
the  brief,  earnest  consultations  on  the  street  at  the  casual  meet- 
ings of  political  leaders,  are  about  the  only  signs  of  political 
activity.  Political  tramps  on  the  street  corners,  persistently 
appeal  to  candidates  for  donations  of  the  diameter  of  from  five 
cents  to  a  dollar,  with  pleas  of  past  service  and  future  good 
intentions.  One  of  these  way-farers,  a  one-eyed  man  from  the 
south  part  of  the  county,  accosted  me  today,  with  the  assurance 
that  there  were  twenty  men  in  his  neighborhood  who  were  not 
going  to  vote  this  fall.  He  could  get  every  man  of  them  for 
ten  dollars,  and  earnestly  appealed  to  me  to  invest  in  the  enter- 
prise. I  assured  him  that  I  was  not  a  candidate  for  any  office, 
simply  a  local  historian.  I  reminded  him  of  the  civil  service 
law,  of  the  amendments  to  the  constitution,  suggesting  for  his 
reading  certain  treatises  on  moral  science,  and  left  him  inquiring 
where  he  could  find  a  candidate  for  senator. 

Saturday,  Oct.  27th. — Another  lowery  day,  with  wind 
stubbornly  in  the  northeast  Ex-Governor  Tilden,  who  returned 
from  his  European  tour  on  Thursday,  is  serenaded  in  New 
York  in  the  evening,  and  makes  a  speech. 

Sunday,  Oct.  28th. — Much  in  contrast  with  last  Sunday,  the 
day  opens  clear  and  warm,  with  wind  in  the  southeast.  Ther- 
mometer 59°. 


94      RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER. 

Monday,  Oct  29th. — The  morning  opens  clear,  with  wind  in 
the  south,  changing  to  the  northwest  shortly  after  noon,  and 
blowing  briskly.     Thermometer  60°,  with  scattering  clouds. 

The  notorious  Aurelius  Avenue  bridge,  which  has  been  closed 
some  time  for  repairs,  is  today  re-opened  to  the  public. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  30th. — A  charming  October  day,  bright,  but 
not  entirely  cloudless,  and  cool  from  the  northwest  wind. 
Thermometer  51°. 

Mr.  Eoseboom,  the  Prohibition  candidate  for  sheriff,  declines 
the  honor  of  longer  continuing  in  the  field,  and  withdraws  from 
the  canvass.  The  disposition  to  withdraw  prevails  among 
candidates  this  season,  almost  to  the  extent  of  an  epidemic. 
Fortunately  it  has  been  a  fruitful  season  for  candidates,  or  we 
might  not  have  had  enough  left  to  make  a  complete  ticket  by 
election  day. 

Wednesday,  Oct  31st — The  south  wind  of  the  morning 
veered  to  the  west  about  9  o'clock,  bringing  rain  which  continued 
during  the  forenoon,  and,  with  occasional  intervals  of  sunshine, 
until  evening.  Thermometer  44°.  The  average  temperature 
for  the  month  has  been  56-87°,  the  extremes  being  84°  on  the 
1st,  and  40°  on  the  26th.  Twenty-four  days  have  been  cloudy, 
on  eight  of  which  it  has  rained. 

News  came  today,  of  the  death  of  Prof.  James  Orton  of 
Vassar  College,  on  the  30th  ult,  on  Lake  Titicaca,  in  South 
America,  at  the  age  of  47.  He  was  on  his  homeward  journey 
from  his  explorations  in  Peru.  He  was  a  native  of  the  neigh- 
boring village  of  Seneca  Falls. 

Thursday,  Nov.  1st — A  cool,  cloudy  day,  with  slight 
westerly  wind,  ushers  in  November.     Thermometer  46°. 

A  hose  company  from  Elmira,  visits  the  city  to  engage  in  a 
championship  race  at  the  Fair  Grounds,  with  Niagara  Hose  Co. 
The  contest  was  deferred  on  account  of  the  unpropitious  state 
of  the  track. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER.      95 

The  Chief  of  Police  reports  seventy-four  arrests  for  October, 
thirty-seven  of  which  were  for  intoxication.  United  States 
Senator  Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  died  today  after  a  linger- 
ing illness,  in  the  55th  year  of  his  age. 

Friday,  Nov.  2nd. — The  morning  opens  with  a  fierce  south 
wind  and  rain.  The  wind  kept  up  most  of  the  day,  veering  to 
the  north  in  the  afternoon  when  the  rain  ceased.  Thermometer 
54. 

A  sinde  scull  race  between  Eldred  and  Atwater,  announced 
for  today  on  the  big  dam,  was  postponed  on  account  of  the 
unfavorable  weather.  The  aurora  lighted  the  northern  sky  late 
in  the  evening. 

Saturday,  Nov.  3rd. — A  brisk  westerly  wind,  cloudy  and 
cool.  Thermometer  42.  The  single  scull  race  for  the  cham- 
pionship of  the  big  dam,  between  Eldred  and  Atwater  today, 
resulted  in  the  success  of  the  latter.  At  night  the  ground  froze 
quite  solid. 

Sunday,  Nov.  4th. — The  wind  continues  west,  with  a  clear 
sky.  Thermometer  42°.  A  long  slim  earthquake  is  reported 
as  jarring  the  western  part  of  the  city  at  2  o'clock  A.  M.,  making 
its  way  east,  through  the  central  portion  of  the  state  into  New 
England.     It  was  also  felt  in  portions  of  Canada. 

Monday,  Nov.  5th. — A  brisk  north  wind,  -and  cloudy. 
Thermometer  50°.  Considerable  animation  is  noticeable  in 
political  circles  today. 

The  Common  Council  meets  in  the  evening,  but  transacts  no 
business  of  importance.  A  cold  rain  began  in  the  evening, 
which  changed  to  snow,  the  first  of  the  season. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  6tk — Election  day  opens  cold  and  cloudy, 
with  northwest  wind.  The  ground  is  white  with  a  light  snow 
which  fell  during  the  night.  Thermometer  32°,  having  gone 
up  7°  since  morning.  Election  passed  off  quietly,  a  light  vote 
being  polled.  Board  of  Education  held  its  regular  session  in 
the  evening. 


96     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  7th. — A  bright  clear  morning,  with  wind 
in  the  sonth.  Thermometer  46°.  The  streets  are  thronged  with 
people,  discussing  the  result  of  yesterday's  election.  Nearly 
every  one  is  smoking,  and  notably,  those  who  usually  limit  their 
extravagance  in  this  direction  to  the  use  of  a  pipe,  are  this 
morning  indulging  in  domestic  "  Havanas."  The  aspect  of  the 
returns  is  decidedly  Democratic  A  Democratic  sheriff  and 
county  judge  were  elected,  and  a  Democratic  member  of  assem- 
bly in  the  first  assembly  district  of  this  county.  Mr.  Pingree 
was  justice  of  the  supreme  court  for  a  few  minutes,  but  later 
returns  dispelled  the  illusion.  Mr.  Pomeroy  was  elected  state 
senator,  and  of  course  Mr.  Wille}r  was  defeated.  The  Demo- 
cratic state  ticket  was  elected  by  some  15,000  majority. 

Thursday,  Nov.  8th. — Rainy,  with  brisk  south  wind.  Ther- 
mometer 47°.  A  marine  disaster  on  Cayuga  Lake,  last  evening, 
is  reported,  in  which  one  coal  barge  was  sunk  and  two  others 
were  stranded.  Government  should  establish  a  life-saving  sta- 
tion on  this  lake. 

Friday,  Nov.  9tb. — Warm  with  south  wind,  which  soon 
changed  to  the  north,  bringing  rain.  Thermometer  47°,  having 
fallen  9°  since  morning. 

Thomas  Davis  was  found  dead  in  the  7th  ward  this  morning 
with  his  scull  fractured,  whether  the  result  of  accident  or  foul 
play  is  not  yet  determined. 

The  trial  of  Lester  Brotherton,  for  the  murder  of  Moon  in  the 
town  of  Ira  last  summer,  commenced  in  the  Oyer  and  Terminer 
today. 

An  elderly  lady  named  Merrill,  residing  on  MacMaster  street, 
drowned  herself  in  a  cistern  today,  during  a  fit  of  temporary 
insanity. 

Saturday,  Nov.  10th. — A  dull,  cloudy,  cold  morning  with 
north  wind.     Thermometer  26°. 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR    NOVEMBER.  \) I 

I  notice  in  the  evening  the  names  of  the  streets  displa}^ed  on 
the  street  lamps  at  the  corner  of  North  and  Genesee  streets. 
This  is  the  first  of  its  kind  in  our  city  and  is  worthy  of  general 
introduction. 

Prominent  political  leaders  appear  to  be  especially  fortunate 
just  now  in  falling  in  with  reporters,  and  airing  their  views  as  to 
the  causes  and  significance  of  the  result  of  the  late  election. 

Sunday,  Nov.  11th. — A  bright,  cool  day  with  wind  m  the 
southwest  Thermometer  38°.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Ha wley,  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  enters  upon  the  twenty-first  year 
of  his  pastorate  with  that  society  today. 

Monday.  Nov.  12th. — A  partially  clear  day  with  wind  in  the 
west  Thermometer  44°.  The  coroner's  jury  in  the  Davis  case 
continue  their  investigations,  but  without  solving  the  mystery  of 
his  death.  An  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  is 
held  this  evening. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  13th. — A  bright  cloudless  day  with  wind  in 
the  northeast  changing  to  southwest  during  the  forenoon.  Ther- 
mometer 43°.  A  little  amelioration  of  the  temperature  would 
warrant  the  expectation  of  Indian  summer. 

The  supervisors  meet  today  as  a  board  of  canvassers,  to  can- 
vass the  vote  at  the  late  election,  making  Mr.  Lamey  of  this  city 
chairman. 

Of  the  events  of  general  interest  since  my  last,  I  note  the 
following : 

On  the  5th  of  October,  Chief  Joseph  and  his  band  of  hostile 
Nez  Perces  Indians  surrendered  to  General  Miles,  thus  ending 
for  the  present  the  Indian  hostilites  in  the  territories. 

The  ministers  plenipotentiary  and  envoys  extraordinary  from 
the  United  States  government  to  his  Indian  majesty,  Sitting 
Bull,  were  granted  audience  with  that  dignitary,  who  listened 
to  them  in  silence  and  responded  in  the  same  manner.     He  is 


98  RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS. 

evidently  not  disposed  to  treat  for  peace  and  announces  his 
determination  to  renew  hostilities  as  soon  as  his  braves  have  had 
a  breathing  spell. 

The  President  and  cabinet  visited  the  state  fair  at  Richmond, 
Va.,  inspecting  the  stock,  making  little  speeches,  shaking  hands 
and  otherwise  conducting  themselves  in  a  conciliatory  manner 
towards  our  southern  brethren. 

The  annual  elections  have  been  held  in  several  of  the  states 
resulting  much  as  was  anticipated,  except  possibly  in  Ohio, 
where  at  the  October  election  an  unexpected  strength  was  devel- 
oped by  the  workingmen's  party,  giving  the  state  to  the  Demo- 
crats by  a  plurality.  While  in  New  York  the  Democrats  elect 
their  state  ticket,  the  Republicans  retain  their  ascendency  in 
both  branches  of  the  legislature.  In  New  Jersey  the  cosmopol- 
itan general,  McClellan,  is  elected  governor  by  a  handsome 
majority.  This  is  regarded  by  many  as  the  Fair  Oaks  of  a  Pen- 
insular campaign  for  the  Presidency  in  1880. 

Congress  still  continues  its  extra  session,  making  little  pro- 
gress with  the  army  appropriation  bill,  for  which  it  was  especially 
called,  but  agonizing  itself  over  the  Resumption  Act  and  the 
currency  question.  General  Grant  has  at  length  torn  himself 
away  from  his  British  friends  and  betaken  himself  across  the 
channel  to  Paris,  where  he  seems  to  have  been  received  with 
much  consideration.  He  is  not  reported  as  having  made  any 
speeches  as  yet,  possibly  because  he  distrusts  his  French  accent, 
and  does  not  wish  to  take  the  risk  of  being  misinterpreted  to 
French  dignitaries. 

The  Turco-Russian  War  has  taken  a  sudden  and  unexpected 
turn  since  my  last,  the  Russians  having  put  new  life  and  vigor 
into  their  campaign.  In  Bulgaria  they  have  completely  invested 
Plevna,  the  Turkish  stronghold,  which  they  repeatedly  unsuc- 
cessfully assaulted,  and  are  now  subjecting  it  to  regular  siege. 
In  Armenia  they  disastrously  routed  the  Turks  near  Kars,  on 


RECORD   OF    CURRENT    EVENTS.  99 

the  loth  of  October,  forcing  them  to  retreat  into  the  stronghold 
of  Kars  and  to  Erzeroum,  the  capital  of  Armenia.  At  a  subse- 
quent battle  near  the  latter  city,  the  Turks  were  again  routed 
and  the  Eussian  Army  is  now  at  the  gates  of  Erzeroum,  while 
Kars  is  closely  beseiged.  The  prospects  of  the  Russians  toda}r 
are  as  brilliant  as  were  those  of  the  Turks  at  the  close  of  my 
last  month's  report 

And  here,  ray  dear  doctor,  ends  my  report  for  the  month. 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 

Historiographer. 


RFXORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  14.  1877. 
My  dear  Doctor  Schliemann  : 

I  am  not  surprised  that  historians,  gleaning  their  facts  from 
the  musty  records  and  defaced  manuscripts  of  by-gone  genera- 
tions, even  with  the  greatest  care,  have  at  times  to  be  corrected 
by  more  leisurely  students,  following  after  them  with  more 
varied  sources  of  information.  For  I  find  that  culling  mj 
sprays  of  local  history  fresh  from  the  blooming  garden  of  cur- 
rent events,  I  am  obliged  now  and  then,  to  cast  out  from  ni}- 
collection  a  weed,  which  has  deceived  me  by  its  likeness  to 
something  of  value.  Of  course  I  am  largely  dependent  upon 
the  local  press  for  information,  and  I  think  our  press  aims  to  be 
accurate  and  reliable  in  its  statements.  However,  lured  by  the 
repeated  assurances  of  the  papers,  I  was  led  to  state  in  my  last 
month's  report,  that  our  townsman,  Mr.  F.  Gr.  Day,  had  been 
appointed  U.  S.  consul  at  Bremen,  a  commission  of  no  little 
magnitude  and  importance,  whereas,  I  am  since  informed  that 
his  position  is  that  of  commercial  agent  at  a  small  port  near 
Bremen,  which  has  not  yet  grown  to  an  importance  entitling  it 
to  a  place  on  the  map.  I  should  be  gratified  if  my  first  state- 
ment were  the  fact,  but  history  must  guard  its  veracity,  even  at 
the  cost  of  a  severe  shrinkage  in  local  honors.  I  make  the 
correction  here  lest  you  might  be  led  to  suspect  from  the 
erasure  in  my  last  report,  that  some  profane  hand  had  been 
tampering  with  the  record. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR   NOVEMBER.         101 

The  morning  opens  clear,  with  a  southerly  wind,  brisk  enough 
to  bring  clouds  early  in  the  forenoon.     Thermometer  56°. 

The  Historical  Society  last  evening,  listened  to  the  completion 
of  Judge  Hall's  biographical  sketch  of  the  late  Judge  Miller. 
The  U.  S.  Senate  today  confirms  the  appointment  of  N.  P. 
Clark,  Esq.,  as  postmaster  in  this  city,  whose  nomination  for 
the  position  was  made  shortly  after  President  Hayes1  accession. 
The  suspense  does  not  seem  to  have  borne  heavily  upon  Mr. 
Clark. 

The  jury  in  the  Broth erton  case  gave  a  verdict  of  murder  in 
the  first  degree,  and  the  court  took  up  the  trial  of  Cora  Young, 
for  shooting  Barrett 

The  county  canvassers  completed  their  work,  and  organized 
as  a  Board  of  Supervisors,  electing  Hicks  Anthony  of  Ledyard, 
chairman. 

The  total  vote  of  the  county  at  the  late  election,  D3r  the  official 
count,  was  12,580,  a  falling  off  of  about  2,600  from  last  year. 
The  vote  is  politically  distributed  as  follows  :  Republican  6,687, 
Democratic  5,097,  Workingmen  and  Grreenbackers  554,  Prohi- 
bition 242.  The  Greenback  vote  proper  appears  to  have  been 
about  70,  Senator  Willey  being  the  gauge. 

Rev.  Dr.  Henry  W.  Warren  of  Philadelphia,  initiated  the 
lecture  course  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  at  the 
Opera  House  in  the  evening,  having  for  his  subject,  "The 
Forces  in  a  Sunbeam." 

Thursday,  Nov.  15th. — A  dark,  rainy  morning,  with  south 
wind.  Thermometer  51°.  A  disastrous  fire  in  Chicago  last 
night,  destroyed  nearly  a  million  dollars  worth  of  property. 
Four  persons  were  killed  and  several  others  injured  by  fall- 
ing debris. 

The  expenses  of  the  city  for  the  poor  are  reported  for  the 
year,  at  $20,622.36,  being  an  increase  over  those  of  the  previous 
year,  of  nearly  $9,500. 


102     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER. 

An  explosion  of  fire  damp  in  a  coal  mine  at  Scran  ton,  Pa., 
caused  the  death,  of  two  miners.  Later  reports  of  the  similar 
disaster  at  High  Blantyre,  in  Scotland,  reduce  the  casualties  to 
215.  I  learn  also  that  the  most  serious  disaster  of  this  kind, 
was  that  of  the  year  1866,  at  the  Oaks  Colliery,  near  Barnaby, 
in  the  county  of  Yorkshire,  England,  when  340  miners  were 
lost. 

Friday,  Nov.  16th. — The  morning  opens  with  a  southwest 
wind  and  cloudy,  raining  slightly  during  the  forenoon,  but  clear- 
ing up  bright  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  wind  veered  to  the  west 
Thermometer  52°. 

Saturday,  Nov.  17th. — The  weather  for  a  few  days,  barring 
the  clouds,  has  been  quite  like  Indian  summer.  This  morning 
is  somewhat  overcast,  with  wind  in  the  south,  a  slight  rain  fall- 
ing about  noon.  Thermometer  48°.  The  afternoon  and  early 
evening  were  clear,  a  thunder  shower  going  southwest  of  us  in 
the  evening. 

The  jury  in  the  case  of  Cora  Young  rendered  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty,  and  the  court  took  up  the  case  of  the  convict  Barr,  for 
the  murder  of  keeper  Casler. 

A  base-ball  club  for  the  ensuing  year  is  organized  in  the  even- 
ing, with  a  capital  stock  of  $1,500  ;  $800  paid  up  and  the  balance 
in  market. 

Sunday,  Nov.  18th. — A  fierce  northeast  wind  set  in  about 
one  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  continued  during  the  day.  The 
sky  has  been  overcast,  without  rain  or  snow,  and  the  thermom- 
eter stands  at  33 . 

Monday,  Nov.  19th. — Cold  and  cloudy,  with  northwest  wind. 
Thermometer  29°.  News  is  received  of  the  capture  of  Kars  by 
the  Russians  in  a  night  attack,  the  assault  having  commenced 
Saturday  evening  at  8  o'clock,and  being  continued  until  8  o'clock 
Sunday  morning,  when  the  place  was  captured. 

The  regular  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  is  held  in  the 
evening. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER.     103 

Tuesday,  Nov.  20th. — A  bright,  clear  day  with  northeast 
wind  succeeds  a  cold  night     Thermometer  32°. 

The  U.  S.  Court  commences  its  session  in  the  supervisor's 
room  at  the  court  house,  but  subsequently  adjourns  to  the  city 
hall,  the  court  room  being  occupied  by  the  Oyer  and  Terminer 
in  the  trial  of  Barr.  The  Cayuga  Asylum  for  Destitute  Children 
celebrates  the  25th  anniversary  of  its  organization,  by  a  reception 
at  the  asylum  in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  21st — Another  cloudless  day  with  wind 
in  the  south.  Thermometer  42°.  The  wind  freshens  toward 
night,  a  haze  gathers,  soon  growing  to  clouds,  betokening  a  com- 
ing storm.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Newman  of  Washington  lectures  at 
the  Opera  House  in  the  evening,  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  course. 
Subject  "  Babylon  and  the  Far  East" 

Thursday,  Nov.  22nd. — A  rainy  day  with  south  wind. 
Thermometer  39°. 

The  jury  in  the  case  of  Barr  rendered  a  verdict  of  murder  in 
the  second  degree,  and  the  court  sentenced  him  to  the  State  Prison 
at  Auburn  for  life. 

Brotherton  was  sentenced  to  be  executed  on  the  17  th  day  of 
January  next     The  court  then  adjourned. 

Friday,  Nov.  23rd. — A  balmy,  spring-like  morning  with 
south  wind.     Thermometer  50°. 

Saturday,  Nov.  24th. — Still  warm  with  southeast  wind,  and 
rain  at  intervals  during  the  day.     Thermometer  53°. 

The  U.  S.  gunboat  Huron  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina,  early  this  morning.  About  one  hundred  lives  were 
lost  by  the  disaster. 

Moses  H  Grinnell,  a  prominent  merchant  of  New  York,  died, 
aged  75  years. 


104     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER. 

Sunday,  Nov.  25th. — The  wind  still  holds  steadily  in  the 
southeast,  and  the  rain  falls  copiously  during  the  forenoon. 
Thermometer  49°. 

Monday,  Nov.  26th. — Cloudy,  with  wind  still  in  the  south- 
east.    Thermometer  54°. 

Reports  are  received  of  extensive  damages  in  the  region  of 
the  James  and  Potomac  rivers,  from  heavy  rains.  Edson  Bishop, 
for  many  years  a  resident  of  Montezuma,  but  latterly  of  this 
city,  died  today  at  the  age  of  71. 

I  notice  in  the  daily  papers  the  announcement  of  the  death,  at 
the  county  poor  house,  of  Peter  Beardsley.  The  date  of  his 
decease,  nor  his  age  is  given.  I  am  not  surprised  at  this,  for 
he  was  of  that  thin,  insubstantial  make-up,  that  his  demise  might 
have  occurred  several  days  before  it  was  noticed  by  his  attendant, 
and  as  to  his  age, — he  might  have  been  fifty,  he  might  have  been 
one  hundred  and  fifty.  He  is  identified  as  the  whilom  porter 
at  the  old  Auburn  House.  In  the  palmy  days  of  old  fashioned 
trunks  covered  with  hair-preserved  cowhide,  decorated  with  rows 
of  large,  round-headed  brass  nails,  with  the  owner's  initials  stiffly* 
embroidered  on  the  top  with  the  same  shining  emblems,  he  may 
be  said  to  have  been  in  his  prime.  But  with  the  advent  of  the 
capacious  companion  of  the  modern  traveller,  he  weakened  as 
it  were,  on  his  profession  and  sought  other  avenues  of  wealth 
and  preferment.  As  is  not  unusual  with  those  who  change 
their  calling  late  in  life,  he  was  not  eminently  successful  in  new 
pursuits,  and  was  occasionally  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  appeal- 
ing to  his  friends  for  small  temporary  loans.  It  is  due  to  him  to 
say,  that  he  always  invested  such  loans  in  waj^s  that  would  minis- 
ter most  to  his  immediate  enjoyment,  and  to  forgetfulness  of  the 
cares  which  bore  heavily  upon  him.  He  was  known  indiscrimi- 
nately as  Pete  Foster  and  Pete  Beardsley,  and  as  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  storied  urn  or  monumental  pile  will  transmit  his  name 
to  posterity,  I  embalm  his  memory  on  this  page. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  NOVEMBER.     105 

Tuesday,  Nov.  27th. — The  wind  has  veered  slightly  to  the 
west,  and  the  morning  is  partially  cloudy.  Thermometer  50°. 
The  absorbing  topic  of  conversation  today,  is  the  indictment  by 
the  grand  jury  of  the  U.  S.  court,  of  a  prominent  citizen,  for 
smuggling  across  the  Canadian  frontier.  The  circumstance 
develops  two  curious  features ;  one,  that  almost  every  man 
one  meets,  relates  an  instance  of  successful  smuggling  which 
has  come  to  his  notice ;  the  other,  that  the  successful  smug- 
gler is  viewed  with  far  greater  leniency,  than  the  one  who  has 
been  detected  at  it. 

The  tiremen  turn  out  in  the  afternoon,  to  bury  a  deceased 
comrade,  Andrew  E.  Corbett  by  name,  and  by  a  singular  co-in- 
cidence, two  fires  occur  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city  in  the 
evening,  the  victim  in  each  instance  being  a  barn. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  28th. — The  eighth  day  of  continuous 
south  wind.  Clear  in  the  morning,  but  clouding  as  the  day 
advances.  Thermometer  42°.  The  streets  abound  in  Thanks- 
giving poultry,  which  is  selling  at  very  reasonable  rates,  the 
best  turkeys  at  from  12  to  14  cents  per  lb. 

Thursday,  Nov.  29th.  — Thanksgiving  day  opens  with  slight 
spittings  of  snow,  the  wind  being  in  the  west,  veering  to  the 
north.  Thermometer  36°.  The  day  is  observed,  in  most  of  the 
churches,  with  services  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

Camilla  Urso's  troupe  gave  a  concert  at  the  Opera  House  in 
the  evening,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Grand  Army  Post  A 
large  audience  attended. 

Friday,  Nov.  30th. — A  bleak  west  wind,  with  feeble  attempts 
at  snowing,  wafts  November  into  the  past  The  day  is  cloudy 
and  the  ground  is  frozen  quite  firmly.  Thermometer  30°.  The 
average  temperature  for  the  month  has  been  43.4°,  the  highest 
being  56°  on  the  14th,  and  the  lowest,  26°  on  the  10th.  Twenty- 
four  days  have  been  cloudy,  upon  nine  of  which  it  has  rained. 


106  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   DECEMBER 

Six  only  have  been  clear,  or  partially  so.  The  wind  has  been 
in  the  south  and  southwest  seventeen  days,  in  the  north  five, 
and  in  the  west  five. 

Saturday,  Dec.  1st. — The  first  snow-storm  of  the  season, 
folds  the  earth  this  morning  in  its  strange  white  silence.  The 
wind  is  due  west,  and  the  Thermometer  stands  at  30°. 

The  police  report  for  November  shows  ninety  arrests,  56  of 
which  were  for  intoxication.  Hon.  John  V.  L.  Pruyn,  state 
chancellor,  died  at  Clifton  Springs,  aged  75  years. 

Sunday,  Dec.  2nd. — A  sharp  keen  air,  with  west  wind. 
The  sun  illuminated  the  elaborately  frosted  trees  for -a  few 
minutes  in  the  morning,  when  clouds  intervened  for  the  remain- 
der of  the  forenoon.  The  mercury  is  reported  at  22°  below  zero 
at  Utica,  but  its  lowest  point  here  was  10°  above.  At  1  p.  M. 
it  stood  at  32°,  with  light  clouds,  clearing  in  the  P.  M. 

Monday,  Dec.  3rd. — Clear  and  bright,  with  wind  from  the 
south.  The  county  court  commences  its  session  today.  Ther- 
mometer 40°. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  re-convened  after  their  Thanksgiv- 
ing vacation.  Congress  quietly  glided  over  from  its  special  to  the 
regular  session,  and  listened  to  the  President's  annual  message. 
In  the  evening  the  Common  Council  meets  in  regular  session, 
and  seems  fired  with  zeal  in  ordering  crosswalks,  occasionally 
one  in  the  neighborhood  of  some  alderman's  residence. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  4th. — A  warm  south  wind,  cloudy  and  dark, 
with  slight  rain  in  the  late  afternoon.  Thermometer  40°.  The 
Board  of  Education  holds  its  regular  monthly  session  in  the 
evening. 

Mrs.  G.  Osborn  Letchworth  reads  in  the  course  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  at  the  Opera  House,  and  Prof.  Warren,  organist  at  St. 
Peters',  takes  a  benefit  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  in  a  concert 
wherein  local  artists  abound. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   DECEMBER.  107 

Wednesday,  Dec  5th. — A  dull,  warm,  headachy  day,  with 
brisk  south  wind  and  light  rain.  Thermometer  52°.  A  smart 
rain  from  the  west  in  the  evening. 

Thursday,  Dec.  6th. — A  day  of  mingled  cloud  and  sunshine, 
with  wind  in  the  west,  slightly  inclining  to  the  north.  Ther- 
mometer 37°.     A  slight  snow  in  the  afternoon. 

The  Common  Council  meets  in  extra  session  in  the  evening, 
and  adopts  measures  to  purchase  stone  to  be  prepared  for  mac- 
adamizing the  streets,  by  the  indigent  portion  of  the  community, 
who  rely  upon  public  bounty  for  sustenance. 

Friday,  Dec.  7th. — A  sullen  cloudy  morning,  with  westerly 
wind,  favoring  the  south  slightly,  the  sky  clearing  in  the  after- 
noon. Thermometer  30°.  The  canal  closes  today  by  official 
appointment,  but  the  weather  hardly  seems  to  demand  it. 

Harvey  Thorpe,  the  convict  murderer,  was  executed  at  the 
county  jail  today  at  about  10f  a.  m.  He  passed  through  the 
terrible  ordeal  with  remarkable  calmness  and  fortitude.  Quite 
a  large  concourse  of  people,  mainly  fellow  countrymen  of  the 
condemned,  came  into  the  city  to  be  present  at  the  execution, 
and  three  or  four  hundred  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  the  jail 
as  the  hour  of  execution  approached.  What  motive  induced 
them,  no  one  can  say ;  perhaps  a  morbid  curiosity  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  execution,  or  a  sympathetic  desire  to  sustain  the 
doomed  man  by  their  presence,  at  his  last  moment,  or  more 
probably  with  the  hope  of  seeing  the  lifeless  body  after  the  out- 
raged law  had  exacted  its  penalty.  In  the  last  particular  they 
were  permitted  to  gratify  their  curiosity. 

Saturday,  Dec.  8th.—  A  southwest  wind,  with  clouds  through 
which  the  sun  occasionally  struggles,  characterizes  the  day. 
Thermometer  35°. 

The  Cavuga  County  Agricultural  Society  held  its  annual 
meeting  at  the  Court  House  and  organized  for  the  year. 


108  RECORD   OF    CURRENT    EVENTS   FOR    DECEMBER. 

Notably  absent  from  the  street  today  is  the  Saturday  after- 
noon cry  of  the  newsboy,  u  Sa-racuse  Sunday  Neivs.r  It  is 
rumored  that  the  publication  of  the  paper  has  been  discontinued. 
A  special  session  of  the  Board  of  Education  is  held  in  the 
evening. 

Sunday,  Dec.  9th, — Cooler,  with  northwest  wind  and  cloudy. 
Thermometer  27°.  A  lazy,  inefficient  snow-storm  prevails  in 
the  afternoon. 

Monday,  Dec.  10th. — The  wind  retains  its  partiality  for  the 
warm  quarter  and  this  morning  is  due  south.  The  sky  is  over- 
cast. Thermometer  31°.  An  ambitious  snow-storm  sets  in 
about  noon,  as  if  it  would  show  its  independence  of  the  north 
wind  in  bringing  sleighing.  It  soon  tires  out  however.  Buffalo 
Bill,  with  his  real  live  bears  and  home-made  Indians,  draws  the 
largest  house  of  the  season,  at  an  entertainment  in  the  evening. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  11th. — A  dark  day  with  westerly  wind  and 
thermometer  at  42".  A  report  is  received  of  the  capture  of  Plevna 
by  the  Russians.  The  news  comes  so  near  the  edge  of  my 
month's  record  that  I  scarcely  dare  note  it  lest  it  be  contradicted 
tomorrow.  The  safety  of  the  steamship  City  of  Berlin,  of  the 
Inman  line,  for  which  fears  have  been  entertained  for  some  days, 
is  assured  by  the  news  of  her  arrival  at  Queenstown,  having 
broken  her  shaft  two  days  out,  on  her  outward  trip. 

The  "  Way-Side  Inn,"  under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Ladies' 
Benevolent  Association,  opens  its  hospitable  doors  at  the  Acad- 
emy of  Music,  in  the  afternoon  and  evening,  where  the  fortune- 
favored  and  benevolently  disposed  can  invest  a  surplus  dollar 
in  a  commendable  charity. 

Of  the  month's  events  of  more  general  importance,  I  have  few 
to  note.  Congress  continued  its  special  session  through  to  the 
regular  session,  the  chief  interest  in  its  work  being  centered  in 
the  position  taken  by  Senators  Patterson  of  South  Carolina  and 
Conover  of  Florida,  on  the  question  of  admitting  two  Democratic 


KECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  TOR  DECEMBER.     109 

Senators,  one  from  South  Carolina  and  one  from  Louisiana,  which 
resulted  in  their  admission,  thus  putting  the  senate  in  a  pretty 
evenly  balanced  position  politically.  Rumors  of  another  Indian 
outbreak  prevail,  which  may  lead  to  another  campaign. 

The  successes  of  the  Russians  in  securing  Kars  and  Plevna, 
iudicate  that  this  source  of  items  will  soon  be  shut  off.  The 
Servians  seem  about  to  unite  their  fortunes  with  Russia,  but  there 
seems  to  be  little  need  of  it. 

I  fear  that  some  items  of  interest  may  have  escaped  my 
notice  during  the  month,  but  I  hope  no  unreliable  statements 
have  crept  in.  Hoping  that  the  coming  month  may  be  more 
fruitful  of  agreeable  events  than  the  past  has  been,  I  remain, 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
His  to  riographer. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Wednesday.  Dec.  12,  1877. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Schliemann  : 

T  have  become  convinced  that  the  historian  should  be  a  man 
of  intense  leisure,  that  he  may  abound  in  instructive  comparisons 
and  philosophical  deductions,  which  must  otherwise  be  left  for 
the  reader  to  study  out  for  himself.  This  would  add  an  interest 
and  value  to  history  which  is  now  largely  lost.  Bare  facts  ar^ 
uninteresting  except  for  comparison,  and  as  uninviting  as  the 
multiplication  table,  except  as  foreshadowing  repetitions.  The 
abstract  number  ten  has  no  charms ;  connect  the  word  dollars 
with  it,  and  it  at  once  arrests  the  attention  of  the  most  stolid. 
And  this  is  what  dissatisfies  me  with  nry  record.  I  have  barely 
time  to  note  facts,  none  to  devote  to  the  philosophy  of  the  facts. 
I  should  be  glad  to  show  why  the  mercury  stands  at  44°  today, 
when  it  was  at  42"  yesterday  :  to  predict  which  way  the  wind 
will  be  tomorrow  from  the  fact  that  it  is  southwest  today  :  to' 
analyze  the  proceedings  of  the  Common  Council  and  calculate 
the  chances  of  an  extra  session :  to  discuss  the  moral  effect 
of  an  extended  session  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  other 
matters  of  equal  importance,  but  too  many  cares  press  upon  me. 

I  am  reminded  that  in  my  last  month's  report  I  neglected  to 
mention  the  immolation  of  the  brigade  staff  of  this  district,  and 
the  consolidation  of  the  49th  Regiment  with  another  brigade, 
with  headquarters  at  Syracuse.  This  action  places  a  large 
number  of  valiant  officers  of  our  local  army  upon  the  retired  list 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR   DECEMBER.  Ill 

without  pay.  It  is  to  be  regretted  as  tending  to  dampen  military 
ardor  in  our  community.  Of  course  privates  are  somewhat  essen- 
tial to  any  well  appointed  military  organization,  but  the  crown- 
ing glory  of  the  cake  is  its  frosting.  To  ride  a  horse  which 
does  not  sheer  at  the  sight  of  the  bass  drum,  or  "  rare  up"  at  the 
noise  of  a  firecracker  on  parade  day,  is  one  of  the  empyrean 
raptures  due  to  the  victories  of  peace.  Again,  on  the  field  of 
battle  one  can  reach  the  enemy  so  much  more  expeditiously  on 
horseback,  and  retreat  so  much  more  speedily  in  case  of  disaster, 
that  every  conscientious  private  is  justified  in  his  ambition  to 
win  a  place  on  the  staff.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  49th  will  not 
falter  in  its  drill,  or  rifle  practice,  and  that  a  staff,  or  at  least 
part  of  one,  will  soon  be  given  it  to  lean  upon.  Meantime, 
rioters  and  invaders  will  make  a  note  of  the  Storke  cadets,  who 
will  doubtless  maintain  their  organization  until  they  outgrow 
their  uniforms. 

Today  takes  one  back  to  the  spring-time,  by  its  genial  warmth 
and  bright  sunshine.  The  wind  is  barely  sufficient  to  point 
the  vane  to  the  southwest,  where  it  holds  steadily  during  the 
day.     Thermometer  44°. 

Mr.  Perrigo  tells  me  that  the  cocks  have  been  crowing  for  the 
past  two  nights,  indicating  a  change  of  weather. 

The  news  of  the  capture  of  Plevna  by  the  Russians,  with  its 
whole  garrison,  is  confirmed.  A  sortie  was  made,  but  the  Rus- 
sian lines  were  too  strong  to  be  broken. 

The  Historical  Society,  last  evening,  was  entertained  by  a 
most  complete  and  interesting  history  of  the  press  of  Cayuga 
County,  prepared  and  read  by  E.  G.  Storke,  Esq. 

Senator  Conkling  today,  succeeds  in  defeating  the  confirma- 
tion by  the  IT.  S.  Senate,  of  the  President's  appointees  for  col- 
lector and  naval  officer,  of  the  port  of  New  York. 

Miss  Nella  F.  Brown  gives  recitations  in  the  evening,  at  the 
Opera  House,  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  lecture  course. 


L12  RECORD    OF    T-RRENT    EVENTS    FOR    DECEMBER. 

Thursday,  Dec.  13th. — A  good  day  to  go  fishing, — dark, 
lowery  and  warm,  with  wind  in  the  west, — not  exactly  the  wind 
that  old  Isaac  Walton  would  have  preferred,  but  good  enough 
for  the  time  of  year.  The  wind  blows  briskly  during  the  day. 
changing  to  north  in  the  late  afternoon,  bringing  rain,  which 
soon  changes  to  snow.  Thermometer  43",  being  7°  lower  than 
at  7  A.  M. 

George  W.  Rawson.  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  died 
suddenly  at  Clyde,  aged  53  years. 

Editors  are  so  scarce,  that  any  personal  item?  concerning  them 
always  possess  a  rare  interest.  I  feel  therefore,  that  I  am 
especially  fortunate  in  being  able  to  include  in  my  record,  the 
marriage  today,  of  Henry  D.  Peck,  Esq.,  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  Auburn  Daily  Advertiser,  to  Mis?  Lydia,  daughter  of  M.  M. 
Olmsted,  Esq.,  of  this  city. 

Friday,  Dec.  14th. — A  day  in  marked  contrast  with  yester- 
day, cool,  clear  and  bright,  with  west  wind  and  thermometer 
at  32°.  William  F.  Dean,  long  a  respected  resident  of  the  city. 
died  today,  aged  70  years.  A  beautiful  halo  around  the  moon 
in  the  evening,  portends  a  storm  at  hand. 

Saturday,  Dec.  15th. — Warmer,  with  south  wind,  the  sun 
obscured  by  light  clouds.  Thermometer  49°.  A  light  rain 
in  the  evening.  Servia,  having  declared  war  against  the  Turk, 
today  crosses  the  frontier  and  unites  her  fortunes  with  Eussia. 
There  seems  to  be  little  risk  in  the  step,  and  still  in  the  event 
of  complications,  resulting  in  a  general  European  war,  it  may  be 
hazardous. 

By  the  way,  the  advent  of  Servia  upon  the  stage  of  action, 
brings  us  a  fresh  invoice  of  those  unpronounceable  names  with 
which  Russia  and  Turkey  have  been  regaling  us  during  the 
past  season.  I  wonder  how  children  learn  to  spell  in  those 
countries,  and  whether  they  pronounce  the  syllables  as  they 
spell. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  DECEMBER     113 

I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  any  poetry  written  about 
the  war.  I  suppose  it  is  on  account  of  these  outlandish  names. 
American  poets,  however  enthusiastic  and  sympathetic,  of 
course  could  do  nothing.  Imagine  the  mystic  Lowell,  the 
stately  Bryant,  the  genial  Longfellow,  or  the  tender  Whittier, 
attempting  to  harness  such  names  as  Todleben  and  Skobelefl. 
to  say  nothing  of  the  names  of  their  staff  officers,  to  rhythmic 
measures.  Walt  Whitman  might  possibly  do  it,  with  his  vigin- 
ta  meters.  Nor  have  I  ever  heard  of  a  Russian  or  a  Turkish 
national  air.  I  imagine  it  would  needs  be,  rather,  a  national 
monsoon.  What  instrument  could  be  devised  that  could  safely 
render  a  Russian  "  Hail  Columbia,"  or  a  Turkish  "  Yankee 
Doodle !" 

The  northwestern  sky  is  illuminated  in  the  evening,  by  the 
burning  of  the  Montezuma  marshes. 

Sunday,  Dec  16th. — A  slightly  cloudy  morning,  with  west- 
erly wind,  clearing  in  the  afternoon,  with  the  wind  in  the  north. 
Thermometer  44„. 

Monday,  Dec.  17th. — Blue-Monday  would  be  a  misnomer 
for  today,  at  least  so  far  as  the  weather  is  concerned,  for  a 
fairer  and  balmier  sunshine  never  smiled  upon  Bridget's  well- 
loaded  clothes-line,  than  today's.  It  seems  as  if  the  day  might 
have  been  removed  bodily  from  the  late  of  April,  and  set  down 
here  in  the  middle  of  December. 

Was  it  an  oriole  that  I  saw  this  morning  in  the  leafless  trees, 
peeking  up  under  the  dead  bird's-nests  and  pecking  at  the  ungath- 
ered  apples?  There  was  the  same  lithe  motion,  the  striped 
wings,  the  golden  yellow  breast  tempered  somewhat  by  the  gray 
hue  of  winter,  but  the  overflowing  song  was  not  heard,  and  the 
cherry-blossom  was  not  there  to  welcome  him.  Still  I  more 
than  half  incline  to  think  it  was  one  of  my  old  springtime  friends, 
wandered  up  here  to  see  how  December  deals  with  us.  I  felt 
like  shooing  him  off,  lest  he  get  caught  in  a  bleak  north  snow- 


114  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   DECEMBER. 

storm.  Thermometer  56°.  The  wind,  which  was  south  in  the 
morning,  was  west  at  noon  and  north  in  the  evening, — one  of  its 
August  tricks. 

The  poet  Whittier  witnesses  his  70th  birthday  today,  on  which 
occasion  the  male  contributors  of  the  Atlantic  entice  him,  much 
reluctant,  to  a  complimentary  dinner  ;  whereat  the  female  con- 
tributors scold,  some  of  them,  because  they  were  not  asked  to 
take  part.     Wait  till  one  of  them  gets  to  be  70  years  of  age  ! 

Dr.  0.  S.  Taylor,  of  this  city,  reached  his  94th  birthday  today. 
John  B.  Gongh  lectures  at  the  Opera  House  in  the  evening,  in 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  course.     He  is  a  matchless  story-teller. 

The  Common  Council  holds  a  regular  session  in  the  evening. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  18th. — The  morning  opens  clear  and  cold  with 
wind  in  the  northeast,  veering  to  the  east  at  noon,  and  to  the 
south  in  the  evening.  Thermometer  34°.  The  air  has  been 
crisp  and  bracing,  and  the  sky  cloudless. 

The  Common  Council  holds  an  adjourned  session  in  the  even- 
ing and  discusses  contracts  with  the  Water  Works  and  Gas  Com- 
panies without  conclusion. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  19th. — A  strong  southeast  wind  prevails, 
with  occasional  rain  during  the  day,  doubtless  the  consequence 
of  a  ring  around  the  moon  last  night     Thermometer  41". 

There  seems  to  be  a  strong  neuralgic  current  in  the  air  today. 
The  nerves  of  irritable  teeth  stretch  themselves  and  gape  and 
roll  over  and  curl  up  their  backs  and  run  their  claws  down 
deep  into  ones  most  sensitive  being,  until  the  sufferer  yearns  for 
a  dentist's  front  steps  to  sit  upon. 

A  very  complimentary  concert  was  given  Miss  Jennie  Brown, 
at  the  Academy  of  Music  in  the  evening. 

Thursday,  Dec.  20th. — A  dull  dark  morning,  with  drizzling 
rain  from  the  north.     Thermometer  40°. 

An  explosion  in  a  confectionery  establishment  in  Barclay  St., 
New   York,   killed   some  ten  persons  and   severely  wounded 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  DECEMBER  115 

several  others,and  occasioned  a  loss  of  some  $450,000  in  property. 

The  cause  of  the  explosion  is  a  mystery. 

Twenty-three  tramps  were  lodged  in  the  station  house  last 

eveniug.     A  unique  specimen  of  this  genus,  came  in  my  way 

today.     His  unkempt  hair  and  rough  beard,  which 

"youth,  gone  out, 
Had  left  in  ashes," 

his  threadbare  and  ragged  garments  cinctured  with  a  leathern 
girdle,  and  strapped  around  the  calves  of  his  legs  with  leathern 
thongs,  his  endlessly  roomy  shoes,  in  fact  his  whole  make-up 
attested  his  descent  in  a  direct  line,  from  some  patriarchal  scare- 
crow. Across  his  shoulder  rested  a  bundle  of  old  umbrella 
frames  and  handles,  and  beside  him  on  the  ground  stood  a  box 
which  might  have  been  his  tool-chest  His  face  was  wan  and 
pale,  his  breathing  short,  while  a  consumptive  cough  told  plainly 
that  the  long  journey  was  near  its  end.  He  leaned  against  a 
lamp  post,  looking  wistfully  across  to  the  City  Hall,  as  if  that 
might  be  the  mecca  of  his  pilgrimage.  Through  what  tortuous 
and  rugged  channels  his  river  of  life  may  have  wound,  in  its 
turbid  course  hitherward,  no  one  but  himself  may  know.  As 
I  looked  at  him,  I  wondered  if  some  unrevealed  joy  did  not 
await  him,  when  his  heart  should  be  gladdened,  as  some  "  ninety 
and  nine  "  welcomed  him  back  to  the  fold. 

Friday,  Dec.  21st. — A  dark  morning,  with  southeast  wind, 
brightening  somewhat  in  the  afternoon.     Thermometer  44°. 

The  graduates  of  the  High  School,  hold  their  first  alumni 
reunion  at  the  High  School  building  in  the  evening,  followed 
by  a  supper  at  the  Osborne  House.  It  was  altogether,  a  credit- 
able and  an  enjoyable  occasion. 

Saturday,  Dec.  22nd. — The  day  is  dark  and  warm,  with 
wind  in  the  southwest.  Thermometer  46°.  An  anxious,  unset- 
tled look  pervades  the  countenance  of  the  early  Christmas 
buyer  today. 


116    RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  DECEMBER. 

Sunday,  Dec.  23rd. — A  dull,  dark  day,  with  wind  due  east, 
conciliating  the  south  slightly  towards  evening.  Thermom- 
eter 42°. 

Monday,  Dec.  24th. — A  misty  morning,  and  a  dull  cheerless 
day  overhead.  Thermometer  38°.  The  Board  of  Supervisors 
adjourned  today,  having  been  in  session  twenty-nine  days. 

The  streets  are  thronged  with  people  during  the  day  and 
evening,  and  Santa  Claus  spends  liberally  of  his  savings,- — in 
some  instances,  I  fear,  even  draws  upon  his  next  year's  pay. 
Everybody  has  a  bundle,  round,  square,  or  oblong,  all  shapes 
and  sizes.  Children  huddle  about  toy-shop  windows,  admiring 
the  beautiful  dolls,  or  laughing  at.  the  grotesque  images,  and 
wondering,  doubtless,  which  it  will  fall  to  their  lot  to  possess 
tomorrow.  I  hear  people  talk  of  the  extravagance  of  Christmas 
gifts  now-a-days,  as  compared  with  their  day,  when  a  striped 
stick  of  peppermint  candy,  or  a  tin  whistle,  or  a  barlow  knife,  was 
a  mine  of  pleasure  to  the  child.  I  think  it  smacks  a  little  how- 
ever, of  the  stories  the  elders  like  to  tell  of  what  they  had  to  do 
when  they  were  boys.  It  is  worth  living  in  this  last  quarter  of  the 
19th  century,  if  for  nothing  more  than  to  see  how  Santa  Claus 
has  picked  up  in  the  world. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  25th. — Christmas  morn !  There  is  something 
in  the  air  that  betokens  the  day.  True,  the  frost  of  winter  is 
lacking,  and  the  white  mantle  which  usually  folds  the  earth  in  a 
Christmas  glory,  was  not  woven  by  the  busy  snow-flake  for  this 
Christmas.  Still  it  is  unmistakably  Christmas.  The  quiet  street, 
the  genial  sky,  the  pleased,  contented  faces  of  those  you  meet, 
all  tell  it  On  what  other  day  does  universal  humanity  glow 
with  cordial  good-will  as  on  Christmas  day  ?  God  be  praised  for 
Christmas !  From  the  staring  doll  in  baby's  stocking,  to  the 
memorial  wreath  which  keeps  grandma's  memory  green,  it  is  alto- 
gether lovely.  The  morning  opens  with  wind  in  the  southeast, 
the  sky  slightly  shaded  by  clouds.     Thermometer  38°  at  1  p.  M. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   DECEMBER.  117 

with  wind  in  the  northeast,  and  quite  clear.  A  dense  fog  pre- 
vails in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  26th.— A  dull,  dark  day,  the  wind  slowly 
swinging  from  the  northeast  to  north.     Thermometer  42°. 

The  papers  speak  of  dandelions  in  bloom  in  the  fielda  I  find 
unprotected  pansies  in  bloom  in  my  garden  today. 

This  weather  must  be  a  great  disappointment  to  the  wood- 
Chuck,  which  is  said  to  have  provided  himself  with  an  unusual 
coat  of  fur,  in  view  of  an  approaching  severe  winter.  Later  in 
the  season,  perhaps  the  investment  will  show  his  wisdom. 

Thursday,  Dec.  27th. — The  uorth  winds  and  clouds  have 
little  depressing  effect  as  yet  upon  the  mercury,  which  stands 
at  40°. 

The  county  tax  is  advertised  for  collection  today.  The  total 
tax  upon  the  city  is  $103,102.89,  being  $11.42  tax  per  $1000. 

A  cable  dispatch  announces  that  Trickett,  the  Australian 
oarsman,  proposes  to  row  against  Courtney,  for  $10,000  and 
the  championship  of  the  world,  on  any  neutral  waters  of  the 
U.  S.  It  is  believed  that  the  waters  of  the  Owasco  are  about 
as  neutral  as  can  be  found,  and  will  probably  be  the  scene  of 
the  contest  during  the  coming  season.  I  notice,  by  the  way, 
that  the  water  in  the  lake  is  reported  to  have  risen  35  inches 
during  the  past  six  weeks. 

Friday,  Dec.  28th. — A  bright  day,  but  not  cloudless.  The 
wind  seems  to  be  bewildered,  some  of  the  vanes  indicating 
northeast,  others  north,  and  others  south,  or  southwest  The 
orthodox  sentiment  seems  to  be  southwest,  at  which  I  record  it 
Thermometer  45°.  A  case  of  juvenile  delinquency  is  reported 
today,  wherein  two  little  girls,  aged  respectively  9  and  12 
years,  have  been  engaged  extensively  in  a  systematic  series  of 
thefts  from  our  merchants,  a  new  feature  in  our  community. 

The  benefit  concert  at  the  Court  House  last  evening,  under 
the  management  of  Isaac  Mink,  Esq.,  proved  a  failure,  from  the 


118  RECORD   OF    CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   DECEMBER. 

fact,  that  the  Louisiana  concert  troupe  which  was  the  star  of 
the  evening,  stepped  out  from  under  Isaac  at  a  critical  moment, 
and  too  late  for  him  to  make  other  arrangements.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  our  respected  fellow  citizen,  suffered  no  considerable 
pecuniary  loss,  and  that  his  laudable  efforts  to  secure  first  class 
talent  for  our  people,  will  meet  with  better  success  in  future. 

Saturday,  Dec.  29th. — A  dense  fog  prevails  the  whole  day. 
The  wind  is  northwest  and  the  thermometer  30e. 

The  absconding  commissioner  of  excise,  Murphy  of  New 
York,  whose  account  is  some  $50,000  short,  proves  to  have  fled 
just  beyond  the  Canadian  frontier,  where  he  would  doubtless 
receive  a  commission  with  as  much  complacency  as  did  Sitting 
Bull. 

A  local  paper  records  the  fact  of  seeing  a  twig  of  cherry 
blossoms  today,  from  a  tree  in  the  east  part  of  the  city. 

The  newspapers  are  generally  digging  up  facts  about  past  sea- 
sons to  compare  with  the  present.  Even  Simon  Cameron  tes- 
tifies to  the  fact  that  25  years  ago  Christmas,  he  ate,  at  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.,  peaches  picked  from  the  tree  that  morning.  The  old- 
est inhabitant  is  garrulous  upon  the  subject  of  the  weather.  If 
he  has  kept  no  record,  he  scratches  his  head  and  tries  to  recall 
the  year  that  we  had  a  winter  just  like  this.  He  remembers 
that  he  was  married  in  '21,  that  is  a  matter  of  record  in  the  fam- 
ily bible ;  but  he  can  not  quite  remember  whether  it  was  the  win- 
ter of  '18  or  '19  that  the  lake  did  not  freeze  over. 

Sunday,  Dec.  30th. — There  is  a  weird  look  in  the  frosted 
trees  and  dull  sky,  as  if  the  old  year  grieved  its  approaching  end. 
The  wind  is  due  north,  thermometer  26°,  and  the  fog  thickens 
as  the  day  advances.  The  reported  explosion  in  the  Barclay 
street  confectionery  establishment  in  New  York,  proves  not  to 
have  been  an  explosion,  but  the  disaster  is  thought  to  have  been 
caused  by  the  giving  way  of  the  walls  of  an  adjoining  building, 
which  was  stored  beyond  its  strength  with  wool.     I  notice  in 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   JANUARY.  119 

the  papers  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Amasa  Curtice  at 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  on  the  18th  instant  in  the  86th  year  of  his  age. 
Mr.  Curtice  was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  this  city  and  was 
a  mason  by  trade. 

Monday,  Dec.  31st. — A  bleak  north  wind  prevails  and  the 
sky  is  dark  with  clouds.  Thermometer  20°.  A  snow-storm  of 
slender  pretensions  slowly  whitens  the  ground  in  the  afternoon. 
The  average  of  the  thermometer  for  the  month  has  been  38.39°, 
the  extremes  being  56°  on  the  17th,  and  20°  on  the  31st  On 
nine  days  only  has  the  mercury  been  down  to  the  freezing  point. 
There  have  been  eight  clear  days  during  the  month. 

President  Hayes  and  wife  commemorate  their  silver  wedding 
today  at  the  White  House,  This  circumstance  is  not  regarded 
as  indicating  the  President's  policy  on  the  silver  bill.  A  laborer 
named  Peter  Coffee  was  run  over  and  killed  by  the  cars  at 
Cayuga. 

1878.  Tuesday,  January  1st — The  New  Year  comes  in 
gayly,  with  a  light  vesture  of  snow  and  a  brilliant  sunshine. 
The  wind  is  west  and  the  thermometer  indicates  29°. 

One  can  scarce  help  being  happy,  the  day  is  so  pleasant. 
The  number  of  New  Year's  callers  is  unusually  large.  Among 
the  luxuriencies  of  this,  as  of  every  other  New  Year,  are  penny 
postage  stamps  and  poetry.  The  extent  of  local  correspondence 
is  enormous.  It  seems  as  if  every  ma  a  you  have  met  during 
the  year,  reports  to  you  in  items  the  exact  cost  of  each  inter- 
view. The  neighborly  chat  with  your  grocer,  as  to  whether  a 
pair  of  chickens  was  more  than  two  years  old,  is  vividly  recalled ; 
the  confidential  assurance  of  the  merchant  to  your  wife,  that 
his  wife  had  a  dress  off  from  the  same  piece  of  calico  which  is 
incidentally  mentioned  in  his  note  to  you,  and  a  thousand  other 
incidents  of  like  import,  invest  the  correspondence  with  a  lively 
interest  Of  course  the  correspondence  is  personal  rather  than 
historical,  but  I  think  it  should  be  preserved.     Your  great- 


120     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JANUARY. 

great-grand-children  will  be  delighted  to  learn  in  perusing  it, 
that  you  did  not  buy  kerosene  by  the  pound,  nor  dress  buttons 
by  the  peck. 

Then  as  to  poetry, — the  air  is  odorous  with  it,  from  the 
"Carrier's  Address"  to  the  "Poet's  Corner"  in  the  newspaper, 
which  expands  itself  liberally  for  the  occasion.  It  is  but 
natural.  In  looking  back  over  the  departed  year  and  seeing 
with  vain  regret  the  balance  on  the  side  of  lost  opportunity,  we 
feel  qualmish,  and  almost  without  effort  overflow  in  rhyme. 
There  is  nothing  so  efficacious  in  settling  the  mental  stomach  as 
the  peppermint  of  poetry.  I  trust  that  every  one  has  written 
at  least  a  few  lines  this  New  Year,  but  I  hope  that,  it  will  not  all 
be  published. 

The  State  Legislature  convenes  and  receives  the  Governor's 
message, — Gren'l  James  W.  Husted  being  made  speaker  of  the 
Assembly. 

The  new  County  Officers  take  their  places  today,  Sheriff 
Reed  being  the  victim  of  a  surprise  party  at  the  jail  in  the 
evening. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  2nd.  —  The  weather,  which  yesterday 
seemed  to  be  taking  a  holiday,  is  today  tending  strictly  to  busi- 
nesa  The  morning  opens  with  a  westerly  snow-storm,  the  wind 
veering  to  the  north  at  1  p.  m.  when  the  thermometer  stands  at 
20°,  being  10°  lower  than  in  the  morning. 

The  Public  Schools  open,  after  their  holiday  recess.  The 
Board  of  Education  holds  its  regular  monthly  session  at  12  M. 
having  failed  of  a  quorum  last  evening. 

The  Police  report  shows  69  arrests  for  the  month  of  Decem- 
ber, 27  of  which  were  for  intoxication.  217  tramps  were  fur- 
nished lodgings  during  the  month,  the  largest  number  on  record. 
This  indicates  the  growing  popularity  of  the  Tramps'  Hotel. 

Warren  A.  Worden,  Esq.,  of  this  city  is  extradited  to  Guelph, 
Canada,  by  his  appointment  as  Consular  Agent  at  that  place. 


RECORD  Of  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JANUARY.     121 

Ezekiel  Gilbert,  an  old  resident,  died  in  the  73rd  year  of  his 
age. 

The  fire  companies  hold  their  annual  elections  in  the  evening 
and  elect  officers  for  the  ensuing  year. 

Thursday,  Jan.  3rd. — A  cloudless  morning  with  keen,  crisp 
air,  wind  south,  and  the  mercury  six  degrees  below  zero,  advanc- 
ing to  20°  above  at  1  p.  M.  The  day  is  cloudless  throughout. 
The  Signal  Service  Bureau  reports  that  not  a  flake  of  snow  nor 
a  drop  of  rain  fell  in  the  United  States  on  New  Year's  day. 
The  first  frost  of  the  season  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  at  Jackson- 
ville, Fla,,  occurred  on  that  day.  Today  heavy  snows  are 
reported  in  Virginia.  An  advance  of  50  cents  per  ton  in  the 
price  of  coal  is  announced,  making  the  co3t  of  that  commodity 
$5.50  per  ton  for  stove  coal  delivered. 

Friday,  Jan.  4th. — The  morning  opens  with  a  blustering 
snow-storm  from  the  south.  The  wind  subsides  towards  noon 
but  the  snow  falls  steadily  during  the  day.  At  1  o'clock  the 
wind  is  northeast  and  thermometer  18°. 

The  peanut  store,  under  the  stairs  at  the  head  of  North  street 
remains  closed  during  the  day.  As  no  notice  that  the  proprie- 
tor has  gone  into  liquidation,  or  has  closed  to  take  an  account  of 
stock,  is  affixed  to  the  padlock,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the 
temporary  interruption  in  business  is  the  result  of  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather.  The  snow-plow  is  called  into  requisition 
in  the  afternoon  to  clear  the  tracks  of  the  street  railroads,  and 
cutters  and  sleighs  supplant  wheeled  vehicles  for  the  first  time 
this  season. 

Further  investigation  leaves  the  cause  of  the  Barclay  street 
disaster  a  mystery,  none  of  the  theories  so  far  advanced  being 
satisfactory. 

A  severe  storm  is  reported  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  several 
vessels  are  reported  lost. 

Saturday,  Jan,  5th.  —  A  bright  clear  morning  with  cold 


122  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   JANUARY. 

northwest  wind,  which  works  to  the  west  towards  noon  and 
subsides.     Thermometer  17°. 

The  sleighing  is  excellent  about  the  city,  but  the  sudden  and 
complete  change  in  the  weather  will  doubtless  affect  the  sani- 
tary condition,  which  has  been  unusually  favorable  thus  far  this 
winter. 

The  new  moon,  holding  in  its  lap  a  large  dim  globe  like  a 
great  yellow  nightmare,  sits  upon  a  western  cloud  early  in  the 
evening  but  soon  disappears. 

The  artist,  Gr.  L.  Clough,  has  a  sale  of  oil  paintings  in  the 
evening. 

Sunday,  Jan.  6th. — The  wind  seems  to  be  swinging  around 
the  circle  in  search  of  a  storm  today.  Starting  in  the  south  in 
the  morning,  it  wanders  around  to  the  west  at  noon,  then  around 
by  the  northeast  to  east,  and  closes  the  day  in  the  southeast. 
The  day  is  cloudy  with  sun-gleams  in  the  afternoon,  the  ther- 
mometer 14°  at  1  P.  M.  As  the  wind  reached  the  northeast,  the 
mercury  went  down  to  zero,  but  soon  recovered,  making  a  very 
variable  temperature  during  the  day. 

Monday,  Jan.  7th. — A  fine,  sifting  snow  from  the  east.  The 
ice  harvest  commences  today,  the  first  load  of  the  season  being 
seen  on  the  street.  The  wind  is  west  at  1  P.  m.  with  the  ther- 
mometer at  14°,  and  a  clear  sky.  Soon  after,  the  wind  com- 
mences its  circuit  around  to  the  north  and  northeast,  with  slight 
snow. 

The  house  of  Thomas  Murphy,  on  Lansing  street,  was  burned 
early  this  morning. 

A  Circuit  Court  and  Special  Term  of  the  Supreme  Court 
commenced  its  session  at  the  Court  House,  Judge  Dwight  pre- 
siding. The  Common  Council  meets  in  the  evening,  the  exciting 
topic  before  the  Board  being  the  claim  of  William  Barry  for  two 
dollars,  for  killing  a  mad  dog,  which  promises  to  assume  as  much 
importance  as  the  Aurelius  Avenue  Bridge  Question. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  JANUARY.  128 

The  week  of  prayer  commences  in  the  churches  today. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  8. — A  bleak,  piercing,  south  wind  prevails 
throughout  the  day,  with  a  dull  sky.  Thermometer  16°.  A 
local  paper  reports  the  mercury  at  from  10  to  20°  below  zero, 
which  is  only  from  30°  to  50°  out  of  the  way,  and  may  be  a 
private  dispatch  from  the  North  Pole,  or  may  refer  to  the  tem- 
perature in  other  localities  yesterday,  from  which  an  unusually 
low  temperature  is  reported. 

Judge  Day  publishes  hi3  appointments  of  the  terms  of  the 
County  Court,  for  the  coming  two  years. 

The  several  Banks  of  the  city  go  through  the  formality  of 
electiDg  Directors  and  Bank  officers. 

Of  general  events,  much  has  transpired  during  the  month  in 
addition  to  what  I  have  embodied  in  my  daily  record. 

Congress  has  done  little,  on  account  of  a  long  holiday  recess. 
The  State  Legislature  has  been  in  session  scarcely  long  enough 
to  organize. 

Some  startling  disclosures  have  been  made  in  the  financial 
world.  Two  prominent  brokers  in  New  York  have  fled  their 
country,  confessedly  guilty  of  largely  betraying  their  trusts,  in 
fraudulently  disposing  of  securities  placed  in  their  hands  for 
loans,  etc.  Two  Presidents  of  Insurance  Companies  have  been 
sent  to  State  Prison,  one  for  willfully,  and  the  other  for  care- 
lessly, verifying  false  reports  and  statements  of  their  companies. 

In  the  old  world,  General  Grant  has  been  "  sailing  o'er  liquid 
miles  where  Ischia  smiles,"  interviewing  the  crater  of  Vesuvius, 
etc.,  and  on  Sunday  last  he  and  Stanley,  the  African  explorer, 
were  in  conjunction  at  Alexandria,  Egypt.  Stanley  has  been 
made  the  recipient  of  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  order  of  Medjidie, 
from  the  Khedive  of  Egypt,  which  will  pacify  us  until  we  get 
an  obelisk.  He  goes  to  France  and  England  where  civilized 
honors  await  him,  while  the  freedom  of  the  cities  of  Thebes  and 
Memphis  doubtless  await  General  Grant,  or  he  may  be  made 


124  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   JANUARY. 

burgomaster  of  Gondokoro.  The  Khedive  has  not  yet  decided 
whether  to  present  him  the  Sphynx,  or  the  Pyramid  of  Cheops, 
to  bring  home  with  him. 

The  eastern  war  has  progressed  slowly  since  the  fall  of  Plevna, 
on  account  of  the  severity  of  the  weather.  The  five  bridges 
built  by  the  Russians  across  the  Danube,  have  all  been  swept 
away  by  the  ice.  Turkey  has  sought  terms  of  peace  through 
England,  which  Russia  declined  to  entertain,  preferring  to  treat 
with  Turkey  face  to  face.  The  Russians  have  lately  advanced 
and  occupied  Sophia,  a  city  in  the  line  of  march  toward  Adria- 
nople,  and  are  reported  to  have  sent  cavalry  through  the  Schipka 
Pass  of  the  Balkans.  The  Servians  have  achieved  some  slight 
successes.  Meantime  the  British  Lion  has  been  very  much  exer- 
cised, and  has  raged  considerably  at  Russia  for  her  reticence  in 
withholding  terms  of  peace.  The  other  animals  have,  however, 
complacently  licked  their  furs,  and  it  is  intimated  that  Germany 
and  Austria  know  more  of  Russia's  intentions  than  Russia  is 
willing  to  impart  to  England.  The  latter  would  doubtless 
declare  war,  upon  the  slightest  pretext. 

And  here,  my  dear  doctor,  I  leave  my  fragment  of  the  record 
of  the  old  year  in  your  hands. 

Very  truly  yours, 

R  B.  SNOW, 

Historiographer. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Wednesday,  Jan.  9,  1878. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Schliemann  : 

I  have  been  revolving  in  ray  mind  the  matter  of  a  record  of 
current  events,  and  I  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  colla- 
tion and  preservation  of  facts  is  perhaps  profitable;  but  that 
any  immediate  philosophical  deductions  therefrom  are  not  war- 
ranted. It  is  said  that  the  pomice  of  the  apple  should  be  left 
in  the  cheese  a  suitable  time  before  the  juice  is  expressed,  if 
you  would  have  the  best  cider.  So  historical  facts  will  doubt- 
less yield  a  better  vintage,  after  lying  in  the  mass  to  mellow 
and  develop  their  flavor.  This  thought  reconciles  me  somewhat 
to  my  task,  for  I  am  assured  that  by  the  time  my  record  reaches 
your  hand,  the  mixture  will  be  in  condition  for  the  press. 

I  find  that  this  preface  to  my  monthly  communications  affords 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  patch  up  the  little  holes  in  my  pre- 
vious month's  record,  and  to  make  my  peace  with  any  irregu- 
larities in  the  presentation  of  facts,  which  may  have  occurred. 
For  instance,  I  am  kindly  reminded  by  a  friend,  that  my 
incredulity  as  to  the  existence  of  Kussian,  or  Turkish  national 
airs,  is  ill  founded, — that  at  least  two  Russian  national  airs  have 
found  their  way  to  our  shores,  and  have  been  incorporated  in 
our  church  music.  I  more  than  half  suspected  that  such  might 
be  the  case  when  I  penned  the  observation,  and  still  I  could 
scarcely  conceive  a  strain  of  a  sufficient  number  of  beats  to  the 
measure,  and  of  sufficiently  pliable  and  elastic  rhythm,  to  compass 


126  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  JANUARY. 

the  agglomeration  of  consonants  that  characterizes  the  Russian 
tongue.  I  recall  the  insinuation  however  with  the  most  cheer- 
ful alacrity,  for  I  remember  that  the  Russian  bear  was  a  very 
well  behaved  animal  during  our  nation's  time  of  trial,  and  I 
would  be  far  from  giving  utterance  to  anything  that  would  dis- 
turb the  peaceful  relations  between  our  government  and  our 
most  sympathetic  power  in  Europe. 

The  weather  has  been  scarcely  demonstrative  enough  to  war- 
rant me  in  characterizing  the  day.  The  vanes  have  pointed 
south,  rather  from  yesterday's  habit,  than  because  there  was  any 
wind.  The  sky  has  been  overcast  and  the  mercury  stood  at 
40°  at  1  p.  M. 

The  Historical  Society  last  evening  listened  to  a  very  inter- 
esting paper  prepared  and  read  by  J.  Lewis  Grant,  Esq.,  on  the 
"  Early  Methods  of  Transportation  in  Cayuga  County." 

A  Sunday  School  Teachers'  institute,  under  the  charge  of 
Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Vincent,  commenced  its  session  today  at  the 
Central  Presbyterian  church.  Victor  Emanuel,  King  of  Italy, 
died  today,  and  his  son  is  proclaimed  King  Humbert  L 

Dr.  Vincent  lectures  in  the  evening  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
course,  subject,  "  That  Boy." 

The  Colored  Military  Company,  Captain  John  Peterson  com- 
manding, give  their  first  annual  hop  at  the  Academy  of  Music 
in  the  evening. 

Congress  resumed  session  after  the  holiday  recess,  but  with- 
out a  quorum  in  either  House. 

Thursday,  Jan.  10th. — The  weather,  which  went  to  bed  last 
night  clear  and  bright,  gets  up  this  morning  with  an  easterly 
rain,  which  continues  most  of  the  day.     Thermometer  42°. 

The  wind  southeast  at  noon,  changes  to  northwest  in  the 
evening,  with  copious  rain. 

Lester  V.  Keyes  died  today  at  the  age  of  72,  after  an  illness 
of  some  two  or  three  months'  duration.  He  had  been  for  many 
years  a  respected  citizen,  engaged  in  the  hat  trade. 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR  JANUARY.  127 

Elizabeth  Long,  an  elderly  lady,  walking  upon  the  track  of 
the  N.  Y.  C.  E.,  near  the  depot,  was  run  over  by  an  engine  and 
instantly  killed. 

Charles  C.  Marsh,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  this  city  but 
latterly  of  Pennsylvania,  died  at  Mount  Joy,  Pa.,  at  the  age  of 
61. 

Friday,  Jan.  11th. — The  rain  of  last  evening  changed  to 
snow,  and  this  morning  a  damp  northwest  snow-storm  prevails, 
changing  to  rain  about  noon.  Thermometer  33°.  It  was 
throughout  a  slushy,  disagreeable  day. 

Horace  B.  Gilbert,  Deputy  Postmaster,  and  for  thirty  years 
connected  with  the  Post  Office  in  this  city,  died  suddenly  this 
morning,  at  the  age  of  56. 

Saturday,  Jan.  12th. — A  dull,  dark  morning  with  north 
wind.     Thermometer  34°,  dark  and  misty. 

Gilmore's  Band  gives  a  concert  at  the  Opera  House  in  the 
evening. 

Sunday,  Jan.  13th. — A  southeast  wind,  mild  and  cloudy. 
Thermometer  34°.  A  brisk  rain  sets  in  late  in  the  evening  and 
continues  during  the  night. 

Monday,  Jan.  14th. — The  wind  still  south,  dark  and  cloudy. 
Thermomer  39°.  The  wind  veers  to  the  west  in  the  afternoon, 
bringing  rain,  followed  by  snow  in  the  evening. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  15th, — The  ground  is  nicely  covered  with 
snow  this  morning,  but  not  sufficient  to  make  sleighing.  Ther- 
mometer 30°,  wind  northwest,  and  a  busy  snow-storm  prevailing 
at  1  P.  M. 

Broth erton  today  secures  a  respite  for  one  week.  A  serious 
railroad  disaster,  caused  by  the  giving  way  of  a  bridge,  occurred 
at  Tariffville,  near  Hartford,  Conn.,  by  which  thirteen  lives 
were  lost  The  two  sisters  McCargar,  residents  of  the  town  of 
Locke,  who  were  engaged  in  teaching  school  in  Connecticut, 
were  among  the  victims  of  the  disaster.     Gold  declined  to  101t 


128     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  JANUARY. 

today,  the  lowest,  point  touched  since  the  advance  during  the 
war. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  16th. — A  cool,  sunny  day,  with  wind  in 
the  northwest.  Thermometer  18°.  Whitelaw  Eeid,  of  the  New 
York  Tribune,  and  Judge  Russell,  of  St.  Lawrence  County,  are 
elected  regents  of  the  university,  by  the  state  legislature,  to  fill 
the  vacancies  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  General  Dix,  and 
the  death  of  Chancellor  Pruyn.  James  T.  Fields  lectures  in  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  course  on  "  Fiction — Ancient  and  Modern." 

Samuel  Bowles,  widely  known  as  the  editor  of  the  Springfield 
Republican,  died  today,  after  a  protracted  illness,  aged  51  years. 

Thursday,  Jan.  17th. — A  dark,  threatening  morning  with 
wind  northwest,  but  warmer,  the  lower  current  of  air  being  from 
the  south.  Thermometer  24°.  The  two  little  girls,  charged 
with  stealing  from  several  stores,  plead  guilty  before  the  Court 
of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  now  in  session,  and  are  sentenced  to  the 
Rochester  Penitentiary.  The  party  mentioned  in  my  record  of 
November  27th,  pays  a  penalty  of  $500  in  United  States  Court 
at  Albany,  for  his  indiscretion  in  attempting  to  smuggle  goods 
across  the  Canadian  frontier. 

Friday,  Jan.  18th. — Dark  and  cloudy,  with  the  upper  current 
of  air  from  the  northwest,  and  the  lower  current  from  the  south. 
Thermometer  38°.  In  the  afternoon  it  is  clear,  warm,  and 
bright,  with  south  wind.  A  farmer's  wagon  loaded  with  grain 
and  dressed  geese,  is  run  over  by  the  cars  at  the  Washington 
street  crossing  of  the  N.  Y.  C.  R  R  No  damage  except  to  the 
wagon  and  its  contents. 

Saturday,  Jan.  19th. — A  clear,  warm  day,  with  south  wind. 
Thermometer  48°. 

Sunday,  Jan.  20th. — Cloudy,  but  mild,  with  south  wind. 
Thermometer  44°.     A  brisk  rain  in  the  evening. 

Monday,  Jan.  21st. — Lowery  and  dark,  with  south  wind. 
Thermometer  45°. 


' 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS   FOR   JANUARY.  129 

The  trial  of  Edmund  M.  Hoppins,  for  killing  Philip  J.  Proud- 
fit,  commenced  today  and  a  jury  was  empaneled  therefor. 

The  Egyptian  Obelisk,  which  has  been  recuperating  from  its 
sea-sickness  at  Ferrol,  Spain,  arrived  at  Gravesend  today. 

The  Eussian  Army  enters  Adrianople,  which  had  been  evacu- 
ated b}^  the  Turks  pursuant  to  an  agreement  for  an  armistice. 
Professor  Reynolds  secures  some  notoriety  at  Union  Springs, 
on  account  of  an  attempt  to  arrest  him  in  the  midst  of  a  lecture, 
for  not  having  taken  out  a  license.  It  was  the  outgrowth  of 
ill-feeling  among  the  local  authorities. 

The  Common  Council  meets  in  the  evening  and  confirms  a 
contract  with  the  Water  Works  Company,  for  three  years,  at 
$16,000  per  year,  and  appoints  a  committee  to  revise  the  city 
charter. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  22nd. — A  lowery,  dark  day,  with  west  wind. 
Thermometer  34°. 

The  counsel  for  Brotherton  secures  a  stay  of  proceedings 
till  April  2nd,  to  make  application  for  a  new  trial.  A  slight 
snow  falls  in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  23rd. — A  bleak,  piercing,  northwest  wind, 
with  light  snow.  Thermometer  4°, — the  severest  day  of  the 
season  thus  far. 

King  Alfonso  of  Spain,  marries  the  Princess  Mercedes  today, 
with  great  pomp  and  ceremony. 

Edward  J.  Collins,  founder  of  the  Collins'  line  of  steamships, 
died  today,  aged  seventy-nine  years. 

The  agricultural  works  of  A.  W.  Stevens  k  Son,  the  leading 
industry  of  Genoa  village,  are  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  evening. 

Thursday,  Jan.  24th. — A  southwest  wind  and  a  bright  day 
succeed  the  storm  of  yesterday.     Thermometer  25°. 

The  trial  of  Hoppins  at  the  Court  House,  excites  a  greater 
degree  of  popular  interest  than  any  trial  since  that  of  the  negro 
Freeman,   upwards  of  thirty  years  ago.     The  court  room  is 


130  RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS   TOR   JANUARY. 

thronged,  and  the  sympathy  of  the  public  seems  to  be  intense 
in  favor  of  the  accused. 

Friday,  Jan.  25th. — Another  bright,  but  not  cloudless  day, 
with  wind  in  the  southeast.     Thermometer  42°. 

Dr.  Hugh  Proudht,  one  of  the  principal  witnesses  against 
Hoppins,  dies  this  morning  after  a  brief  illness.  The  trial  of 
Hoppins  is  concluded,  resulting  in  his  acquittal.  He  marries 
his  affianced,  a  Miss  Turner,  who  has  been  by  his  side  during 
the  whole  trial,  at  the  house  of  a  friend  in  the  evening.  In 
view  of  this  case,  how  forcible  and  apt  is  the  immortal  statement 
that  "  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction."  What  an  opportunity  for 
a  first-class  tale,  not  simply  "  founded  on  fact,"  but  a  fact  in 
itself,  with  all  the  accessories  and  concomitants  of  the  modern 
novel !  An  incensed  brother  in  a  moment  of  phrensy,  slays 
with  a  base-ball  club,  the  betrayer  of  his  sister ;  pines  in  a 
felon's  cell  six  months  and  seven  days,  where  he  is  devotedly 
ministered  unto  and  cheered  by  his  faithful,  young,  rich,  beau- 
tiful, black-eyed,  intelligent  affianced;  the  terrible  ordeal  of  a 
five  days'  trial ;  the  sudden  death  of  the  principal  witness 
against  the  accused,  in  the  midst  of  the  trial ;  the  stalwart  arm 
of  the  champion  oarsman  of  America,  sustaining  the  prisoner 
in  court;  the  agony  of  suspense  during  the  three  hours  and 
twenty  minutes  of  the  jury's  deliberation ;  the  triumphant 
acquittal  by  the  twelve  good  men  and  true;  the  wild  and  irre- 
pressible joy  of  the  spectators  ;  the  immediate  retirement  to 
the  hospitable  home  of  a  benevolent  and  sympathetic  female 
physician;  the  solemnization  of  the  marriage  by  the  village 
pastor  ;  the  going  west ;  the  end  !  Rarely  is  such  a  plot  at  the 
disposal  of  an  author. 

The  Caledonian  Club  celebrates  the  anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  Burns  in  the  evening. 

Col.  J.  Dean  Hawley  is  elected  Brigadier-General  of  the 
New  Brigade,  at  the  election  held  in  Syracuse. 


RECORD   OF    CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR    JANUARY.  131 

Saturday,  Jan.  26th. — A  dull,  dark  day  with  southwest 
wind.  Thermometer  39°,  with  light  rain.  A  meeting  of  citi- 
zens at  the  Court  House,  called  by  the  mayor,  to  consider 
amendments  to  the  city  charter,  appoints  an  elaborate  committee 
of  three  from  each  ward,  and  adjourns. 

Sunday,  Jan.  27th. — Another  dull,  dark  day  with  southwest 
wind.  Thermometer  39°.  A  wet  snow  falls  in  the  evening. 
The  Wall  Street  Methodist  Church,  which  has  been  under- 
going extensive  repairs,  is  re-dedicated  today.  The  body  of 
young  Bryant,  drowned  in  Cayuga  Lake  on  the  3rd  inst.,  is 
found  today. 

Monday,  Jan.  28th. — Colder,  with  north  wind  and  snow. 
Thermometer  15°.  A  Mr.  A.  R.  Davis,  of  Syracuse,  enlight- 
ened an  audience  at  the  Court  House  in  the  evening,  on  Gov 
ernment  Reform  and  kindred  topics. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  29th. — A  cloudless,  beautiful  day,  with  cold 
north  air.  Thermometer  22°.  Miss  Helen  Potter  completes  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  course,  with  readings  and  personations  at  the  Opera 
House  in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  30th. — Another  bright,  cloudless  day, 
with  wind  still  north.  The  mercury,  which  stood  at  zero  in  the 
morning,  advances  to  22°  at  1  P.  M.  The  State  Senate  confirms 
the  nomination  of  Benj.  S.  W.  Clark,  warden  of  the  Sing  Sing 
Prison,  for  Superintendent  of  Public  Works,  having  previously 
rejected  the  nominations  made  by  the  governor,  of  Messrs. 
Fairchild  and  Magone,  for  that  position. 

An  extra  session  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  is  called  for 
next  Monday.  The  general  committee,  appointed  to  revise  the 
city  charter,  meet  at  the  Court  House  in  the  evening  and  appoint 
a  large  number  of  sub-committees. 

Thursday,  Jan.  31st. — The  wind  still  holds  in  the  north, 
with  the  lower  current  from  the  east,  and  indications  of  a  storm. 
Thermometer  24°,  cloudy.     A  brisk  easterly  snow-storm  sets  iii 


132    RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  FEBRUARY. 

between  3  and  4  o'clock  P.  M.  The  steamship,  Metropolis,  from 
Philadelphia  for  Para,  Brazil,  was  stranded  in  a  sinking  condition 
on  the  North  Carolina  coast,  near  the  scene  of  the  Huron  dis- 
aster, and  about  100  persons  perished.  She  was  laden  with 
railroad  iron,  and  had  a  large  number  of  passengers,  who  were 
engineers  and  skilled  workmen,  going  to  Brazil  to  build  a  rail- 
road.    The  vessel  proves  to  have  been  unseaworthy. 

The  average  of  the  mercury  for  the  month  has  been  28.5°,  the 
extremes  being  48°  on  the  19th,  and  4°  on  the  23rd.  I  have 
been  quite  interested  in  examining  a  record  of  the  weather  for 
the  month  of  January,  1778,  just  one  hundred  years  ago. 
The  temperature  seems  to  have  been  quite  even,  ranging  from 
34°  to  47°  with  considerable  snow  and  rain.  The  severest  criti- 
cism is  upon  the  14th,  which  is  characterized  as  "an  exceeding 
wet,  churlish  day.'"  This  however,  was  in  London.  I  suppose 
there  wasn't  any  weather  here,  to  speak  of,  at  that  time,  or  if 
so,  that  no  record  of  it  was  kept. 

Preliminaries  of  peace  and  an  armistice  were  agreed  upon  and 
signed  by  the  representatives  of  Russia  and  Turkey  at  Adria- 
nople  today. 

Friday,  February  1st. — Happy  is  the  man  this  morning  whose 
sidewalk  does  not  extend  around  the  corner, — that  is  compara- 
tively happy,  for  the  proprietor  of  even  a  limited  frontier  has 
a  dismal  prospect  of  shoveling  before  him.  Twenty-two  inches 
of  snow  fell  last  night  and  a  complete  blockade  exists  this  morn- 
ing. The  street  cars  are  not  running  and  the  trains  on  the 
Central  road  are  much  delayed.  The  wind  still  holds  north. 
Thermometer  30°,  cloudy. 

George  Cruikshank,  the  celebrated  English  caricaturist,  died 
today  in  the  86th  year  of  his  age. 

Saturday,  Feb.  2nd.— Candlemas  day.  Why  the  bear 
should  emerge  from  his  den  today  to  seek  for  his  shadow,  rather 
than  upon  any  other  day,  T  have  never  heard  explained.     Still 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  FEBRUARY.     133 

such  is  the  tradition  handed  down  to  us  from  the  early  settlers. 
It  must  be  a  near-sighted  bear  that  can  not  see  his  shadow  today, 
for  it  is  cloudless  and  the  snow  is  dazzlingly  bright,  so  I  suppose 
the  bear  mournfully  returns  to  his  couch  for  the  six  weeks'  nap. 

The  wind  is  still  rigidly  north  and  the  thermometer  24°. 

The  track  is  becoming  beaten  down  so  that  the  sleighing  is 
passably  good.  The  police  report  shows  sixty-four  arrests  for 
January,  thirty-four  of  which  were  for  drunkenness. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Underwood,  relict  of  the  late  Amos  Underwood 
of  this  city,  died  in  Chicago  today,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years. 
Alexander  S.  Johnson  of  Utica,  judge  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court,  died  at  Nassau,  N.  P.,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one 
years. 

Sunday,  Feb.  3rd. — The  morning  opens  cold,  cloudless  and 
bright,  the  trees  delicatel}'  frosted  and  glistening  in  the  sunlight. 
The  mercury  settled  to  6°  below  zero,  during  the  night.  A 
peculiarity  of  the  frosting  of  the  trees  is  that  it  is  deposited 
wholly  on  the  south  side  of  the  twigs,  the  wind  being  north. 
At  1  P.  M.,  the  wind  is  south,  with  thermometer  at  24°,  and 
cloudless.  The  new  moon,  "  tranced  in  unspeakable  blue," 
escorts  the  evening  star  down  the  western  sky,  at  early  twilight. 

Monday,  Feb.  4th. — Another  cloudless  morning,  with  wind 
in  the  south.  The  mercury  stands  at  zero  in  the  morning,  but 
advances  to  34°  at  1  p.  m.,  with  wind  southwest. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  meet  in  extra  session,  and  pro- 
ceed to  respond  to  the  charge  of  the  late  grand  jury,  touching 
their  extravagance  in  auditing  a  claim  of  some  $1,200  for 
painting  and  papering  at  the  Court  House.  Probably  the 
expense  of  the  extra  session  will  not  exceed  from  $300  to  $500, 
but  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  the  county  will  be  pecun- 
iarily benefited  to  that  extent. 

The  bell-punch  is  introduced  today  on  the  street  railroad  line 
as  an  amusement  to  the  passengers,  and  an  incentive  to   the 


134  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   FEBRUARY. 

honesty  of  the  conductors.  The  Common  Council  meets  in  the 
evening,  and  ineffectually  attempts  to  fix  the  responsibility  for 
the  failure  to  make  a  coal  contract  for  the  city  for  the  current 
year. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  5th. — One  of  the  most  unenviable  positions 
in  private  life  at  this  season  of  the  year,  is  to  stand  upon  the 
peak  of  the  roof  of  the  domestic  domicile,  leaning  upon  a  snow 
shovel,  and  deliberating  which  side  of  the  roof  to  shovel  off 
first.  It  is  not  unlike  being  drafted.  The  volunteer  who  falls 
facing  the  foe,  is  buried  with  military  honors,  and  his  name 
goes  down  to  posterity  embalmed  in  patriotic  associations.  The 
drafted  man  however,  who  falls,  is  buried  a  few  inches  below 
the  surface  on  the  battle-field,  and  usually  compasses  a  small 
share  of  glory.  So,  the  man  who  is  forced  by  dripping  ceilings, 
to  adopt  desperate  measures  to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  melting 
snow.  The  prospect  of  being  dragged  heels-foremost  out  of  a 
snowbank,  half  suffocated,  with  a  broken  limb  or  possibly  a 
broken  neck,  has  few  of  the  elements  of  glory  in  it.  I  think 
the  preferable  course  is  to  hire  a  substitute,  and  stand  below, 
in  the  capacity  of  an  officer,  and  give  commands  as  to  how  it 
shall  be  done. 

The  sky  is  still  cloudless  and  bright,  with  wind  in  southwest. 
Thermometer  36°.  Albert  H.  Goss,  for  many  years  a  resident 
of  this  city,  prominent  in  business  and  widely  esteemed,  died  in 
Brooklyn  at  the  age  of  55.  Major  John  J.  Letchworth,  of  this 
city,  is  announced  as  our  sole  representative  upon  the  new 
brigade  staff. 

The  board  of  education  meets  in  regular  session  in  the  evening. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  6th. — The  wind  varies  from  southwest  to 
southeast,  but  the  sky  keeps  clear.  Thermometer  40°.  A  false 
alarm  of  fire  calls  out  the  several  hose  companies  shortly  before 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Thursday,  Feb.  7th.— A  day  of  rare  beauty.  The  soft  air 
from  the  south  is  as  balmy  as  in  spring-time,  and  the  sky  is 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   FEBRUARY.  135 

perfectly  cloudless.  The  roar  of  the  distant  waterfall,  however, 
portends  an  end  to  the  clear  weather,  which  has  now  been  con- 
tinuous for  six  days.  Thermometer  50°.  Pope  Pius  IX,  died 
at  Rome  today,  after  a  lingering  illness,  in  the  86th  year  of  his 
age.  He  has  been  pope  thirty-two  years.  Matthew  Keirsch,  of 
Elmira,  holds  a  Greenback  mass  meeting  at  the  Court  House 
in  the  evening. 

Friday,  Feb.  8th. — The  morning  opens  warm  and  cloudy, 
with  wind  in  the  southeast.  At  1  p.  m.,  the  wind  veers  to  the 
east  and  northeast,  the  mercury  drops  3°,  to  47°,  and  a  steady 
rain  sets  in. 

The  supervisors  complete  their  defence  to  the  accusation  of 
the  grand  jury  and  adjourn.  The  conclusion  reached  was  that 
the  grand  jury  based  their  finding  upon  insufficient  evidence, 
which  was  a  very  considerate  verdict  for  a  body  trying  them- 
selves. A  resolution  that  the  members  of  the  board  make  no 
charge  against  the  county  for  their  services  during  the  extra 
session,  gave  way  to  one  that  it  was  inexpedient  for  them  to  do 
so.  Matthew  Keirsch,  Attorney- General  Warren  T.  Worden, 
and  Senator  Barak  B.  Willey,  enlighten  the  Throopsvillians  on 
the  greenback  question  in  the  evening.  The  greenback  cam- 
paign seems  to  be  fairly  opened. 

Saturday,  Feb.  9th. — The  rain  continued  far  into  the  night, 
making  serious  inroads  upon  the  body  of  snow,  but  not  enough 
to  destroy  the  sleighing.  The  morning  opens  dark  with  a  misty 
snow  sifting  from  the  north.  Thermometer  26°.  A  brisk  snow- 
storm about  2  p.  m.  promises  to  preserve  the  excellent  sleighing. 

Sunday,  Feb.  10th. — A  dull,  cloudy  day,  with  north  wind. 
Thermometer  37°. 

A  professedly  reformed  Catholic,  under  the  name  of  A.  P. 
Develin,  lectures  at  the  Court  House  on  a  variety  of  topics,  with 
temperance  for  an  announced  subject. 


136     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  FEBRUARY. 

The  new  Armory  was  bailed  out  today,  310  pailfuls  of  water 
being  dipped  out.  I  think  it  was  a  mistake  to  do  it,  for  in  view 
of  the  fact  of  the  dismemberment  of  our  Brigade  staff,  by  which 
we  are  shorn  of  much  of  our  military  prestige,  and  of  the  supe- 
rior facilities  for  water  communication  possessed  by  the  Armory, 
a  valid  claim  might  have  been  made  upon  Congress  for  an 
appropriation  to  establish  it  as  a  naval  station. 

Monday,  Feb.  11th. — Cooler  and  cloudy,  with  north  wind. 
Thermometer  18°. 

Hon.  Gideon  Welles,  one  of  the  famous  war  cabinet  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  died  today  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age. 

Captain  Geo.  H.  McKenzie,  the  champion  chess  player  of 
America,  commences  a  session  with  our  city  amateurs  today,  at 
the  Osborne  House. 

A  law  and  order  meeting,  having  the  object  of  taking  steps  to 
repress  the  unlicensed  sale  of  spirituous  liquors,  is  held  at  the 
Court  House  in  the  evening,  whereat  a  committee  is  appointed  to 
interview  the  mayor  and  other  officials. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  12th. — A  brighter  day,  but  cloudy, with  south- 
erly wind,  and  thermometer  at  32°.  The  Boards  of  Registry 
hold  their  first  meeting  today,  preparatory  to  the  spring  charter 
election. 

An  alarm  of  fire  in  the  afternoon  was  occasioned  by  a  slight 
fire  in  a  house  on  Parker  street. 

In  the  outside  world,  events  of  much  importance,  other  than 
those  I  have  noted  in  my  daily  record,  have  transpired  during 
the  month.  The  Russo-Turkish  war  has  progressed  rapidly 
towards  its  end,  so  far  as  the  power  of  resistance  by  the  Turks 
is  concerned,  and  negotiations  for  peace  have  been  instituted. 
The  Russians  have  achieved  marked  successes,  notably  the  cap- 
ture of  an  entire  Turkish  army  of  25,000  men  and  100  guns 
in  the  Balkan  passes,  and  are  pushing  on  towards  the  Turkish 
capital.     The  Servians  have   fought  with  varying  success,  as 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   FEBRUARY.  137 

allies  of  Russia,  but  with  the  general  result  in  their  favor. 
The  Greeks,  at  a  late  day,  awoke  to  the  situation  and  their 
army  crossed  over  into  Thessaly,  kicked  at  the  tail  feathers  of 
prostrate  Turkey,  and  returned  across  the  frontier  as  soon  as 
Turkey  fluttered,  with  a  total  loss  of  three  wounded  and  one 
prisoner.  It  is  scarcely  probable  that  this  campaign  will  inspire 
another  Iliad  from  any  mute,  inglorious  Homer  of  modern 
Greece.  Meantime,  Great  Britain  is  not  a  little  exercised  at  the 
successes  of  Russia,  and  is  working  up  to  a  war  fever,  in  view 
of  real  or  fancied  peril  to  her  interests  in  the  east.  Stanley 
has  arrived  in  London  and  is  busily  writing  up  his  explorations 
for  publication.  He  is  rather  coldly  received  in  England,  as 
compared  with  the  enthusiasm  of  other  nations  over  his  dis- 
coveries. It  is  hinted  that  possibly  he  ought  not  to  have  been 
reared  in  America,  or  else  not  have  presumed  to  explore  as 
much  of  Africa  as  he  has. 

General  Grant  seems  to  have  got  beyond  the  range  of  the 
reporter  and  may  possibly  be  making  a  tour  of  exploration  of 
the  interior  of  Africa. 

Congress  has  been  giving  its  entire  energies  to  a  considera- 
tion of  the  silver  question,  but  thus  far  without  definite  result, 
while  the  state  legislature  has  as  yet  accomplished  little  except 
in  the  way  of  getting  ready  to  do  a  great  deal,  by  and  by. 

New  York  city  has  been  startled  by  the  voluntary  and  unex- 
pected re-appearance  in  court,  of  Harry  Genet,  one  of  the  old 
Tweed  Ring,  who  has  been  a  fugitive  from  justice  for  some  five 
years,  and  now  returns  to  make  application  for  a  new  trial  of 
the  charges  against  him. 

In  the  scientific  world,  the  important  announcement  is  made, 
that  a  chemist  of  Paris,  and  another  of  Geneva,  Switzerland, 
have  succeeded  in  liquefyiug  all  the  gases,  a  result  which  has 
been  hitherto  unsuccessfully  sought  for  many  years,  by  scientific 
men.  It  was  accomplished  by  subjecting  the  gases  to  great 
pressure  at  a  temperature  of  300°  centigrade,  or  540°  Fahrenheit, 


138  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   FEBRUARY. 

below  zero.  The  immediate  practical  application  of  the  dis- 
covery, will  doubtless  be  the  avoidance  of  low  stages  of  temper- 
ature by  many  of  our  public  speakers  and  writers. 

I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  note  the  large  number  of 
defalcations  and  failures  in  business  throughout  the  country 
during  the  month.  Happily  our  immediate  locality  has  thus  far 
been  spared  these  deplorable  exhibitions  of  fiducial  betrayal 
and  wild  business  management.  A  characteristic  exhibition  of 
the  folly  of  conflict  between  labor  and  capital  has  been  manifest 
in  the  Crispin  strike,  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  resulting  in  the  entire  dis- 
comfiture of  the  Crispin  Association,  and  the  displacement  of 
its  members  by  laborers  who  were  glad  to  secure  their  deserted 
benches. 

And  here,  my  dear  doctor,  is  another  resting  place.  Trust- 
ing that  I  am  not  becoming  so  uninteresting  as  to  necessitate 
the  use  of  a  book  mark  to  keep  your  place.     I  remain, 

Very  truly  vours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
Historiograph  er. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N,  Y.,  Wednesday,  Feb.  13th,  1878. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Schliemann: 

Last  evening  witnessed  the  first  anniversary  of  the  Cayuga 
County  Historical  Society,  through  whose  instrumentality  our 
acquaintance  was  inaugurated.  I  confess  that  I  indulged  in  a 
quiet  exultation  at  the  results  accomplished  in  an  unostentatious 
way  by  the  society  during  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  and  I 
was  led  to  the  pleasing  reflection,  that  while  the  busy  toilers  of 
today  might  look  lightly  upon  our  efforts,  you,  at  least,  as  you 
delved  among  our  records  and  pored  over  our  manuscripts, 
would  be  grateful  to  us  that  we  had  rescued  from  the  past  and 
garnered  from  the  passing,  even  the  shreds  of  history  which 
might  otherwise  have  passed  into  oblivion. 

The  society  was  last  evening  regaled  by  an  excellent  address 
from  the  president,  Rev.  Dr.  Hawley,  and  by  a  complete  and 
interesting  report  from  the  custodian,  Dennis  R.  Alward,  Esq., 
both  of  which  were  ordered  to  be  published. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  treasurer's  report  showed  no 
necessity  for  the  passage  of  the  silver  bill.  The  day  is  cloudy 
with  north  wind  and  thermometer  at  32°. 

The  British  fleet  passed  through  the  Dardanelles  today,  en  route 
for  Constantinople,  in  face  of  the  denial  of  permission  thereto 
by  Turkey.  The  sleighing  is  remarkably  fine  and  everybody 
seems  to  be  enjoying  it,  either  as  participants  or  observers. 
Notably,  South  street  is  the  center  of  much  interest,  where  trot- 


140  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR    FEBRUARY. 

ters  are  speeded  to  the  intense  delight  of  a  throng  of  men  and 
youth  of  leisure,  who  line  the  street  as  lookers-on  and  judges  of 
the  merits  of  the  different  animals. 

Thursday,  Feb.  14th. — A  lovely  day  for  Valentine's  day, 
notwithstanding  predictions  of  rain  by  "Old  Probabilities." 
The  sky  is  cloudless  with  wind  in  the  east  and  thermometer 
at  36°. 

It  was  the  custom  formerly  for  the  newspapers,  annually,  to 
give  an  elaborate  account  of  the  origin  of  the  custom  of  sending 
valentines.  I  see  no  such  account  this  year,  from  which  I  infer 
that  interest  in  the  custom  is  waning.  Occasionally,  some  timid 
swain  sends  a  missive  of  bashful  affection  to  the  object  of  his 
adoration,  but  these  cases  are  exceptional.  The  mass  of  valen- 
tines of  late  years  are  caricatures.  A  small  trap-shoot  took 
place  at  the  fair  grounds  between  Lewis  of  Syracuse  and  Con- 
ner of  Auburn,  Lewis  winning. 

The  Homestead  of  Daniel  Webster,  at  Marshfield,  was  burned 
today,  and  many  valuable  relics  were  destroyed.  At  a  Green- 
back Congressional  District  Convention,  held  at  Newark,  Sena- 
tor B.  B.  Willey  is  made  delegate  to  the  National  Greenback 
Convention  at  Toledo,  and  Attorney  General  Warren  T.  Wor- 
den  is  made  chairman  of  the  congressional  district  committee. 
The  positions  are  both  honorary,  no  salary  attaching  to  either. 

Friday,  Feb.  15th. — Not  so  pleasant  as  yesterday.  The 
east  wind  of  the  morning  veers  to  the  south  at  noon,  with 
thermometer  at  35°  and  light  snow. 

The  committee  on  revision  of  the  charter,  meets  in  the  even- 
ing and  reports  progress,  asking  leave  to  sit  again,  which  was 
granted. 

The  fine  sleighing  and  bright  moonlight  induce  many  sleigh- 
riding  parties.  Far  into  the  night  the  laughter  and  song  of 
these  merry-makers,  returning  to  their  homes,  provoke  the 
envy  of  uninvited  sleepers  whose  sleigh-rides  are  in  dreams  oul\\ 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS    FOR   FEBRUARY.  141 

I  have  often  wished  these  moonlight  excursionists  one  addi- 
tional joy,  a  string  of  old  fashioned  sleighbells.  The  jingling 
of  modern  bells  like  a  bunch  of  keys,  is  tame,  compared  with 
the  melodious  ringing  of  the  bells  of  other  days,  such  as 
inspired  the  tintinnabulations  of  Poe's  muse — the  bells  in  the 
middle  of  the  string  as  large  as  pumpkin  apples,  and  tapering 
either  way,  to  the  size  of  seedling  potatoes — there  was  glee  ;  that 
was  a  sturdy  compliance  with  the  law  requiring  bells  to  be  worn, 
which  is  still  on  the  statute  book,  but  so  old  as  to  have  become 
decrepit. 

Judge  Samuel  Blatchford,  formerly  a  resident  of  this  city, 
was  today  promoted  by  the  President,  from  the  position  of 
district  judge,  to  that  of  circuit  judge  of  the  U.  S.  court,  in 
place  of  Judge  Johnson,  deceased. 

Capt.  McKenzie's  chess  tourney  closed  today,  after  a  very 
pleasant  tilt  with  our  local  amateurs,  none  of  whom  were  able 
to  cope  successfully  with  the  champion. 

Saturday,  Feb.  16th.— The  day  is  bright,  but  shadowed  by 
clouds,  and  warm  from  the  south  wind.  The  wind  veers  to 
the  west  at  noon  and  the  mercury  marks  37°. 

The  U.  S.  Senate  passes  the  Bland  silver  bill  today,  after  a 
long  contest,  by  a  vote  of  48  to  21.  It  was  materially  amended 
from  the  original  house  bill,  and  goes  back  to  the  house  for 
concurrence. 

Sunday,  Feb.  17th. — The  day  opens  mild,  with  south  wind, 
and  cloudy.  About  noon  a  brisk  wet  snow-storm  sets  in  and 
the  wind  soon  changes  to  northeast.  Thermometer  36°.  A 
successful  exhibition  of  the  Bell  telephone  is  given  at  the 
Southern  Central  Telegraph  office,  communication  being  had 
with  Elmira,  over  a  circuit  of  140  miles. 

Monday,  Feb.  18th. — The  morning  opens  bright  and  cloud- 
less, with  north  wind  and  thermometer  well  down  towards  zero, 
rising  to  20°  at  1  p.  M.     The  Common  Council  meets  in  the 


142     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  FEBRUARY. 

evening  and  defers  action  on  the  contract  with  the  Gas  Light  Co., 
the  proposition  being  to  contract  for  three  and  one-half  years, 
at  $25  per  street  lamp,  and  $2.50  per  thousand  for  city  buildings. 
The  committee  to  accept  the  donation  of  Lyman  Soule,  Esq., 
of  land  for  a  cemetery,  reported  that  Mr.  Soule  had  deeded  the 
land  to  trustees,  and  that  no  further  action  was  demanded  of 
the  city.  The  Eeform  Club  give  a  pecuniarily  successful  sociable 
at  their  rooms,  over  the  post-office,  in  the  evening. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  19th. — A  clear,  cold  day,  with  north  wind, 
the  mercury  advancing  from  zero  in  the  morning,  to  27°  at  1  P.  M. 

The  annual  town  meetings  are  held  today,  throughout  the 
county,  for  the  election  of  supervisors  and  town  officers.  Of 
the  supervisors  elected,  seventeen  are  Republican,  five  Demo- 
crat, and  one  Greenback. 

Master  Willie  Hills,  a  lad  of  14,  tested  the  thickness  of  his 
skull  today,  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  Remington  revol- 
ver, without  fatal  result.  The  experiment,  though  perhaps  sat- 
isfactory to  the  operator  under  the  circumstances,  will  doubt- 
less be  repeated  at  intervals,  with  varying  success,  by  other 
curious  and  careless  boys,  so  long  as  they  have  access  to  firearms. 

A  drawing  room  entertainment,  in  aid  of  the  Women's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union,  was  given  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Chas. 
P.  Williams,  in  the  evening,  which  proved  a  gratifying  social 
and  pecuniary  success.  The  state  association  of  school  commis- 
sioners and  city  superintendents  convened  at  Utica  today. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  20th. — Warmer,  with  brisk  south  wind, 
and  cloudy.  Thermometer  34°.  A  slight  rain  in  the  afternoon 
and  evening. 

At  Rome  today.  Cardinal  Pecci,  is  elected  Pope,  on  the  3rd 
ballot,  and  assumes  the  title  of  Leo  XIII.  He  is  the  285th 
pontiff  of  the  Roman  church. 

The  committee  on  revision  of  the  charter  meet  at  the  Court 
House,  but  make  little  progress. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  FEBRUARY.     143 

A  curious  feature  of  the  late  town  election  in  Sterling  was 
the  fact  that  the  issue  seems  to  have  been  a  re-trial  of  the  late 
celebrated  Hoppins  case.  Hoppins  appears  to  have  been  con- 
victed in  this  last  trial  by  a  considerable  majority,  but  it  is  not 
probable  that  he  will  be  hanged  under  the  verdict  This  issue 
will  doubtless  enter  into  the  politics  of  the  town,  for  many  years 
to  come. 

Thursday,  Feb.  21st. — A  clouded  day,  with  slight  rain  from 
the  south.  Thermometer  44°.  The  silver  bill,  as  passed  by 
the  senate,  is  passed  by  the  house  today,  by  a  vote  of  176  to  52 
and  goes  to  the  president  for  approval.  Governor  Robinson 
prefers  charges  to  the  state  senate  against  Mr.  Smyth,  superin- 
tendent of  the  insurance  department,  for  exacting  exorbitant 
fees  contrary  to  law.  The  representatives  of  the  different  fire 
companies  meet  and  choose  J.  H.  Morris  for  chief  engineer  of 
the  fire  department. 

The  Storke  cadets  give  their  first  annual  infantry  ball,  at  the 
Academy  of  Music,  in  the  evening.  The  success  of  the  affair 
was  only  equalled  by  the  anticipation  of  its  projectors. 

Friday,  Feb.  22nd. — The  anniversary  of  Washington's  birth- 
day creates  little  enthusiasm  in  the  weather  or  in  community. 
The  da}'  is  dull  and  rainy,  with  southeast  wind,  and  thermom- 
eter at  42°.  The  sleighing  is  becoming  much  impaired  by  the 
warm  weather  and  rain.  The  banks  and  public  offices  are  closed 
and  flags  are  displayed  by  those  who  have  them.  Announce- 
ment is  made  that  Frank  P.  Casey  of  this  city,  assistant  sur- 
geon in  the  Russian  Army,  stationed  at  Bucharest,  has  been 
honored  with  the  badge  of  the  "Star  of  Roumania."  for  faith- 
ful discharge  of  his  duties. 

I  notice  in  the  local  papers  of  today,  the  announcement  of 
the  solemnization,  by  his  honor,  Police  Justice  Teller,  of  the 
nuptials  of  Mrs.  Louisa  A.  King  and  Andrew  H.  King,  of  this 
city.     Some  months  ago,  the  connubial  felicity  of  this  couple, 


144     RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  FEBRUARY. 

which  fur  many  years  had  made  their  household  enjoyable,  was 
interrupted,  to  the  extent  that  the  fair  Louisa  sought  the  inter- 
vention of  the  courts  to  secure  a  separation,  which  was  effected. 
Standing,  as  it  were,  upon  one  foot  in  sober  contemplation  and 
solitude,  she,  at  length,  relented  of  her  purpose  and  yearned 
for  the  companionship  of  her  former  partner,  who  was  wander- 
ing disconsolately  in  the  adjoining  pasture,  and  resolved  to  give 
herself  anew  to  his  fostering  care  and  protection.  May  their 
new  honeymoon  grow  into  the  full  of  unclouded  connubial  joy. 

Saturday,  Feb.  23rd.  The  wind  gradually  works  around 
to  the  north,  with  drizzling  rain  and  fog  in  the  afternoon. 
Thermometer  40°.  Damages  from  the  late  rains  are  reported 
at  Port  Hope,  Canada,  in  California,  and  other  localities.  The 
sleighs  give  place  to  wheels  today,  the  sleighing  being  exhausted. 

Miss  Nella  F.  Brown  gave  readings  at  the  Opera  House, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Sunday,  Feb.  24th. — The  wind  changed  to  the  west  yester- 
day afternoon,  where  it  has  held  steadily  today.  The  sky  has 
been  thickly  clouded,  with  thermometer  at  32°. 

Monday,  Feb.  25th. — A  dusky  day,  with  northwest  wind. 
Thermometer  31°.  A  light  snow  during  the  afternoon,  and 
quite  brisk  squalls  at  intervals  in  the  evening. 

An  altercation  between  two  brothers  of  the  Lillis  family, 
residing  on  Mechanic  street,  disturbed  the  usual  quiet  of  the 
Lillis  mansion  in  the  evening.  A  shot  gun  and  two  barrels  of 
a  revolver  were  discharged  by  one  of  the  brothers  at  the  other, 
but  as  both  weapons  were  charged  with  too  fine  shot,  and  the 
aim  was  not  in  accordance  with  national  guard  practice,  the 
target  brother  escaped  with  unimportant  injuries. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  26th. — The  wind  holds  steadily  west,  with 
bright,  clear  sky,  and  thermometer  at  31°. 

The  canal  appraisers  meet  at  the  Court  House,  to  hear  the 
claims  of  damnified  proprietors  of  lands  along  the  Owasco  Lake, 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   FEBRUARY.  145 

suffering  from  the  rise  of  water  therein,  occasioned  by  using 
the  lake  as  a  feeder  for  the  canal.  The  session  was  adjourned 
to  May  28th,  without  taking  any  testimony. 

The  Workingmen  and  Greenbackers  hold  their  caucuses  in 
the  several  wards,  in  the  evening,  nominating  local  tickets,  and 
selecting  delegates  to  their  city  convention. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  27th. — Wind  still  west,  and  the  sky 
cloudless.     Thermometer  42°. 

The  committee  on  the  revision  of  city  charter  meet  at  the 
Court  House  in  the  evening,  but  as  usual  of  late,  fail  of  a  quorum. 
The  second  in  the  series  of  collisions  on  the  Central  Railroad, 
occurred  near  Weedsport  today.  No  lives  were  lost,  but 
much  damage  to  cars  resulted. 

Thursday,  Feb.  28th. — These  bright  days  are  pleasantly 
wearing  away  our  winter.  The  mild  southwest  wind  and 
cloudless  sky  of  the  forenoon,  with  a  temperature  of  46°,  is  like 
the  winter's  benediction.  The  afternoon  clouds  however,  the 
wind  veers  to  the  northwest,  and  possibly  March  may  come 
in  like  a  lion.  The  president  today  vetoes  the  silver  bill,  when 
both  houses  immediately  pass  the  bill  by  more  than  the  requisite 
two-thirds  vote,  the  house  by  196  to  73  and  the  senate  by  46 
to  19.  This  is  said  to  be  the  first  instance  in  which  a  bill  has 
been  passed  over  the  president's  veto  on  the  same  day  the  veto 
was  received. 

The  Workingmen's  and  Greenback  city  convention  meet 
and  nominate  Mr.  A.  T.  Walley  for  mayor.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  make-up  of  the  convention,  that  would  indicate  that 
one  of  the  chief  political  parties  already  in  existence  had  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  membership  of  the  new  organization. 

The  X.  M.  T.  Hose  Company  give  their  annual  hop  at  the 
Armory  in  the  evening,  transmitting  their  music  by  the  tele' 
phone  to  Syracuse.  The  affair  is  reported  as  a  success  at  each 
end  of  the  line.     The  average  temperature  for  the  month  has 


146  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH. 

been  34.4°  with  50°  on  the  7th,  and  18°  on  the  11th  for  the 
extremes. 

Friday,  March  1st. — The  threatening  aspect  of  the  weather 
last  evening  came  to  naught  and  the  morning  opens  cloudless 
and  beautiful.  There  is  a  little  too  much  lion's  blood  and  a 
little  too  much  lamb's  wool  in  the  makeup  of  the  day  to  concede 
it  to  either  the  lion  or  the  lamb.  The  wind  is  north,  the  sky 
cloudless,  and  the  thermometer  30°,  being  8°  above  the  morning 
marking. 

A  dispatch  received  today  announces  the  death  of  F.  G.  Day, 
Esq.  yesterday  at  Vienna,  the  result  doubtless  of  an  unsuccess- 
ful operation  to  remove  a  cancer,  with  which  he  had  long  been 
afflicted.  Mr.  Day  had  been  a  resident  of  Auburn  about  forty 
years,  holding  the  position,  of  Special  County  Judge,  and  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace,  and  was  probably  about  63  years  of  age. 

The  Kepublican  and  Democratic  ward  caucuses  are  held  in 
the  evening  to  nominate  ward  candidates,  and  to  choose  delegates 
to  their  respective  city  conventions.  The  Democratic  caucuses 
almost  uniformily  endorse  the  ward  nominations  of  the  Work- 
ingmen's  and  Greenback  caucuses. 

Saturday,  March  2nd. — The  morning  opens  cool  and  bright, 
with  thin  clouds  and  a  brisk  south  wind.  The  wind  freshens 
and  the  clouds  thicken  as  the  day  advances,  the  thermometer 
standing  at  42°  at  1  P.  M.  There  is  a  flavor  in  the  day  which 
recalls  old  memories  of  the  sap-bush,  when  the  gusts  of  wind 
forced  ones  eyes  full  of  tingling  smoke  and  whirled  clouds  of 
ashes  into  the  boiling  sap — when  the  sap-gatherers  looked  warily 
for  falling  dead  branches,  as  the  wind  moaned  through  the  leaf- 
less trees.  Still  it  can  hardly  be  that  the  maple  sugar  season  is 
upon  us  yet,  but  it  is  time  to  be  looking  over  the  sap-buckets 
and  the  spiles  and  the  cauldron  kettles — and  hens  should  begin 
to  practice  laying  eggs,  for  no  sap-bush  is  complete  without  its 
store  of  eggs,  and  no  eggs  compare  with  those  boiled  in  sap. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH.      147 

The  Republican  city  convention  nominates  Orlando  Lewis, 
Esq.,  for  mayor,  and  the  Democratic  city  convention  endorses 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Walley.  A  ratification  meeting  of  the 
Workingmen  and  Greenbackers  is  held  at  the  Opera  House  in 
the  evening,  addressed  mainly  by  Attorney-General  Worden, 
and  a  Mr.  Junio,  of  Syracuse. 

Ex-Senator  Benjamin  F.  Wade,  died  at  Jefferson,  Ohio,  aged 
nearly  78  years. 

The  Turks  today  sign  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  offered  by 
Russia,  and  the  approval  of  the  other  European  powers  is  now 
only  needed  to  secure  peace. 

Sunday,  March  3rd. — A  warm,  rainy  day,  more  like  April 
than  March.  The  scattered  snow  banks  look  tired  and  home- 
sick, and  the  grass  shows  green  on  sunlit  lawns.  The  wind  is 
south,  with  thermometer  at  52°. 

The  chief  of  police  reports  64  arrests  for  February,  33  of 
which  were  for  intoxication.  For  the  year  ending  with  Febru- 
ary, 804  arrests  are  reported,  425  being  for  intoxication. 
Total  number  of  lodgers  at  the  City  Hall  hotel,  1,314,  which 
would  indicate  something  over  500  tramps. 

Monday,  March  4th. — The  bleak  winds  of  March  blow  from 
the  north,  this  morning,  and  a  light  coating  of  snow,  which  fell 
during  the  night,  is  being  reinforced  by  scattering  flakes. 
Thermometer  25°.  A  session  of  the  county  court,  Judge  S. 
Edwin  Day  presiding,  commenced  today.  The  Common  Council 
meets  in  the  evening,  and  receives  several  reports  which  are 
duly  referred,  and  adjourns  to  Friday  evening. 

Tuesday,  March  5th. — A  bright  day,  mostly  cloudless,  with 
wind  in  the  southwest,  and  thermometer  at  42°.  The  charter 
election  passes  off  quietly,  resulting  in  the  election  of  Mr.  A. 
T.  Walley,  the  Greenback- Workingmen's-Democratic,  candi- 
date for  mayor,  by  214  majority.  Four  Republican  and  three 
opposition  supervisors  were  elected,  giving  the  Republicans  21 
of  the  30  members  of  the  Board. 


148  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH. 

The  most  thoroughly  happy  man  over  the  result  of  election, 
whom  I  have  met,  is  my  friend,  Attorney-General  Worden. 
He  is  not  jubilant,  but  solidly  and  quietly  happy.  His  hands 
are  thrust  deep  into  his  pockets  as  if  to  hold  himself  together 
from  the  pressure  of  inward  joy,  and  his  mouth  wears  a  one- 
sided smile,  half  concealing,  half  disclosing  the  expectation  of 
a  compliment  to  his  efficiency  in  securing  so  glorious  a  result. 
The  Board  of  Education  holds  a  regular  monthly  session  in  the 
evening. 

Wednesday,  March  6th. — The  morning  is  dim  with  clouds, 
thinning  as  the  day  advances,  and  a  lazy  sunshine  characterizes 
the  afternoon,  with  indications  of  rain.  Wind,  due  south. 
Thermometer  57° 

The  first  blue-bird  of  the  season, 

"  shifts  his  light  load  of  song 
From  post  to  post  along  the  cheerless  fence," 

today.     I  fear  he  may  have  come  too  early,  but  he  knows  best. 

How  refreshing  his  smooth,  clear  notes  after  the  long  endured, 

senseless  clatter  and  chat  and  chatter  of  the  bickering  sparrows, 

which  have  wintered  with  us.     I  hear  of  robins  today,  but  have 

seen  none. 

The  mayor  elect  is  serenaded  in  the  evening,  the  honor  of 
making  the  introductory  and  congratulatory  speech  being 
assigned  to  Attorney-General  Worden,  to  which  the  mayor 
elect  felicitously  responded. 

The  sale  of  the  old  Armory,  which  was  to  have  been  made 
today  is  indefinitely  postponed  on  account  of  an  informality  in 
the  advertisement.  Thurlow  B.  Wasson  of  this  city,  committed 
suicide  at  Oswego,  by  taking  morphine.     His  age  was  30  years. 

Thursday,  March  7th. — There  is  no  gain-saying  the  pres- 
ence of  the  robin,  the  bluebird  and  the  song-sparrow  this  morn- 
ing. The  day  is  one  of  sunshine,  shadow  and  showers,  the  wind 
being  southwest  the  fore  part  of  the  day,  with  thermometer  at 
57°.  The  wind  changed  by  way  of  the  west  to  the  north  in 
the  afternoon.     The  first  thunder  shower  of  the  season  occurred 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH.     1-19 

about  2  p.  m.,  a  very  modest  shower,  which  limited  itself  to 
a  single  rumble  of  distant  thunder. 

I  notice  spinach  and  "  pie-plant "  in  market  today,  said  to  be 
the  product  of  Skaneateles  market  gardens. 

Friday,  March  8th. — A  sharp  white  frost  during  the  night, 
dispels  the  clouds,  and  the  day  is  as  clear  and  genial,  as  a  day 
in  June.  The  wind  is  west,  and  the  thermometer  for  the  third 
successive  day  stands  at  57°. 

The  honey  bees  sport  in  the  sun  today,  after  their  winter's 
imprisonment  in  their  cells.  The  Common  Council  holds  an 
adjourned  session  in  the  evening,  but  transacts  little  business 
that  is  made  public. 

Saturday,  March  9th. — A  cloudless  day,  with  warm  south- 
east wind,  and  thermometer  at  65°.  There  is  a  marked  activity 
among  the  birds  today,  as  if  important  business  were  pending. 
The  robins  look  askance  at  old  nests  and  peer  into  the  crotches 
of  limbs,  the  blue-birds  flit  about  dead  limbs,  if  perchance  an 
opening  therein  may  be  found  for  a  nest,  the  sparrows  chatter 
and  squeal  and  quarrel  and  hasten  to  appropriate  all  the  desirable 
sites  for  nest-building,  and  everything  indicates  an  early  spring. 

The  first  telephone  is  put  in  practical  operation  in  our  city 
today.  It  connects  the  Southern  Central  depot  with  the  resi- 
dence of  Supt.  James  Gr.  Knapp,  and  with  the  residences  of 
other  officials  of  the  road. 

Sunday,  March  10th. — People  look  suspiciously  upon  and 
speak  doubtingly  of  this  weather,  as  if  it  were  out  of  season. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  remark,  "  We'll  have  to  pay 
for  it,  by  and  by."  While,  in  the  main,  I  think  Horace 
Greeley's  admonition  to  keep  out  of  debt  is  sound,  I  feel  that 
it  is  a  good  investment  to  take  this  weather  on  trust,  with  the 
chance  of  the  pay  for  it  being  demanded  in  April.  The  season 
has  been  remarkably  perplexing  to  weather  prophets.  I  am 
told  that  there  is  not  the  least  frost  in  the  ground,  and  those 
who  pride  themselves  upon  early  vegetables,  have  their  gardens 


150      RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH. 

well  under  way.  The  Owasco  lake  has  not  been  entirely  frozen 
over  during  the  winter.  Ice  has  been  scarce  and  large  quanti- 
ties have  been  brought  by  rail,  from  little  Sodus  Bay.  The  day 
is  clear,  with  slight  haze.  Thermometer  70°.  Wind  south  in 
the  forenoon,  veering  to  northeast  in  the  afternoon,  with  clouds 
and  indications  of  rain. 

Monday,  March  11th. — The  wind  is  apparently  reluctantly 
northeast  during  the  forenoon,  veering  to  the  east,  with  a  slight 
rain  about  noon.  Thermometer  57°.  The  outgoing  Common 
Council  held  their  last  meeting  in  the  forenoon,  and  bade  adieu 
to  their  calling.  The  finance  committee,  with  a  parting  salute, 
report,  "  the  city  entirely  free  from  debt."  This  would  be  cheer 
ing,  were  it  not  for  some  "  outstandings  "  in  the  details  of  the 
report,  which  cast  a  shadow  upon  the  picture.  Some  of  our  older 
inhabitants  will  also  recall  certain  railroad  bonds,  but  these,  I 
believe,  are  secured  by  stock.  There  is  also  the  claim  of  William 
Barry  for  killing  a  mad  dog,  which  is  still  unliquidated  so  far  as  I 
have  observed  the  proceedings  of  the  board.  Still,  it  will  sound 
well  to  our  neighbors  to  hear  that  we  are  out  of  debt.  The 
new  mayor  took  his  seat  at  12  M.,  when  the  new  board  organ- 
ized and  adjourned  till  evening.  The  evening  session  was 
mainly  devoted  to  fitting  up  the  running  gear  of  the  city 
machinery.  Mr.  Lewis  Paddock  was  elected  street  superintend- 
ent ;  Mr.  James  Lyon,  city  attorney  ;  Lonny  Hurd,  janitor ;  and 
some  other  minor  positions  were  filled,  and  the  standing  com- 
mittees of  the  board  announced. 

In  view  of  the  imperceptible  progress  made  by  the  citizen's 
committee,  on  the  revision  of  the  charter,  the  board  appointed 
a  committee  of  its  own,  for  that  purpose. 

Tuesday,  March  12th. — The  morning  opens  with  a  south- 
east wind,  and  just  rain  enough  to  make  one  indifferent  as  to 
the  use  of  an  umbrella.  Thermometer  50o.  I  notice  reports 
of  the  prevalence  of  the  severest  snow-storm,  known  for  years, 
in  the  extreme  west,  commencing  on  Thursday  last,  and  con- 
tinuing three  days.     The  Pacific  Eailroad  is  completely  block- 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH.      151 

aded  at  Cheyenne,  and  several  lives  are  reported  lost.  Lake 
Ontario  is  reported  to  be  open  for  navigation,  which  is  a  month 
or  more  earlier  than  last  year. 

A  local  paper  notes  the  croaking  of  frogs  as  having  already 
been  heard,  and  the  blossoming  of  maples,  as  indicating  spring. 
I  notice  the  maple  trees  in  bloom,  but  I  distrust  the  frog  part 
of  the  report,  for  two  reasons :  first,  the  conditions  are  not 
right  for  the  coming  of  the  frog ;  and  second,  the  early  frogs 
do  not  croak,  they  peep.  Possibly,  the  reporter  might  have 
heard  a  frog's  trill,  which  had  been  preserved  by  a  phono- 
graph, or  it  may  have  come  from  a  canned  frog. 

Outside  events  have  not  been  of  a  startling  nature,  during  the 
month.  Congress,  having  disposed  of  the  silver  bill,  has  been 
considering  the  tariff  question,  and  other  matters  of  local  and 
minor  importance.  The  State  Legislature  has  been  considering 
the  excise  question,  and  the  re-apportionment  bill.  The  war  in 
the  east,  has  not  materially  changed  its  outward  aspect,  except 
that  the  belligerent  spirit  of  England  has  somewhat  subsided,  and 
Austria  seems  now  disposed  to  be  fractious.  The  indications, 
however,  favor  a  settlement  of  difficulties  without  further  resort 
to  arms.  Business  continues  dull,  and  the  prospects  are  not 
especially  cheering.     Gold  has  declined  to  101  during  the  month. 

General  Grant  has  once  more  got  within  range  of  the  reporter, 
having  arrived  at  Constantinople  on  the  day  the  peace  articles 
were  signed.  After  a  short  stay  he  was  transported  to  Greece 
on  three  Ironclads,  where  he  was  cordially  received  by  the  king, 
who  gave  a  ball  in  his  honor.  He  is  expected  to  return  to  this 
country,  and  take  up  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  fall. 

Another  disastrous  tidal  wave  is  reported  on  the  western 
coast  of  South  America,  And  here,  my  dear  doctor,  is  another 
breathing  place  in  the  tiresome  journey  which  we  are  making 
together,  marking  the  end  of  the  eleventh  month  of  our  com- 
panionship. "Very  trulv  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
His  tor  iographer. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  March  13,  1878. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Schliemann  : 

A  record  of  current  events,  increases  in  value,  in  the  direct 
ratio  of   its  antiquity.     It  would   be  difficult   to  estimate  the 
worth  of  such  a  record  for  the  period,  for  instance,  when  the 
Pyramids  were  building.     Imagine  a  few  entries :  "  March  18, — 
Anno  Mundi  46,  King  Cheops  I  beheads   the  supervising 
architect  of  the  Sphinx,  because  the  left  ear  is  longer  than  a 
rigid   taste  warrants.     March  21. — The  new   architect  com- 
mences chiseling  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Sphinx's  mouth. 
March  24. — King  Cheops  I  demonetizes  the  coin  of  the  realm, 
and  the  laborers  on  the  great  Pyramid  strike  for  an  increase 
of  wages."     Such  items  would  have  an  interest  for  the  most 
indifferent.     So,  in  estimating  the  wealth  of  posterity,  it  is  no 
more  than  just  to  take  into  account  the  probable  value  of  this 
record  six  thousand  years  hence. 

As  I  enter  upon  the  month  which  closes  the  year  of  our 
intercourse,  I  am  surprised  that  I  have  continued  the  record  so 
long.  It  seems  but  yesterday  that  it  was  begun,  but  many 
yesterdays  have  intervened  and  each  has  borne  its  fruitage  of 
events,  more  or  less  important,  some  of  which  I  have  imperfectly 
noted  for  your  reading.  I  have  lately  been  looking  over  a  lot 
of  old  diaries,  which  have  been  my  companions  in  years  gone 
by,  and  was  surprised  at  the  meagreness  of  items  I  find  in  them. 
For  the  first  few  days  of  each  year,  perhaps  an  entry  appears 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH.  153 

each  day  ;  then  blanks,  with  an  occasional  entry  of  a  "  payment  to 
Bridget  for  services  to  date,"  or  the  memorandum  of  a  loan  of 
a  few  dollars,  more  or  less,  to  this  or  that  friend,  and  so  the 
record  dwindles  away  to  nothingness.  I  doubt  not  that  the 
record  of  most  men,  so  far  as  embodied  by  themselves,  most 
fully  appears  in  their  cash  books.  I  presume  there  are  few 
people  who  have  not  attempted  a  diary,  but  I  question  if  any 
one  has  continued  it  faithfully  any  considerable  time,  and 
remained  sane.  Perhaps  Pepys  was  an  exception.  Here,  then, 
is  an  opportunity  for  a  championship,  "  The  champion  diarist !" 
I  am  not  ambitious,  however,  to  compete  for  the  belt. 

A  steady  rain  from  the  south  ushers  in  the  day.  The  state 
election  in  New  Hampshire  yesterday,  resulted  in  the  election 
of  a  Republican  governor  and  legislature,  by  diminished  major- 
ities from  last  year. 

The  Historical  Society  was,  last  evening,  favored  with  a  very 
full  and  complete  paper  on  art  and  artists  in  Cayuga  County, 
prepared  and  read  by  Col.  T.  J.  Kennedy. 

The  day  has  been  dark  and  rainy,  the  wind  veering  from 
south  to  west,  and  the  thermometer  at  43°.  The  mayor  an- 
nounces his  new  police  force,  displacing  all  the  old  members. 
Mr.  Charles.  E.  Cootes  is  made  chief  of  the  new  force. 

Thursday,  March  14th. — A  dark,  dull  day,  with  occasional 
rain  and  sleet.     Wind  north,  and  thermometer  at  40°. 

The  new  police  force,  in  their  fresh  uniforms  and  burnished 
shields,  attract  no  little  attention  on  the  streets  today.  Irreverent 
boys  call  awelessly  at  them  across  the  street,  and  familiar  friends 
greet  and  survey  them  from  head  to  foot  with  feigned  delight. 
I  think  no  man  feels  quite  at  ease  when  he  first  appears  on  the 
street  in  a  suit  of  new  clothes,  and  usually  seeks  companionship 
with  some  one  going  his  way,  to  obscure  his  individuality.  So 
I  notice  that  the  new  guardians  of  the  peace,  seem  more  at  ease 
when  chatting  with  a  friend,  than  when  pacing  their  beat  in  soli- 


154      RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH. 

tary  stateliness.     This  feeling  will  wear  away  however,  as  the 
honor  gradually  adapts  itself  to  their  angularities. 

A  concert  was  given  at  the  Opera  House  in  the  evening,  exhibit 
ing  the  telephone  and  phonograph,  which  was  a  success,  except 
as  to  the  number  of  the  audience.  The  simplicity  of  the  phon- 
ograph and  the  marvellous  effects  produced  by  it,  excited  much 
wonder  and  admiration. 

Friday,  March  15th. — The  weather  has  recovered  from  its  ill 
humor  and  the  day  is  bright,  with  northwest  wind,  and  ther- 
mometer at  44°.  The  old  feud  between  the  blue-birds  and  spar- 
rows, for  the  possession  of  the  hollow  limb  of  the  apple  tree,  ia 
renewed  today. 

The  county  court  adjourns,  after  a  two  weeks'  session. 

Saturday,  March  16th. — Warmer,  with  south  wind,  and  a 
cloudless  sky.  Thermometer  55°.  General  Tom  Thumb,  and 
party,  delighted  the  juvenile  portion  of  our  community  by  an 
afternoon  and  evening  exhibition  of  their  diminutiveness,  at  the 
Academy  of  Music.  The  re-appearance  of  the  General  in  public, 
at  this  juncture,  would  indicate  a  shrinkage  in  his  financial 
bureau. 

Sunday,  March  17th. — A  southeast  wind,  cloudy,  and  slight 
rain,  with  thermometer  at  40°,  the  wind  veering  by  way  of  the 
east  to  the  north,  at  evening.  I  fancy  that  we  do  not  get  so 
cold  an  air  from  the  north,  when  the  wind  goes  around  the  back 
way,  that  is  by  way  of  the  east  from  the  south,  as  when  it  goes 
by  way  of  the  west 

Today  is  St  Patrick's  day.  The  saint  died  (or  was  born,  I 
forget  which),  1383  years  ago  today.  The  usual  solemnities  of 
the  occasion  are  not  observed  today  in  our  city,  on  account  of 
its  being  Sunday. 

Monday,  March  18th. — The  morning  opens  cloudy,  with  wind 
in  the  north,  but  clears  towards  noon,  and  a  cloudless  afternoon 
succeeds.     Thermometer  43°.     The   spring    luxury   of    maple 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH.      155 

sugar  can  now  be  indulged  in  to  the  extent  of  a  pound  for  four- 
teen cents.     I  first  notice  the  yellow  crocus  in  bloom  today. 

The  new  Common  Council  meets  in  the  evening  and  audits 
bills,  adopts  resolutions  and  modifies  the  membership  of  hose 
companies,  with  the  facility  of  veterans.  The  citizens'  com- 
mittee on  the  revision  of  the  charter  is  voted  a  clerk,  in  the 
discretion  of  the  city  attorney.  The  city  attorney  is  also  deputed 
to  go  to  Albany  and  deliver  to  our  representatives  certain 
amendments  to  the  charter,  which  seem  to  have  been  sanctioned 
by  the  council.  This  would  indicate  that  the  amendments  are 
too  weighty  and  important  to  be  trusted  to  the  mail.  It  is  a 
wise  precaution  against  the  possibility  of  our  representatives' 
consigning  the  amendments  to  the  waste  basket,  as  trade  circu- 
lars, or  patent  medicine  advertisements. 

Tuesday,  March  19th. — A  dull,  dark  day,  with  occasional 
rain  from  the  northwest.  Thermometer  38°.  The  49th  regi- 
ment establish  a  rifle  range  in  the  new  Armory,  for  practice 
at  a  distance  of  110  ft.  The  bulls  eye  is  graduated  to  the  dis- 
tance, and  a  modified  or  diluted  ammunition  (probably  the  air 
gun)  is  to  be  used. 

The  first  hand-organ  of  the  season,  thrills  the  air  with  melody 
on  the  streets  today. 

The  Historical  Society  holds  an  adjourned  annual  meeting 
in  the  evening,  and  elects  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  The 
old  officers  were  unanimously  re-elected,  as  a  reward  for  their 
efficiency  during  the  past  year. 

Wednesday,  March  20th. — A  clear,  cool  morning,  with  brisk 
northwest  wind.  Thermometer  39°,  an  advance  of  9°  since 
morning.  The  corps  of  mound-builders,  who  annually  in  the 
springtime  gather  the  winter's  collection  of  debris  in  our  streets 
into  comely  heaps,  commence  their  labors  today.  It  is  wonder- 
ful, what  an  interest  these  sober-visaged  men  evince  in  horses. 
Ceasing  from  their  labor,  they  will  lean  upon  their  hoes,  and 


156  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH. 

watch  the  animals  pass  and  repass  with  untiring  interest,  and 
the  slower  the  horse  moves  the  more  absorbed  is  their  contem- 
plation. I  attribute  it  to  the  sympathy  of  labor.  When  a 
squad  of  these  mound-builders  has  tired  of  watching  horses  in 
one  place,  it  changes  its  base,  making  a  unique  procession. 
Then  the  pipes  are  lighted,  a  glance  is  given  towards  the  sun,  to 
judge  the  time,  the  hoes  are  thrown  over  the  shoulders,  and  the 
line  moves  in  double  file,  the  distant  rear  being  brought  up  by 
the  man  with  a  turned  foot  or  a  crooked  knee,  in  consideration 
of  whom  no  undue  haste  is  permitted.  Besides,  these  men  are 
veterans,  and  know  that  rapid  marching  is  exhausting,  and  the 
mud  will  stay  till  they  get  there,  and  the  time  goes  on  the  same, 
whether  marching,  hoeing,  or  admiring  horses. 

How  shrilly  and  defiantly  the  robins  pipe  their  cold  weather 
notes  against  the  north  wind  !  One  need  not  go  out  of  doors  to 
feel  that  it  is  cold,  he  can  hear  the  cold  in  the  changed  and 
hurried  utterances  of  the  shivering  birds. 

Thursday,  March  21st. — A  sharp  freeze,  last  night,  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  bright  morning,  which  is  somewhat  obscured  by 
stray  clouds  during  the  morning,  scattering  towards  evening. 
Thermometer  34°.  The  northwest  wind  seems  a  little  ashamed 
of  its  wandering,  and  is  yielding  slightly  to  the  allurements  of  a 
warmer  quarter.  From  fifteen  to  twenty  tramps  have  nightly 
sought  lodgings  at  the  tramps'  quarters,  in  the  City  Hall,  for  the 
past  few  nights,  indicating  a  revival  of  business  in  this  element 
of  community.  It  would  be  interesting  to  study  the  habits  of 
this  species  of  humanity,  to  determine  whether,  as  would  seem 
to  be  the  case,  like  migratory  birds,  they  have  their  seasons  of 
coming  and  going,  and  whence  and  whither  and  wherefor, 
whether  like  swallows  they  disappear,  no  one  knows  whither,  for 
a  season,  or  whether  like  the  bear  and  the  woodchuck,  they 
hibernate  upon  the  fatness  accumulated  during  the  milder  por- 
tion of  the  year. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH.      157 

Friday,  March  22nd. — The  wind  crept  back  to  the  west 
under  the  cover  of  the  night,  and  the  morning  opens  cloudy  and 
slightly  warmer.  Thermometer  40°.  Clear  in  the  afternoon. 
A  citizen's  meeting,  to  consider  the  revision  of  the  city  charter, 
is  held  in  the  evening.  It  was  feared  that  the  sub-committee  of 
five,  appointed  by  the  committee  of  twenty-two,  was  not  pro- 
gressing rapidly  enough,  and  it  was  proposed  to  appoint  a  new 
committee  of  three.  Some  of  our  most  experienced  speakers 
took  part  in  the  discussion,  but  the  appointment  of  the  com- 
mittee of  five  was  finally  approved. 

Saturday,  March  23rd. — The  sky  is  overcast  and  a  brisk, 
southwest  wind  prevails,  with  a  moist  feeling  in  the  air  as  of 
approaching    rain.     Thermometer  58°.     Eain  in    the   evening. 

The  great  international  walking  match  for  the  championship 
of  the  world,  closed  at  London,  today.  The  test  was  to  walk 
the  greatest  number  of  miles  in  six  consecutive  days,  the  prize 
being  £500,  and  the  champion's  belt.  O'Leary,  the  American 
representative,  secured  the  prize,  walking  520  miles  in  the 
allotted  time,  and  ending  up  with  one  sound  leg.  His  nearest 
competitor  was  Vaughn,  the  Englishman,  who  accomplished  500 
miles.  The  interest  in  the  contest  overshadowed  the  eastern 
war  question  in  London,  for  a  time, — as  high  as  10,000  spectators 
at  times  witnessing  the  contest.  The  name  of  the  American 
champion  sounds  as  of  imported  stock,  and  I  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  him  claimed  as  a  native  of  Cork,  or  Kilkenny,  or 
Tipperary.  This  kind  of  contest  is  an  improvement  upon  the 
prize-fight  of  a  few  years  ago,  still  I  think  the  honor  about  equal 
to  that  of  a  champion  gum-chewer.  In  fact,  I  haven't  much 
faith  in  champions  as  benefactors.  I  know  of  no  other  that  we 
could  send  to  the  Old  World  at  present,  unless  it  be  the  cham- 
pion sausage-maker  of  Pennsylvania,  who  has  made  the  largest 
sausage  ever  manufactured ;  or  the  champion  orator  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, who  lately  spoke  twenty-four   consecutive  hours  on  a 


158  RECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH. 

wager,  drinking  meantime   four  gallons  of  whiskey  and  then 
collapsing,  whether  from  exhaustion  or  whiskey,  did  not  appear. 
The  steamboat  Magenta  burst  her  boiler,  near  Sing  Sing,  thi6 
morning,  killing  five  persons  and  scalding  many  others. 

Sunday,  March  21st. — The  ground  is  white  with  snow  this 
morning,  and  a  fitful  northwest  wind  prevails,  and  at  intervals 
during  the  day  sudden  snow-squalls  remind  us  that  it"  is  still 
March.  It  is  a  day  of  triumph  for  those  who  have  been  predict- 
ing that  "  we  should  catch  it."  Thermometer  34°.  The  storm  is 
wide-spread ;  the  cable  reporting  a  severe  snow-storm  in  England, 
and  the  loss  of  the  naval  training-ship  Eurydice  near  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  with  upwards  of  three  hundred  cadets. 

Monday,  March  25th. — The  salutation,  "  What  do  you  think 
of  this  weather  ?"  is  frequent  and  appropriate  this  morning. 
The  mercury  marked  10°  at  7  A.  M.,  (this  statement  is  made 
upon  information  and  belief)  but  had  risen  to  23°  at  1  P.  M. 
The  wind  is  a  little  north  of  west,  and  brisk,  as  becomes  a  self- 
respecting  March  wind,  with  occasional  snow-squalls.  If  the 
snow  would  stay  where  it  fell,  I  think  it  would  show  a  depth 
of  about  two  inches,  but  it  blows  away  to  leave  bare  spots  for 
birds  to  get  their  dinners. 

The  paper  read  before  the  Historical  Society,  at  its  last  meet- 
ing, calls  forth  several  letters,  published  today,  adding  to  the 
list  of  Cayuga  County  artists.  Only  one  disclaims  the  honor 
of  being  so  classified.  Having  exhausted  the  sublimities  of  art, 
tired  of  the  associaton  with  presidents  and  the  magnates  of  our 
land,  satiated  with  sporting  on  the  prairies  with  princes,  and 
of  scaling  mountain  peaks  with  live  dukes,  having  spiked  the 
continent  of  North  Arnericr,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  utterly 
disgusted  with  the  trickery  of  politics,  he  retires  to  wear  his 
laurels  in  the  quiet  and  agreeable  management  of  an  Insurance 
Company.  Cayuga  County  may  be  humiliated  for  aspiring  to 
an  honor   she  might  not   rightfully  claim,  but  she  cannot  be 


RECORD   OF   CUKRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH.  159 

deprived  of  the  solace  of  admiration,  nor  debarred  from  the  hope 
that  the  company  may  be  spared  an  investigation. 

A  disastrous  fire  in  Philadelphia  destroys  some  $800,000 
worth  of  property  ;  and  one  in  New  York  some  $600,000  worth. 

Tuesday,  March  26th. — Once  more  March  smiles  under  a 
westerly  wind,  and  a  clear  sky.  The  thermometer  registered  40° 
at  1  p.  M.,  with  scattered  clouds,  which  rally  as  the  day. 
advances. 

The  Common  Council  holds  a  special  session  in  the  evening, 
and  orders  the  publication  of  the  proposed  amendments  to  the 
city  charter. 

As  I  suspected,  the  papers  announce  that  O'Leary,  the  cham- 
pion walker,  is  a  native  of  Cork,  but  is  a  naturalized  resident 
of  Chicago.  The  O'Leary 's  of  Chicago  would  seem  to  have 
sprung  from  noble  ancestry.  It  was  the  cow  of  an  O'Leary 
which  kicked  over  the  lamp  that  started  the  great  Chicago  fire. 

Wednesday,  March  27th. — The  sky  is  overcast,  the  sun 
shedding  a  dull  red  light  through  the  clouds,  at  times  with  an 
effect  not  unlike  Indian  summer.  The  wind  is  south,  and  the 
thermometer  at  56°.     Rain  in  the  afternoon,  and  very  dark. 

A  Mrs.  Seeley  of  Owasco  died  this  morning,  from  the  effects 
of  burns,  from  the  explosion  of  a  kerosene  lamp  last  evening. 
The  state  senate  acquit  Mr.  Smyth,  superintendent  of  the  insur- 
ance department.of  the  charges  against  him,by  a  vote  of  19  to  12. 

Thursday,  March  28th. — The  morning  opens  with  a  dense 
fog  which  continues  throughout  the  day.  The  wind  is  north- 
west and  the  mercury  stands  at  40°. 

Friday,  March  29th. — The  fog  lifted  during  the  night,  and 
the  day  is  cloudless,  with  a  brisk,  cool,  north  wind,  and  the 
thermometer  at  42°.  A  sharp  frost  at  night  demonstrates  the 
impropriety  of  planting  cucumbers  too  early  in  the  season. 


160  EECORD   OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR    MARCH. 

Saturday,  March  30th. — The  morning  opens  clear  and  bright, 
with  wind  in  the  east.  Thermometer  53°.  Thin  clouds  obscure 
the  sun  in  the  afternoon.  Mr.  Z.  L.  Webb  for  many  years  resi- 
dent of  this  city,  died  today,  in  the  73rd  year  of  his  age. 

I  should  feel  that  my  record  was  far  from  perfect,  if  I  failed 
to  note  an  important  industry  which  has  been  established  in  our 
city  during  the  past  eighteen  months.  The  way-farer  by  day 
or  night,  or  the  wakeful  slumberer  in  the  vicinity  of  the  post- 
office,  may  hear  at  any  hour  of  the  night,  or  in  the  lull  of  the 
street  rumble  by  day,  at  uncertain  intervals,  a  clanging  noise, 
which  has  piqued  the  curiosity  of  many  a  passer-by  as  to  its 
origin.  At  length  people  learned  that  it  came  from  the  Button 
Factory.  Some  eighteen  months  ago,  Mr.  John  H.  Woodruff 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  buttons  by  a  process  peculiarly 
his  own,  in  the  building  formerly  occupied  as  a  Paper  Bag 
Manufactory  in  the  rear  of  the  postoffice,  and  has  continued  it 
to  the  present  time  with  marked  success. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  a  gentleman  interested  in  the  busi- 
ness, and  also  in  the  Historical  Society,  I  have  been  permitted 
the  rare  privilege  of  visiting  the  institution  and  of  giving  a  brief 
notice  of  it,  that  you  may  know  how  our  people  are  supplied 
with  buttons  at  the  present  day.  Of  course  I  should  not  feel 
at  liberty  to  give  the  details  of  mixing  the  ingredients,  for  you 
must  know  that  the  material  of  which  the  buttons  are  made  is 
a  composition — the  exact  proportions  of  gypsum  and  naptha 
and  wauhoo  it  takes  to  make  a  batch  of  French  buttons — for 
this  would  enable  anyone  to  engage  in  the  manufacture.  I 
understand  that  Mr.  Woodruff  is  taking  a  great  many  thousand 
tons  of  gypsum  from  the  Springport  beds  annually,  but  I  pre- 
sume it  is  not  all  manufactured  into  buttons.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  the  composition  is  prepared  in  sheets,  of  the  thickness 
required  for  the  button.  The  moulds  are  sunk  into  steel  plates 
of  suitable  styles,  the  number  of  buttons  to  each  plate  varying 
with  the  size  of  the  button.     The  composition,  heated  sufficiently 


RECORD    OF   CURRENT   EVENTS   FOR   MARCH.  161 

to  render  it  pliable,  is  placed  in  the  mould,  which  is  then  sub- 
jected to  strong  pressure,  and  to  a  cooling  process  at  the  same 
time,  and  in  about  two  minutes  a  cake  of  bright  buttons  is 
produced,  with  eyes  all  pierced ;  it  may  be  black,  blue,  green, 
gray,  striped  or  speckled,  according  as  the  style  demands  and 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  material  used  I  understand  that  the  dun- 
colored  button  is  more  expensive  than  the  more  pronounced 
hues.  I  may  say  here,  that  in  loosening  the  buttons  from  the 
moulds,  the  mould  is  dropped  upon  an  iron  plate  and  causes  the 
clanging  noise  which  I  have  mentioned.  From  the  moulder 
the  buttons  go  to  the  picker  or  sorter,  who  breaks  off  the 
excrescences,  thence  to  the  finisher  who  files  the  edge  of  each 
button  smooth,  as  it  revolves  rapidly  upon  a  spindle,  thence  to 
the  card  room,  where  the  nimble  fingers  of  some  fifty  or  sixty 
women  stitch  the  buttons  to  cards,  which  are  then  packed  in 
boxes  for  shipment.  I  may  add  here  that  door  knobs  and  fur- 
niture knobs  are  also  quite  extensively  manufactured  by  a  simi- 
lar process,  but  do  not  have  to  be  carded.  The  entire  product 
of  the  manufactory  is  shipped  to  a  distant  market 

Buttons,  being  an  article  of  dress,  must  of  course  have  the 
prestige  of  foreign  birth.  An  American  made  button  might  be 
tolerated  by  the  barefoot  schoolboy,  to  tether  his  nether  garment 
to  his  single  suspender,  but  to  the  average  citizen  the  button  of 
European  origin  is  preferable.  Its  use  elevates  one  into  the 
atmosphere  of  his  travelled  friends,  who  are  wearing  the  same 
styles  of  buttons  purchased  in  Paris  or  Berlin.  It  would  be  a 
pardonable  artifice,  therefore,  if  Mr.  Woodruff  should  label  his 
manufactures,  "  Boutons  Francaise,  Kue  de  Terrill,"  or  some- 
thing of  that  sort,  especially  as  few  of  us  feel  able  to  purchase 
imported  buttons  for  every  day  use. 

The  establishment  keeps  some  130  employes  busy,  nearly  all 
doing  "  piece  work,"  the  lighter  work  being  done  by  women, 
and  distributes  to  them  monthly,  from  $2,500  to  $3,000.  In 
the  moulding  department  a  double  set  of  hands  is  employed, 


162      RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  MARCH. 

one  for  day,  and  the  other  for  night  work,  the  moulds  being  kept 
busy  from  12  o'clock  Monday  morning  to  12  o'clock  Saturday 
night  From  900  to  1,000  gross  of  buttons  are  turned  out  daily. 
This  seems  an  enormous  production,  and  Mr.  Woodruff  is 
entitled  to  great  credit  for  ministering  so  largely  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  our  people  for  so  indispensable  an  article.  But  a  slight 
computation  will  reveal  the  fact  that  were  it  not  for  other  agen- 
cies, there  would  be  an  absolute  button  famine  in  our"  country. 
Nine  hundred  gross  per  day  is  about  40,000,000  buttons  per 
year,  or  less  than  a  single  button  for  each  man,  woman  and  child 
in  our  land  !  However  startling  the  situation  may  at  first  glance 
appear,  there  are  compensating  views  of  it.  Many  people  go 
abroad  to  purchase  their  buttons  ;  then  in  the  warm  season  people 
do  not  need  so  many  buttons,  and  manufacturers  can  bank  up 
against  their  orders.  Moreover,  there  is  m  almost  every  household, 
which  has  not  been  lately  burned  out,  a  button  reserve,  of  from  a 
quart  to  a  half  bushel  of  odd  buttons,  carefully  preserved  in 
collar  boxes  and  old  stockings,  which  can  be  resorted  to  in  case 
of  emergency. 

Government  however  should  limit,  with  strict  penalties,  the 
number  of  styles  of  buttons  manufactured.  It  is  rare  that  you 
will  find  two  buttons  which  are  mates  in  the  reserve  which  I 
have  mentioned.  The  prudent  house-wife  empties  a  quart  of 
them  into  her  lap,  and  fumbles  them  over  and  dives  down  into 
them  and  sifts  them  between  her  fingers,  to  find  the  mate  to 
the  lost  one  from  your  garment.  If  found,  generally  the  eye  is 
gone,  and  another  quart  has  to  undergo  the  same  process,  and 
usually  a  button  of  about  the  same  diameter  and  of  a  generally 
similar  personal  appearance,  is  substituted  with  the  remark, 
"  that  people  will  not  stop  you  on  the  street  to  see  if  your 
buttons  are  mates."  All  this  inconvenience  might  be  obviated 
by  judicious  legislation. 

If  it  were  permitted  me,  I  should  be  pleased  to  present  some 
moral  reflections  upon  the  utter  inefficiency  and  uselessness  of  a 


RECORD    OF    CURRENT    EVENTS   FOR   APRIL.  163 

button  without  an  eye.  Almost  everything  else  which  has  an 
eye,  is  of  some  use,  even  though  the  eye  be  destroyed.  The  eye 
of  the  wind  is  not  essential  to  it ;  the  eye  of  the  potato  may  be 
removed,  to  the  absolute  improvement  of  the  esculent ;  the  eye 
of  a  needle  may  be  gone,  and  still  the  needle  may  do  good  sub- 
stitute service  in  an  emergency,  in  place  of  a  pin,  or  be  useful  to 
pick  slivers  out  of  the  children's  fingers,  bat  a  button  without  an 
eye — what  shall  be  said  of  it  ?  You  can't  play  checkers  with 
it,  for  you  can  never  get  a  dozen  of  a  kind  ;  the  only  use  I  can 
conceive  for  it,  is  a  kind  of  half  pay  duty  on  the  retired  list,  as 
the  fox  in  a  game  of  fox  and  geese.  I  see  that  I  am  wander- 
ing, however.  I  aimed  to  give  a  brief  account  of  an  industry, 
which  is  adding  much  to  the  prosperity  of  our  city,  and  having 
partially  effected  my  purpose,  I  leave  the  rest  to  your  imagi- 
nation or  research. 

Sunday,  March  31st — The  wind  is  south  and  the  sun  par- 
tially obscured  by  clouds.  Thermometer  55°.  The  house  of 
Lawrence  McCarthy,  on  Park  street,  takes  fire  from  a  defective 
chimney  early  in  the  morning  and  is  burned.  The  children 
and  the  cook-stove  were  rescued  from  the  flames,  as  was  also 
the  cow  which  gave  the  alarm,  but  the  house  was  wholly  con- 
sumed. The  water  in  the  outlet  is  drawn  down  today  for  the 
convenience  of  laying  the  foundation  to  the  new  building  on 
the  west  side  of  State  street  bridge.  The  day,  from  the  condi- 
tion of  the  atmosphere,  has  been  peculiarly  fruitful  of  headache, 
not  the  conventional  kind  with  which  one  stays  at  home,  but 
the  legitimate  ache  which  one  takes  to  church  with  him.  The 
average  of  the  thermometer,  for  the  month,  has  been  45.3°,  the 
highest  being  70°  on  the  10th,  and  the  lowest  23°  on  the  25th. 

Monday,  April  1st. — Wind  west,  and  slightly  cloudy.  Ther- 
mometer 52°  at  1  p.  M.,  with  wind  veering  to  the  north. 

About  1,400  workmen  in  the  shops  of  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad  are  discharged  today,  in  pursuance  of  arrangements  to 
reduce  the  number  of  employes  on  the  road. 


164       RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

The  streets  are  crowded  with  rural  visitors,  brought  hither  to 
arrange  their  first  of  April  balances.  The  harpist  is  on  the  street 
today,  with  clarionet  and  violin  accompaniment,  the  first  of  the 
season.  The  Common  Council  meets  in  the  evening  and  dis- 
charges the  usual  routine  of  business,  commences  borrowing 
money  to  pay  the  police,  and  refers  the  contract  with  the  Gas 
Light  Company,  to  the  committee  on  lamps,  for  completion. 
The  notorious  Madame  Restell,  of  New  York,  nearly  severed 
her  head  from  her  shoulders  with  a  carving  knife  at  her  home, 
this  morning.     It  killed  her. 

Tuesday,  April  2nd. — A  bright  clear  day,  with  northwesterly 
wind,  and  thermometer  at  56°. 

The  Board  of  Education  hold  their  regular  monthly  session 
in  the  evening,  and  order  the  roof  of  the  Bradford  street  pri- 
mary school  building  to  be  raised,  so  as  to  make  the  building 
two  stories  high. 

The  Board  of  Excise  meet  in  the  evening,  and  reduce  the 
price  of  licenses ;  a  hotel  license  being  reduced  from  $125  to 
$75.  This  is  a  concession  to  the  general  tendency  to  a  decline 
in  values.  Now  let  us  have  the  Moffat  Bell  Punch  to  register 
the  drinks  for  economical,  financial  and  scientific  purposes. 
It  would  be  more  interesting  in  a  historical  record,  than  a  daily 
note  of  the  weather,  to  record  the  number  of  drinks.  Today  for 
instance,  our  drinking  public  being  in  a  social  mood,  the  regis- 
ter shows  5,000  drinks ;  tomorrow  a  reaction,  and  the  number 
is  largely  diminished.  On  the  fourth  of  July  the  patriotism  of 
our  community  could  be  nicely  gauged,  if  the  register  were  of 
sufficient  capacity.  It  would  add  greatly  to  our  stock  of  sanitary 
statistics,  if  the  drinks  recommended  by  physicians  could  be 
separately  registered.  .  But  one  difficulty  occurs  to  me,  and  that 
is,  in  registering  the  drinks  from  beer  kegs  and  bottles  in 
private  cellars ;  but  this  could  be  obviated  by  attaching  a  punch 
to  each  man's  mouth,  which  I  should  favor,  as  it  would  indicate 
the  exact  state  of  sobriety  of  every  citizen  at  any  hour  of  the  day. 


RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL.      165 

Jabez  Gould  died  today,  aged  68  years.  Mr.  Gould  was  the 
pioneer  in  introducing  drays  for  carting  in  Auburn,  and  also 
public  hacks,  although  the  first  public  conveyance  for  hire,  was 
a  one-horse  cab  introduced  by  David  Foot.  Sylvester  Town 
of  Cato  was  accidentally  drowned  in  Cross  Lake  today.  He 
was  married  the  evening  previous. 

Wednesday,  April  3rd. — The  wind  holds  steadily  in  the 
quadrant  from  west  to  north,  with  a  clear  sky  and  cool,  dry 
air.  Thermometer  58°.  I  first  notice  the  purple  finch  today, 
with  his  war  paint  of  raspberry  stain,  but  I  hear  of  his  coming 
some  days  since.  I  notice  that  the  robins  seem  to  delight  most 
in  singing  in  the  evening  after  the  sparrows  have  gone  to  bed, 
and  in  the  morning  before  they  get  up,  which  shows  the  good 
taste  of  the  robins.  The  first  strawberries  of  the  season  are 
reported  in  market  today.  I  do  not  notice  the  robins  about  my 
own  vines  yet. 

Thursday,  April  4th. — The  morning  opens  cloudless,  with 
northeast  wind.  Thin  clouds  at  noon,  with  thermometer  at  60° 
The  first  shad  of  the  season  is  reported  today,  probably  inter- 
cepted by  the  Connecticut  fisherman,  on  his  way  up  to  Holy- 
oke  dam. 

The  papers  report  two  hundred  applicants  already  accepted 
for  Stewart's  Women's  Hotel,  in  New  York,  which  was  opened 
to  the  public  Tuesday  evening,  and  visited  by  from  30,000  to 
40,000  people.  In  the  description  of  the  kitchen  I  notice  the 
mention  of  a  griddle,  which  bakes  sixteen  square  feet  of  buck- 
wheat cakes  at  once,  from  which  I  infer  that  this  delicacy  is  to 
be  served  by  land  or  square  measure,  the  guest  ordering  a 
quarter  or  half  an  acre  of  pancakes,  according  to  her  appetite. 

Friday,  April  5th. — The  wind  has  returned  to  the  northwest, 
is  somewhat  brisk  and  cool,  with  an  overcast  sky,  clearing  towards 
noon,  with  thermometer  at  51°.  The  streets  are  as  dusty  as 
in  midsummer. 


166      RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

A  serious  railroad  accident  occurs  at  Slatington,  near  Mauch 
Chunk  on  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  caused  by  an  oil  train 
colliding  with  a  freight  train,  setting  fire  to  the  oil  train  which 
was  burned,  and  a  dozen  or  more  persons  perished  in  the  flames. 

One  of  the  Steuben  county  poor-house  buildings  was  burned 
at  night,  and  thirteen  of  the  inmates  were  burned  to  death. 

Saturday,  April  6th. — The  west  wind  of  the  morning  grad- 
ually veers  to  the  north,  the  sky  is  thickly  clouded  over, 
thermometer  50°.  A  light  rain  sets  in,  in  the  late  afternoon, 
which  continues  during  the  night. 

The  city  treasurer  is  reported  to  have  received  $1,500,  all  in 
money,  the  proceeds  of  a  loan  by  the  city  to  pay  the  police. 
It  is  a  rare  extravagance  that  the  police  should  be  paid  so  much, 
so  soon  after  the  city  is  reported  out  of  debt 

Sunday,  April  7th. — These  cool,  north  winds  are  repressing 
the  ardor  of  the  youthful  spring,  and  vegetation  comes  on  slowly. 
The  day  is  cloudy  and  cool,  with  thermometer  at  41°. 

A  singular  accident  occurred  to  a  funeral  procession  in  the 
Fort  Hill  cemetery  today,  caused  by  one  of  the  carriages  being 
upset  and  severely  bruising  its  inmates. 

Monday,  April  8th. — The  early  morning  was  clear,  this  I 
stand  ready  to  verify.  Fleeting  clouds  soon  arose,  but  the 
warmth  of  the  sun  dispelled  them,  and  the  day  has  been  bright, 
with  northwest  wind,  and  thermometer  at  54°. 

An  equity  term  of  the  Supreme  Court  commenced  its  session 
at  the  Court  House,  Justice  Dwight  presiding. 

I  notice  the  account  of  the  launching  of  the  new  steamship 
"  City  of  Pera,"  of  the  New  York  and  Brazil  line,  at  Chester,  Pa., 
on  Saturday  last.  Fourteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  people  and  the  President  witnessed  the  launching. 

Tuesday,  April  9th. — The  wind  went  around  by  the  east  to 
the  south  during  the  night,  and  this  morning  a  brisk  southeast 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT  EVENTS   FOR   APRIL.  167 

wind  prevails,  slamming  doors  and  window-blinds,  and  rattling 
windows  and  evincing  a  general  disposition  to  be  frisky.  The 
sky  is  cloudy,  and  rain  seems  imminent.  Thermometer  58°. 
A  light  rain  set  in  about  four  o'clock. 

The  Cayuga  Presbytery  commenced  its  session  today,  at  the 
Calvary  Church,  in  this  city. 

The  annual  processions  of  spring  calves  have  commenced,  and 
today  occasional  delegates  might  be  seen  on  the  streets,  headed 
for  the  depot  for  credentials  and  a  pass  to  New  York.  I  notice 
the  presence  of  the  currant  fly  for  the  first  today,  and  first  hear 
the  peeping  of  frogs  in  the  evening. 

Charles  Pardee,  a  prominent  banker,  committed  suicide  at  his 
home  in  Skaneateles  today  by  cutting  his  throat  He  was 
upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age,  and  was  well  known  and  highly 
esteemed  in  this  community. 

Of  the  general  events  of  the  month,  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant has  been  the  diplomacy  concerning  the  eastern  war.  The 
peace  articles  between  Russia  and  Turkey  have  been  made  pub- 
lic, and  are  eminently  unsatisfactory  to  England,  nor  are  they 
to  the  liking  of  Austria  and  Rou  mania.  Germany  keeps  aloof 
from  the  controversy,  and  France  remains  passive  under  the 
wounds  from  her  late  war,  and  is  influenced  by  a  desire  to  make 
the  Paris  Exposition  of  the  coming  summer  a  success,  such  as 
could  not  be  expected  with  a  general  European  war. 

Lord  Derby,  the  English  minister  of  war,  has  resigned  on 
account  of  his  disagreement  with  the  crown  as  to  its  policy  in 
the  Russian  complication.  He  is  succeeded  by  the  Marquis  of 
Salisbury.  Russia  has  failed  to  pacify  Austria  and  is  thought 
to  be  seeking  an  alliance  with  Turkey.  The  peace  congress 
seems  to  have  been  abandoned,  and  both  England  and  Russia 
are  preparing  for  war  which  seems  to  threaten,  but  may  be 
averted.  Fighting  between  the  Turks  and  the  insurgents  in 
Thessaly  has  continued  with  varying  fortune. 

A  startling  event  in  Ireland,  the  shooting  of  a  landed  propri- 


168      RECORD  OF  CURRENT  EVENTS  FOR  APRIL. 

etor  and  his  two  companions  by  unknown  assassins,  recalls  the 
old  troubles  which  have  afflicted  the  Emerald  Isle. 

General  Grant  has  gone  to  Rome  and  has  been  presented  to 
the  new  Pope.  He  is  to  spend  some  weeks  there  with  his 
daughter  Mrs.  Sartoris.  I  suppose  he  will  run  down  to  Naples 
occasionally,  and  sit  upon  the  dock  and  placidly  smoke,  while 
Vesuvius  gets  up  a  special  eruption  in  his  honor. 

Little  has  been  heard  from  the  young  king  of  Spain,  from 
which  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  has  settled  down  to  housekeep- 
ing with  his  new  wife. 

The  Parisians  are  actively  preparing  for  the  approaching 
exposition.  Congress  has  discussed  without  result,  the  Halifax 
award,  by  which  England  gets  $5,000,000  for  about  $4,000,000 
worth  of  fish  which  our  fishermen  have  taken  from  Canadian 
waters.  The  house  has  made  little  progress  in  legislation,  but 
has  dismissed  its  doorkeeper  for  malfeasance  in  office,  and 
elected  a  new  one  in  the  person  of  an  Ex-Confederate  Brigadier- 
General,  over  General  Shields  of  Mexican  fame. 

The  state  legislature  has  done  considerable  discussion,  but  it 
is  not  its  practice  to  legislate  much  tilV  near  the  close  of  the 
session.  The  new  silver  dollar  has  been  pat  in  circulation,  and 
gold  last  Saturday  touched  as  low  as  £  of  one  per  cent  premium. 

The  state  of  Iowa,  someHwo  weeks  since,  re-instated  the  death 
penalty  for  capital  crimes,  having  tried  a  lighter  penalty  for 
many  years.  Only  four  atrocious  murders  have  as  yet  been 
committed  in  the  state  since  the  death  penalty  was  revived. 

Several  of  the  colleges  of  the  country,  notably  Princeton  and 
Dartmouth,  have  been  much  disturbed  by  the  practice  of 
"  hazing"  among  the  students,  which  in  one  instance  was 
attended  with  disastrous  results.  The  month  has  been  remark- 
able for  the  number  of  failures  of  business  houses  throughout 
the  country. 

In  the  scientific  world,  elaborate  preparations  are  being  made 
for  observations  of  the  transit  of  mercury  on  the  6th  of  May, 
and  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  on  the  29th  of  July.     A  party 


RECORD   OF   CURRENT    EVENTS    FOR   APRIL.  169 

of  German  scientists  have  already  arrived  in  this  country  for 
that  purpose. 

In  our  own  community  quiet  has  prevailed,  and  a  kind  of  sub- 
dued prosperity  has  kept  the  people  hopeful  of  the  good  time 
coming.  I  notice  the  important  business  change  of  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  partnership  between  Mr.  Sutton  the  druggist,  and 
Doctor  Perry  Williams,  which  had  continued  for  the  past  thirteen 
years.  This  is  not  the  result  of  any  misunderstanding  but  sim- 
ply a  business  convenience. 

I  hear  good  reports  of  the  crop  prospects.  I  should  have 
been  gratified  to  embody  here  some  predictions  of  Mr.  Perrigo, 
as  to  the  probable  destruction  of  the  wheat  crop  by  the  Hessian 
fly,  but  time  and  space  will  not  permit. 

And  here,  my  dear  doctor, 'ends  my  record  for  the  month  and 
for  the  year,  the  parting  of  the  ways.  If  at  times  I  have  been 
prosy  and  uninteresting,  I  trust  that  Mrs.  Schliemann  has  come 
to  the  rescue  and  eased  the  burden.  Almost  daily  an  aged 
friend  intercepts  me  on  the  street,  and  seizing  my  reluctant 
hand,  inquires  as  to  my  health  and  the  health  of  my  family, 
and  then  as  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  each  individual  mem- 
ber thereof,  and  still  clinging  to  me  like  a  marmot,  or  as  with 
the  tentacles  of  a  cuttlefish,  regales  me  with  reminiscences  of 
yesterday's  weather,  observations  as  to  today's  weather,  slender 
prophecies  as  to  the  probable  weather  for  tomorrow,  and  other 
commonplaces  about  kindred  topics,  which  have  long  ceased 
to  interest  me,  until  I  tear  myself  from  him  and  go  my  way. 
I  bear  the  infliction  patiently,  for  I  know  that  the  day  is  not  dis- 
tant, when  the  footsteps  of  the  old  patriarch  will  no  longer  vary 
their  course  to  intercept  my  passing. 

Profiting  by  my  own  experience,  my  dear  doctor,  I  cease  the 
threadbare  story  of  the  birds,  the  winds,  the  clouds,  the  temper- 
ature, and  release  your  hand  with  a  final  good-bye. 

Very  truly  yours, 

B.  B.  SNOW, 

Historiographer. 


POSTSCRIPT. 


Auburn,  N.  Y.,  February  11,  1879. 

So  many  events  have  occurred,  my  dear  doctor,  since  the 
close  of  my  record  on  the  9th  of  April  last,  that,  while  disclaim- 
ing any  intention  of  recanting  my  expressed  determination 
never  again  to  take  history  at  long  range,  I  so  far  waive  my 
scruples,  in  my  desire  to  keep  you  advised  of  the  events  of 
the  age,  that  I  avail  myself  of  the  prerogative,  unquestioned 
in  the  correspondence  of  the  fair  sex,  of  adding  a  postscript  to 
my  letter. 

Looking  back  over  the  months,  I  can,  at  this  distance,  of 
course,  scarce  be  expected  to  do  more  than  point  out  the  glitter- 
ing peaks  of  events,  which  are  still  gilded  by  the  rays  of  the 
declining  sun  of  the  year,  and  perhaps  trace  some  of  the  shad- 
ows which  are  more  sharply  lined  in  the  landscape. 

History  is  spasmodic  in  its  nature,  or  perhaps  I  might  say, 
epidemic,  prevailing  with  greater  severity,  under  different  types, 
at  different  times;  (whence  the  erroneous  impression  that  his- 
tory repeats  itself)  or  better  still  that  it  is  volcanic,  having 
seasons  of  comparative  rest  and  periods  of  active  eruption. 
So  far  as  our  own  community  is  concerned,  I  may  characterize 
the  past  few  months  as  a  recuperative  period,  not  remarkable 
for  startling  or  important  events,  but  still  not  devoid  of  agencies 
that  may  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  future. 

By  way  of  putting  myself  at  ease,  I  will  begin  with  the 
weather,  which  was  my  never-failing  resource  during  the  period 
of  my  regular  correspondence.     As  I  remember  it,  the  weather 


POSTSCRIPT.  171 

has  been  somewhat  fickle,  delighting  in  sudden  contrasts  and 
startling  effects,  and  the  season  has  been  wanting  in  those  long 
reaches  of  pleasant  and  enjoyable  weather  which  characterized 
the  previous  year.  The  spring  developed  somewhat  reluctantly, 
evolving  her  treasures  after  the  following  order :  Frogs  and  the 
currant  fly  appeared  for  the  first  on  the  9th  of  April ;  on  the 
15th,  the  canal  opened  ;  on  the  19th,  chimney  swallows  appeared, 
and  on  the  20th,  barn  swallows,  with  the  first  spring  thunder 
shower.  On  the  24th,  wrens  and  martins,  and  on  the  3d  of 
May  tardily  came  the  oriole,  for  whom  the  cherry  blossoms 
had  been  waiting  some  days.  I  need  not  say  that  the  English 
sparrow  had  been  here  all  this  time.  I  notice  a  disposition 
with  them  latterly,  to  gather  in  large  flocks.  If  this  indicated 
a  purpose  on  their  part  to  emigrate,  rather  than  an  increase  in 
number,  I  should  cordially  encourage  it.  On  the  8th  of  May, 
the  first  cucumber  of  local  production  greeted  the  epicure. 
On  the  9th,  horse-chestnuts  were  in  bloom,  and  on  the  10th, 
the  May  snow-storm  came.  On  the  11th,  was  the  first  of  six 
consecutive  nights  of  frost,  disastrous  to  even  hardy  vegetation, 
as  the  budding  leaves  of  the  button  ball  were  nipped  and  failed 
of  renewal  until  late  in  the  season.  The  summer  brought, 
June  27th,  the  first  lightning  bugs ;  July  7th,  locusts,  and  25th, 
crickets.  The  first  autumn  frost  came  September  22d,  and  the 
first  snow-storm  October  18th.  Sandwiched  in  between  these 
dates  were  cold  and  hot  waves  in  close  proximity,  the  high- 
est temperature  which  I  noted  being  96",  July  17th.  On 
the  2d  of  July,  I  noticed  an  apple  tree  in  bloom,  doubtless  one 
which  had  just  recovered  from  its  disgust  at  the  May  frosts. 
On  the  9th  of  August,  a  terrific  tornado  swept  over  the  village 
of  Wallingford,  Ct.,  demolishing  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
village  and  destroying  many  lives.  On  the  13th  of  September, 
a  cyclone  swept  over  Richmond,  Va»,  and  vicinity,  which  was 
very  destructive  in  its  course.  On  the  23rd  of  October,  a  vio- 
lent gale  swept  along  the  coa9t,  particularly  severe  in  Philadel- 


172  POSTSCRIPT. 

phia.  where  several  church  steeples  were  blown  down.  On  the 
same  day,  a  frost  came  to  the  relief  of  the  yellow-fever  stricken 
cities  of  the  south.  On  the  11th  of  December  unusually  pro- 
fuse rains  fell  throughout  the  country,  causing  severe  freshets 
by  which  much  damage  was  done  in  many  localities. 

I  am  not  inclined  to  attribute  these  vagaries  in  the  weather 
to  the  weather  indicator  which  was  erected  on  Mayor  Walley's 
store  on  the  11th  of  October,  for  the  reason  that  I  have  not 
studied  its  workings  sufficiently  to  determine  its  effect  upon 
the  weather,  or  the  effect  of  the  weather  upon  it.  When  the 
affable  projector  of  this  internal  improvement,  accorded  me 
the  privilege  of  contributing  to  the  expense  of  its  erection,  I 
ventured  to  suggest  that  if  the  indicator  would  point  south 
instead  of  northeast  when  the  vane  indicated  a  south  wind,  it 
would  be  more  intelligible  to  the  untutored  native,  and  dispel 
the  impression  that  the  house  was  divided  against  itself.  I  am 
not  quite  clear  that  he  assured  me  that  this  discrepancy  was  due 
to  the  variation  of  the  compass,  but  I  know  that  he  impressed 
me  that  it  was  a  matter  of  minor  importance.  1  have  since 
noticed,  that,  by  watching  the  vane  and  the  indicator  and  hold- 
ing up  a  moistened  finger,  I  can  determine  pretty  accurately  the 
direction  of  the  wind. 

During  the  harvest  season  the  weather  was  what  farmers 
would  call  "ketchy"  but  had  its  lucid  intervals  during  which 
the  watchful  husbandman  secured  his  crops  without  material 
damage.  The  season  has  been  unusually  productive,  the  potato 
crop  being  the  light  crop,  while  the  yield  of  fruits,  especially 
apples,  was  unusually  large.  On  Thursday,  the  2nd  day  of  Jan- 
uary, a  snow-storm  accompanied  with  fierce  wind  commenced 
and  continued  with  unabated  vigor  for  three  days,  resulting  in 
the  most  complete  blockade  of  the  railroads  in  the  northern  and 
western  part  of  the  state,  known  in  the  history  of  railroads. 
The  weather  has  continued  snug  and  unfriendly,  until  as  I 
write  today  a  copious  rain  is  falling,  turbid  pools  of  water  col- 


POSTSCRIPT.  173 

lect  in  the  streets  from  the  streams  running  in  sewers  worn  by 
the  sleighs,  the  snow-drifts  slowly  settle  beneath  the  persuasion 
of  the  raindrops,  and  the  January  thaw  has  a  February  birth- 
day. I  do  not  think  the  genial  visitor  will  remain  long  with 
us. 

In  athletic  sports  our  community  has  not  been  without  inter- 
est. A  base-ball  club  was  organized  early  in  the  season,  and 
having  played  games  enough  to  demonstrate  its  facility  for 
being  vanquished,  it  vanished  into  thin  air  on  the  8th  of 
May.  It  was  subsequently  reduced  to  material  form  in  Albany, 
where  it  completed  the  season  without  distinguished  success. 
In  aquatic  sports  the  interest  was  more  enduring.  Having  in 
our  near  neighborhood  a  quasi  champion  who  was  regarded  as 
adequate  to  atomize  the  pretensions  of  any  competitor  who  might 
try  his  blade,  we  felt  secure  that  unlimited  glory  was  in  store 
for  us.  So  we  watched  the  course  of  aquatic  events  with 
unusual  interest  Some  of  the  more  prominent  were  the  fol- 
lowing: On  the  loth  of  May,  Hanlon  and  Plaisted  rowed  a 
two-mile  single  scull  race  at  Toronto,  in  which  Hanlon  was  suc- 
cessful ;  May  29th,  a  three  days'  regatta  at  Watkins  commenced. 
June  19th,  the  champion  tested  the  powers  of  Dempsey  at 
Geneva,  and  effected  a  draw  by  his  shell  tipping  over.  June 
20th,  Hanlon  wins  a  five-mile  race  against  Morris,  at  Pittsburg. 
July  4th,  the  champion  wins  his  80th  race  in  a  five-mile  contest, 
with  Dempsey,  at  Skaneateles.  July  5th,  the  Columbias  and 
Showacamettes  row  in  the  great  international  race  at  Henley, 
England,  the  Columbias  winning  the  visitor's  cup  and  some 
renown  ;  the  Showacamettes  winning  some  notoriety,  but  falling 
just  short  of  the  crown  of  glory.  July  17th,  the  Cornell  Fresh- 
men won  an  eight-oared  race  against  the  Harvard  Freshman,  at 
Ensenore.  July  31st,  Hanlon  wins  a  five-mile  championship 
race  against  Boss,  at  Riverside,  New  Brunswick.  August  15th, 
the  champion  excited  the  suspicion  of  some  of  his  more  mod- 
erate friends,  by  his  questionable  illness  in  a  race  at  Silver 


174  POSTSCRIPT. 

Lake,  Mass.  August  24th,  Riley  wins  against  Kennedy,  in  a 
two-mile  race,  at  Ensenore.  On  the  3rd  of  October,  the  long- 
looked-for  contest  took  place  at  Toronto,  between  the  champion 
and  Hanlon,  in  a  five-mile  race,  which  was  won  by  the  latter. 
Thus  vanished  our  visions  of  the  champion  oarsman.  Charges 
were  freely  preferred  and  strenuously  denied  that  the  race  was 
sold.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  result  of  the  season's  experience 
has  been  to  place  boating  on  a  plane  with  horse-racing  in  pub- 
lic estimation.  The  season  fitly  closed  with  a  champion  scull 
race  on  the  big  dam  on  the  12th  of  October. 

The  history  of  pedestrianism  for  the  season  has  been  remarka- 
ble. It  may  properly  be  classed  under  the  head  of  epidemic 
history.  Since  the  great  national  victory  of  the  Irish-Ameri- 
can O'Leary  in  London,  of  which  I  wrote,  innumerable  aspirants 
for  pedestrian  fame  and  emoluments  have  developed  all  over  the 
country — prominent  among  them,  the  Irish-American  Hughes, 
the  French-American  Campana,  the  English-American  Madam 
Anderson,  the  Dutch- American  VonBlumen,  and  last,  but  not 
least,  the  uncomproraized  American  Tubbs.  The  six  days'  walk 
between  O'Leary  and  Campana  in  New  York,  in  the  latter  part 
of  December,  netted  some  $12,000  to  the  Champion  O'Leary, 
and  the  feat  of  Madam  Anderson  in  Brooklyn,  yielded  her 
some  $8,000.  She  accomplished  2,700  quarter  miles  in  2,700 
consecutive  quarter  hours.  Had  there  been  another  quarter 
mile  to  accomplish,  the  money  would  doubtless  have  gone  to 
her  heirs. 

The  evening  of  the  14th  of  January,  1879,  was  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  Auburn.  The  city  abounded  in  attractions. 
Buffalo  Bill  was  charming  the  boys  at  the  Academy  of  Music. 
The  Young  Ladies'  Art  Loan  Exhibition  was  in  progress  in  the 
rooms  over  the  Cayuga  County  Bank.  The  Historical  Society 
was  in  session.  Buffalo  Bill  was  in  the  act  of  securing  the  wig 
scalps  of  some  half  dozen  or  more  manufactured  Indians,  which 
he  had  dispatched  at  a  single  discharge  of  his  trusty  rifle,  loaded 


POSTSCRIPT.  1 75 

with  blank  cartridge  ;  a  bashful  young  man,  at  the  supper  table 
of  the  Loan  Exhibition,  was  blushingly  striving  to  adjust  some 
two  inches  and  a  half  of  corned  beef,  which  dangled  from  his 
mouth  from  the  inmost  recess  of  a  domestic  sandwich,  when 
suddenly,  at  8  o'clock,  10  minutes  and  13  seconds,  the  air 
resounded  with  the  report  of  a  cannon. 

The  president  of  the  Historical  Society,  who  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  vivid  description  of  the  massacre  at  Wyoming,  in  a  sketch 
of  the  life,  trials  and  privations  of  Captain  Russel  Franklin, 
the  first  pioneer  of  Cayuga  Count}^  paused,  involuntarily  smiled 
a  recognition  of  the  announcement,  and  proceeded  gravely  with 
the  presentation  of  the  narrative. 

This  strange  and  unusual  interruption  of  the  evening's  quiet, 
was  the  signal  for  the  commencement  of  the  pedestrian  contest 
at  the  Opera  House,  between  Madamoiselle  Elsie  VonBlumen,  a 
fair,  professional  pedestrienne  from  Rochester,  and  Reginald 
Heber  Tubbs,  an  amateur  walker  of  this  city,  who  were  to 
accomplish,  the  former  100  miles  and  the  latter  125  miles,  in 
27  consecutive  hours.  The  contest  had  been  duly  heralded 
through  the  daily  press.  Madamoiselle's  walking  shoes  had 
been  prominently  exhibited  in  the  show  window  of  one  of  our 
central  stores.  It  was  to  be  for  the  championship,  territory 
unlimited,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Mayor  and  Common  Coun- 
cil ;  the  proceeds,  after  paying  expenses,  to  be  devoted  to 
eleemosynary  purposes.  Mayor  Walley  presided,  introduced 
the  contestants,  who  shook  hands  in  token  of  amity,  and  the 
trial  was  commenced,  continued  and  completed  to  the  eminent 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  except  possibly  the  eleemosynary 
institutions,  which  were  to  be  the  recipients  of  the  proceeds; 
the  entire  receipts,  being  a  little  over  $334,  of  which,  after  pay- 
ing expenses,  $2  remained  for  distribution  among  charitable 
institutions.  The  fair  "  and  plucky  pedestrienne,"  nominally 
completed  her  100  miles  in  the  specified  time,  but  Mr.  Tubbs 
miscalculated  his  stride,  and  fell  short  of  the  prescribed  task 


176  POSTSCRIPT. 

20  miles.  It  has  since  been  asserted,  that  a  measurement  of 
the  track  shows  the  26  laps  to  be  some  10  rods  short  of  a  mile, 
and  it  has  leaked  out  that  the  scorer,  in  the  early  morning,  when 
the  spectators  had  gone  home  or  to  sleep,  by  mistake  or  from 
drowsiness  scored  52  for  the  42nd  mile,  so  that,  allowing  for 
shrinkages  and  miscounts,  the  actual  distance  walked  was  about 
60  miles.  The  contest  was  supplemented  on  Saturday  evening, 
the  18th,  by  a  benefit  to  the  participants,  in  which  Mr.  Tubbs 
proved  his  superiority,  but  was  charged  with  ungallantly  run- 
ning a  portion  of  the  distance,  which  he  indignantly  denies 
and  asserts  that  he  came  down  "  flat-footed  "  at  every  step. 
As  might  have  been  expected,  a  bit  of  romance  was  engendered 
by  the  contest.  The  inamorata  of  Mr.  Tubbs  protested  against 
his  walking  with  the  fair  pedestrienne — protested  to  the  extent 
of  temporarily  cancelling  her  vow.  Explanations  followed, 
and  the  renown  which  Mr.  Tubbs  achieved  mollified  the  anger 
of  his  intended,  and  the  ante-bellum  relations  were  happily 
restored. 

Young  America  has  been  greatly  excited  by  this  contest,  and 
the  domestic  domain  has  been  carefully  measured,  to  ascertain 
the  number  of  "  laps  "  for  a  boy's  mile,  in  many  a  household. 
Contests  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  the  successful  com- 
petitors are  the  recipients  of  tin  whistles,  mouth  organs,  sticks 
of  gum,  etc.,  to  their  intense  delight  and  unquestionable  profit. 

On  the  1st  of  May  last,  an  enthusiast  in  Toronto  com- 
menced the  task  of  walking  40  miles  each  day,  until  he  shall 
have  accomplished  a  distance  equal  to  the  circumference  of  the 
globe,  which,  discarding  the  theory  of  bulges  in  the  Earth's 
contour,  is  about  24,877  miles.  (These  figures  are  not  given 
as  the  result  of  my  own  calculations,  nor  as  anything  new  or 
startling,  but  simply  as  showing  the  present  status  of  geograph- 
ical knowledge.)  If  he  shall  complete  the  task  before  the  task 
completes  him,  it  will  require  the  greater  part  of  two  years, 
and  he  is  to  receive  $10,000  therefor.     If  he  shall  be  carefully 


POSTSCRIPT.  177 

coached  by  his  attendants,  I  can  conceive  him  wabbling  in  on 
the  home  stretch,  a  mere  thistle-down  of  his  former  self,  or 
what  is  more  probable,  his  limbs  having  gradually  worn  away, 
his  arms  having  dropped  off  from  continual  swinging,  he  will 
come  rolling  into  the  goal  on  the  24,877th  mile,  a  huge  blister, 
which  his  surviving  friends  can  exhibit  about  the  country  as 
the  man  who  walked  around  the  world,  and  was  transformed 
into  a  sphere  in  punishment  therefor,  by  some  envious  deity. 

Of  local  events  of  special  interest,  I  have  noted  but  few  : 
June  16th. — Thomas  Wilkinson,  of  the  town  of  Locke,  shot 
his  wife  and  then  himself.     This  seems  to  be  the  favorite  diver- 
sion of  unhappy  husbands  in  the  south  part  of  the  county.     It 
has  the  merit  of  being  comparatively  inexpensive  to  the  public. 

July  19th. — Henry  C.  Hutchinson,  a  well  known  resident  of 
Cayuga  village,  was  shot  by  his  tenant,  J.  R.  Robinson,  in  self- 
defense,  as  Mr.  Robinson  successfully  plead  before  a  jury.  Mr. 
Hutchinson  was  45  years  of  age. 

August  15th. — William  B.  Sheldon,  while  painting  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Osborne  House,  fell  from  the  roof  to  the  sidewalk 
below,  receiving  injuries  from  which  he  died,  after  lingering  a 
few  days. 

October  12th. — Policeman  Joseph  Kober,  was  killed  by  being- 
thrown  from  a  wagon  behind  a  runaway  team,  on  his  return 
from  a  political  gathering  at  Port  Byron. 

November  13th. — Henry  R.  Burt,  a  fireman  on  the  Southern 
Central  Railroad,  aged  35,  was  killed  by  being  run  over  by  his 
engine. 

No  conflagrations  of  any  importance  have  occurred,  the  most 
destructive  being  that  of  the  store  room  at  the  Prison,  on  the 
13th  of  November. 

In  business  enterprises,  I  note  the  advent  of  the  firm  of 
Messrs.  A.  W.  Stevens  and  Co.,  formerly  of  Genoa,  manufac- 


178  POSTSCEIPT. 

turers  of  threshing  machines.  The  firm  commenced  operations 
in  the  buildings  lately  occupied  by  the  Dodge  and  Stevenson 
Manufacturing  Co.,  the  1st  of  October,  adding  an  important 
industry  to  the  city. 

On  the  1st  of  October,  the  long  looked  for  opening  of  the 
Seymour  Library  took  place,  and  it  now  ranks  as  one  of  the 
established  institutions  of  the  city. 

Events  in  the  astronomical  world  partake  so  much  of  a  local 
nature,  that  I  may  properly  transcribe  my  notes  here.  On  the 
6th  of  May,  the  transit  Mercury  occurred  promptly,  according 
to  appointment,  and  without  accident  so  far  as  heard  from.  It 
was  an  event  of  rare  occurrence,  and  of  marked  interest  to 
astronomers,  as  it  was  expected  to  afford  data  from  which  the 
distance  of  the  sun  from  the  earth  could  be  more  accurately 
determined.  In  these  days  of  pedestrianism,  it  may  become  an 
important  question  whether  the  extreme  distance  is  ninety- 
three  or  ninety-five  millions  of  miles. 

On  the  29th  of  July  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  occurred, 
according  to  announcement.  People  in  this  locality  were  com- 
pelled to  rely  upon  hearsay  evidence  as  to  the  appearance  of 
the  phenomenon,  as  the  sky  was  obscured  by  clouds  at  the  hour 
of  its  occurrence.  It  was  successfully  observed,  however,  by  a 
host  of  astronomers  who  have  since  been  busily  engaged  in 
studying  out,  and  writing  up  the  result  of  their  observations- 
It  was  hoped  that  the  problem  of  an  intramercurial  planet 
would  be  solved  at  this  eclipse,  and  one  or  two  astronomers 
claim  to  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  missing  link.  Others, 
however,  who  were  less  fortunate,  intimate  that  those  who  saw 
Vulcan  were  looking  through  the  wrong  kind  of  a  glass.  On 
the  23rd  of  January,  the  unusual  conjunction  of  Jupiter,  Venus, 
and  the  moon,  occurred  shortly  after  sunset,  and  as  usual  in 
this  latitude,  when  such  exhibitions  are  announced,  the  sky  was 
obscured  by  clouds.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  know,  however,  that 
the  exhibition  was  curious  rather  than  instructive.     The  planet 


POSTSCRIPT.  179 

Saturn  and  several  first-class  stars,  from  a  respectful  distance, 
looked  down  upon  the  tea-party,  which  continued  into  the  "  wee 
sma  "  hours  of  the  morning,  when  it  broke  up  without  any 
indications  of  inebriety  on  the  part  of  the  participants. 

Prof.  Swift,  of  Eochester,  has  been  baiting  his  astronomical 
hook  for  comets,  while  Prof.  Peters,  of  Clinton,  has  been  roaming 
around  between  Mars  and  Jupiter,  in  pursuit  of  new  asteroids, 
of  which  he  has  already  discovered  thirty-two.  Prof.  Peters  is 
entitled  to  great  credit  for  enlarging  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  to  so  great  an  extent,  by  the  discovery  of  asteroids, 
although  thus  far  they  are  of  as  little  value  to  us,  as  Grinnell's 
land  and  our  other  discoveries  in  the  region  of  the  North  Pole. 
Should  the  announcement  be  made,  however,  of  the  discovery 
of  gold  upon  one  of  these  asteroids,  I  presume  some  adventur- 
ous Yankee  would  at  once  project  an  excursion  thither. 

The  march  of  improvement  in  our  city,  although  not  as 
boisterous  as  a  boy's  sleighride,  has  been  steady.  The  accommo- 
dations of  the  Osborne  House  have  been  largely  increased  by  the 
extension  of  the  south  wing  of  the  building.  The  manufactur- 
ing establishment  of  Messrs.  E.  D.Clapp  &  Co., has  been  materially 
enlarged.  A  fine  brick  block  of  residences  has  been  erected  on 
the  Underwood  estate,  on  Court  street.  The  German  Protes- 
tant church  on  Seminary  avenue  has  been  inclosed.  The  Second 
Presbyterian  church  has  been  renovated  and  materially 
improved  in  external  appearance,  and  late  in  the  season  the 
Woodruff  brothers  erected  a  commodious  building  on  Logan 
street,  for  their  button  factor}r.  I  confess  to  a  marked  degree 
of  interest  in  this  institution,  not  that  I  anticipate  any  pecu- 
niary benefit  from  it,  but  on  account  of  its  moral  and  intellectual 
influence.  For  instance,  a  liberal  supply  of  shirt  buttons  in 
the  household,  would  repress  the  tendency  to  profanity  among 
bachelors,  while  the  computation  of  the  number  of  row's  of 
buttons,  and  the  number  of  buttons  in  a  row  that  should  be 
placed  upon  a  morning  dress,  is  an  excellent  mental  discipline. 


180  POSTSCRIPT. 

The  button  factory  is  my  neighbor  now.  I  listen  with  sub- 
dued pleasure  to  the  shrill  soprano  of  its  steam  whistle,  shad- 
ing off  into  a  stentorian  bass  ;  to  the  clang  of  the  button 
moulds,  in  the  stillness  of  the  night ;  to  the  labored  breathing 
of  the  engine,  like  the  heaving  to  and  fro  of  a  cross  cut  saw, 
for  I  know  that  each  inspiration  is  the  signal  of  the  birth  of  at 
least  a  dozen  buttons  for  the  relief  of  suffering  humanity.  I 
visited  the  institution  a  few  days  since,  and  was  astonished  to 
witness  the  enlargement  of  the  scope  and  variety  of  its  products 
since  my  previous  visit.  I  picked  up  a  comely  horn  button 
and  was  told  that  it  was  made  wholly  from  blood.  I  shuddered 
at  the  sanguinary  nature  of  the  employment,  and  turned  to  the 
room  where  a  score  of  lathes  were  busily  cutting,  turning, 
piercing,  finishing,  and  polishing  pearl  buttons  from  sea-shells, 
and  horn  buttons  from  the  hoofs  and  horns  of  over-sea  herbiv- 
ora.  The  piles  of  curious  seashells  from  Australia  and  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  of  horns  and  hoofs  from  the  strange  animals 
of  southern  Africa,  took  me  to  far  off  lands,  of  which  I  had 
read,  but  whose  products  I  had  rarely  seen. 

I  find  that  my  proximity  to  the  factory,  calls  for  the  exercise 
of  my  calmest  philosophy.  When  the  Monday's  linen  comes 
in  from  the  line,  cinder-flecked  and  spotted,  like  the  salt-and- 
pepper  trousers  that  filled  the  measure  of  my  boyhood's  pride 
for  dress,  it  disturbs  the  tranquil  flow  of  the  domestic  rou- 
tine. I  reason,  that  private  convenience  must  yield  to  the 
public  weal  ;  that  this  slight  annoyance  is  a  kind  of  vicarious 
contribution  that  we  make,  that  universal  humanity  may  be 
snugly  buttoned  up  from  the  inclemency  of  our  Northern 
winters.  I  am  answered,  "  wait  till  your  June  roses  come  to 
you,  dew-laden  and  mottled  with  carbon,  and  your  pansies  poke 
up  their  saucy  faces,  smutted  like  that  of  a  baby,  who  has 
been  playing  with  the  coal  hod,  and  you  will  sing  a  different 
tune."     Possibly. 

During  the  months  of   August  and  September,  the    Water 


POSTSCRIPT.  181 

Works  Company  replaced  the  old  cement  main,  from  the  Pump 
House  through  Mechanic,  Grover  and  South  streets  to  Genesee 
street,  with  a  twelve-inch  iron  main.  The  work  was  done  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  late  lamented  J.  Lewis  Grant,  and 
is  a  buried  monument  of  his  last  important  labor.  Later  in  the 
season,  smaller  iron  mains  were  extended  through  Genesee 
street  from  William  street  west,  and  through  Clark  street,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Eldred,  Mr.  Grant's  successor.  I 
do  not  think  the  large  main  is  quite  at  ease,  for  it  seems  rest- 
less, as  if  trying  to  turn  over  in  its  bed  at  night.  I  am  in  some 
doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  the  commotion,  which  is  communicated 
to  my  cellar  by  the  service  pipe.  Often  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  a  moderate  double  rap  comes,  which,  whether  I  heed  it  by 
waking,or  not,  is  succeeded  by  a  loud  rat-tat-tat,  continued  indefi- 
nitely, with  indescribable  variations,  as  if  the  whole  Fox  family 
were  in  the  cellar,  until  I  get  up  and  set  the  water  to  running. 
When  I  first  heard  the  rapping,  I  involuntarily  exclaimed,  "  Am 
I  a  medium?"  and  set  about  arranging  a  scale  of  prices  for 
seances.  Further  investigation,  and  the  incoherent  answers 
which  I  received  to  my  questions,  led  me  to  suspect  that  the 
rapping  might  arise  from  the  transmission  of  cipher  dispatches. 
This  latter  theory  rather  predominates  with  me  at  present,  for 
although  not  sufficiently  versed  in  telegraphy  to  read  by 
sound  readily,  I  fancied  that  I  detected  a  message  to  "  Saddle 
Blackstone,"  last  night.  Of  course  I  shall  spare  no  effort  to 
secure  the  key  to  this  strange  correspondence,  but  trust  that  no 
political  scandal  will  be  unearthed. 

The  city  authorities  have  been  active  in  repairing  the  streets  ; 
notably,  in  putting  west  Genesee  street  in  excellent  condition, 
just  in  time  to  have  it  torn  up  by  the  trenches  for  the  Water 
Works  and  Steam  Heating  Companies.  A  large  sewer  was 
laid  through  Franklin  street,  from  the  North  street  bridge  to  the 
Franklin  street  school  building,  late  in  the  season,  and  another 
through  Orchard  street. 


182  POSTSCRIPT. 

The  Steam  Heating  Co.,  was  organized  in  June,  and  their 
boiler  house  was  erected  in  rear  of  the  Cayuga  County  Bank  in 
September.  The  pipes  were  laid  through  Genesee  street,  west 
of  North,  late  in  the  season.  The  importance  of  this  innovation 
warrants  more  than  a  passing  notice.  It  is  claimed  that  suffi- 
cient heat  can  be  furnished  by  means  of  under-ground  pipes, 
connecting  with  stores,  dwellings,  etc.,  to  warm  the  build- 
ings and  supply  all  needed  heat  for  culinary  purposes.  The 
project  is  yet  in  its  incipiency  and  will  doubtless  be  materially 
modified  and  improved.  Aside  from  the  cleanliness  and  com- 
fort of  this  method  of  heating,  it  is  claimed  to  absolutely  pre- 
clude any  risk  from  fire. 

It  needs  no  prophet  to  foretell  that  the  domestic  economy  of 
the  coming  generation  will  materially  differ  from  that  of  their 
ancestors.  Stoves,  grates,  and  fireplaces  will  be  a  thing  of  the 
past ;  chimney  swallows  will  emigrate,  for  houses  will  be  built 
without  chimneys,  like  muley  cows  without  horns.  And  how 
much  of  the  poetry  of  life  will  be  gone  !  No  cheerful  blaze, 
nor  glowing  coals,  nor  sparkling  embers  of  the  wood  or  coal 
fire  to  sit  by  and  muse  over  in  the  twilight  and  evening ! 
Imagine  the  Longfellow  of  1900,  instead  of  watching  the 

"  Shadows  from  the  fitful  firelight 
Dance  upon  the  parlor  wall," 

seating  himself  beneath  his  electric  light  and  writing  an  ode  to 
his  steam  radiator !  Imagine  the  agony  of  the  items  man, 
when  kerosene  shall  no  longer  be  needed  to  start  the  morning 
fire  ;  when  "  Hose  6  "  can  no  longer  be  complimented  for  getting 
the  first  stream  on  the  fire,  for  no  fires  occur !  Let  us  be  grate- 
ful that  our  lines  were  cast  in  the  era  of  wood  and  coal,  of  gas 
and  kerosene,  rather  than  in  the  reign  of  steam  and  electricity. 
I  must  not  fail  to  note  the  advent  of  the  almond-eyed  celes- 
tial among  us.  In  the  dismal  days  of  October  he  came,  and 
perched  over  the  Owasco  outlet,  on  the  North  street  bridge, 
displaying  the  conventional  sign,  "  Son  Lee,  Chinese  Laundry." 


POSTSCRIPT.  183 

Patient,  quiet,  reticent,  he  waited  for  custom  ;  but  whether 
from  lack  of  it,  or  other  cause,  his  stay  was  brief.  As  noise- 
lessly as  he  came,  one  night  he 

"  Folded  his  tent  like  the  Arabs, 
And  as  silently  stole  away." 

Either  from  haste,  from  lack  of  discernment,  or  from  obli- 
quity of  moral  sentiment,  he  folded  the  garments  of  his  patrons 
inside  the  tent,  and  transported  them  as  personal  baggage. 
His  career  with  us  would  warrant  the  Common  Council  in 
enacting  an  ordinance  restricting  Chinese  immigration. 

The  list  of  those  in  our  community,  who  have  been  sum- 
moned from  their  earthly  labors,  within  the  past  ten  months, 
seems  unusually  large.  I  mention  those  that  I  recall,  who 
were  more  widely  known  : 

Of  the  mothers  who  have  gone  out  from  the  household,  there 
are  Mrs.  Harriet  Button,  wife  of  Dr.  J.  D.  Button,  who  died 
April  14,  at  the  age  of  74.  Mrs.  Hannah  M.,  wife  of  Edward 
C.  Hall,  who  died  June  21,  at  the  age  of  43  ;  June  16,  Mrs. 
Amelia,  relict  of  Nathan  Burr,  in  the  58th  year  of  her  age. 
Mrs.  Abigail  Congdon,  July  13,  age  84.  Mrs.  Eliza,  relict  of 
Col.  John  Richardson,  July  21,  at  the  age  of  90.  Mrs.  David 
Arne,  Oct.  28,  at  the  age  of  85.  Mrs.  Richard  S.  Holmes, 
Dec.  9,  at  the  age  of  34,  and  Mrs.  Martha  Hosmer,  Dec.  21,  at 
the  age  of  65. 

Of  those  who  have  been  prominent  in  business  community, 
or  well  known  from  long  residence,  the  number  who  have 
died  is  almost  startling. 

April  15. — Col.  Winslow  M.  Thomas,  for  some  time  prin- 
cipal keeper  in  the  Auburn  Prison,  died  at  the  age  of  46. 

May  18. — Joseph  Barnes,  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  the 
city,  at  the  age  of  85. 

June  15. — Col.  Oliver  C.  Hubbard,  at  West  Troy,  at  the  age 
of  74.  He  will  be  remembered  as  the  former  proprietor  of  the 
Hubbard  place,  at  the  foot  of  the  lake. 


184  POSTSCRIPT. 

July  11. — Theron  Green,  age  74,  for  many  years  a  keeper 
in  the  prison,  and  long  a  resident  of  the  city. 

The  same  day,  Charles  Bemis,  at  the  age  of  74,  a  man  dis- 
tinguished for  his  sterling  integrity  and  simplicity  of  character. 

September  16. — Benjamin  Ashby,  at  the  age  of  68,  for 
many  years  a  hotel  proprietor  in  this  city. 

September  30. — Charles  L.  Wheaton,  aged  71,  an  active 
business  man  of  the  4th  ward,  of  some  local  celebrity  as  a 
political  manager  of  the  Democratic  faith. 

October  7. — Suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  Charles  P.  Wood,  aged 
61.  He  was  most  widely  known  as  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Auburn  Savings  Bank,  of  which  institution  he  was  justly  re- 
cognized as  the  father. 

October  19. — J.  Lewis  Grant,  of  apoplexy,  at  the  age  of  60 
At  the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Grant  was  Superintendent  of  the 
Auburn  Water  Works  Co.,  although  he  was  more  widely  known 
from  his  connection  with  railroad  interests,  having  in  the  early 
part  of  his  life,  acted  in  the  capacity  of  engineer,  and  subse- 
quently as  superintendent  of  several  roads. 

October  27. — James  Camp,  aged  68.  Mr.  Camp  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade,  was  quiet,  unas- 
suming, and  universally  respected. 

October  30.— Suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  P.  Hamilton  Myers, 
at  the  age  of  66.  Mr.  Myers  was  a  man  of  quite  an  extended 
literary  reputation,  his  life  being  devoted  to  literary  pursuits 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His  best  known  work  was  a 
poem  entitled  "Ensenore,"  an  Indian  legend,  the  scene  of 
which  is  laid  upon  Owasco  Lake.  He  was  remarkably  genial, 
and  in  the  serenity  of  his  latter  years,  impressed  me  as  quietly 
waiting  for  the  summons  to  go  to  the  loved  ones  who  had  pre- 
ceded him  to  the  "undiscovered  country." 


POSTSCRIPT.  185 

November  25th. — Edward  C.  Marvine,  aged  about  40. 

December  11th. — At  Glasgow,  Scotland,  Henry  Wells  of 
Aurora,  at  the  age  of  73.  Mr.  Wells  was  known  as  one  of  the 
fathers  of  the  express  business  in  this  country. 

December  16th. — James  A.  Suydam,  at  the  age  of  49. 

January  14,  1879. — Charles  P.  Williams,  at  the  age  of  57. 
Mr.  Williams  was  widely  known  and  respected  in  our  business 
community,  and  was  for  many  years  closely  identified  with  the 
educational  interests  of  the  city. 

January  19th. — Suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  William  High- 
riter,  at  the  age  of  67.  Mr.  Highriter  was  long  a  resident  of  the 
city,  and  well  known,  from  his  connection  with  the  hat  store  of 
the  late  L.  V.  Keyes. 

January  24th. — Suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  David  S.  Titus,  at 
the  age  of  77.  Mr.  Titus  was  a  prosperous  and  prominent 
farmer,  of  the  town  of  Aurelius,  had  been  a  member  of  Assem- 
bly, and  had  held  other  positions  of  trust 

February  5th. — At  Weedsport,  Henry  R  Filley,  at  the  age 
of  82.  Mr.  Filley  had  represented  his  District  in  the  State 
Assembly,  and  for  many  years  previous  to  his  death,  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  in  his  town. 

February  7th. — At  Rochester,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  J.  Loughlin, 
aged  44,  for  many  years  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church 
in  this  city,  and  during  whose  pastorate  the  church  edifice  on 
Clark  street  was  erected. 

I  may  add  to  the  list,  the  name  of  Major  Nicholas  B.  S.  Eld  red, 
who  died  July  3rd,  by  a  pistol  shot  from  his  own  hand.  Major 
Eldred  was  about  52  years  of  age,  and  for  many  years  had  been 
a  great  sufferer  from  disease,  which  dethroned  his  reason,  and  in 
a  moment  of  insanity  he  ended  his  life.     Also,  the  name  of  Dea- 


186  POSTSCRIPT. 

con  Lewis  L.  Smith,  who  on  the  10th  of  December  put  an  end 
to  his  own  life,  while  temporarily  insane,  at  the  age  of  64. 

I  shall  be  pardoned  if  I  yield  to  the  promptings  of  personal 
friendship,  to  record  the  death  of  Peter  Schyndt,  on  the  13th  of 
June,  at  the  age  of  55.  As  might  be  inferred  from  his  name, 
Peter  was  of  Dutch  ancestry,  if  not  a  native  of  the  land  of 
dykes  and  canals,  of  tulips  and  hyacinths.  He  was  one  of 
the  five  hundred  thousand  more  who  responded  to  the  call  of 
Father  Abraham  during  the  late  war,  in  which  he  served 
faithfully  to  the  close,  and  was  honorably  discharged.  I  think 
he  was  never  in  an  important  battle — he  was  too  good-natured 
to  fight — but  how  many  battles  his  presence  prevented  will 
never  be  known.  He  might  be  classed  as  of  the  preventive, 
rather  than  of  the  curative  army.  As  characteristic  of  the  man, 
I  note  the  incident  of  his  enlistment,  to  effect  which,  he  was 
required  to  affix  his  sign  manual  to  five  enlistment  papers. 
He  was  not  a  facile  penman,  and  it  was  with  infinite  effort 
and  strange  facial  contortions  that  he  succeeded  in  signing 
three  of  the  papers,  when  with  a  long  breath  he  settled  back  in 
his  chair,  and  with  an  air  of  determination,  mingled  with  in- 
difference as  to  whether  the  war  should  be  prosecuted  or  not, 
and  still  with  a  roguish  twinkle  in  his  eye,  he  exclaimed  "  1 
xurites  no  more  till  I  gits  resided."  Poor  Peter,  he  is  taking  his 
long  rest,  and  I  suppose  some  household  is  sadder  for  his  ab- 
sence, but  the  ripple  which  he  made  upon  the  river  of  life,  will 
soon  reach  the  shore  of  the  little  haven  which  was  the  scene  of 
his  career. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  the  exact  date  not  recorded, 
but  supposed  to  be  about  the  27th,  William  Turner  died. 
The  family  record  is  silent  as  to  the  date  of  his  advent  here 
upon  earth,  but  there  is  slender  evidence,  strengthened  by  his 
appearance  during  his  latter  days,  that  he  was  87  years  of  age. 
Mr.  Turner  was  of  African  ancestry,  and  bore  ample  evidence 
of  the  purity  of  his  descent.     I  first  knew  him  as  doing  odd 


POSTSCRIPT.  187 

jobs  at  sawing  wood ;  subsequently,  when  King  Anthracite 
invaded  our  homes,  he  accepted  the  situation,  and  changed 
his  vocation  to  carrying  up  coal  and  blacking  stoves.  Tn  the 
refreshing  days  of  house-cleaning,  he  was  indispensable  as 
white-washer.  Later  on,  he  was  charged  with  the  responsible 
duty  of  lighting  the  street  lamps,  and  often  have  I  seen  him 
burst  out  from  the  darkness,  by  the  lighting  of  a  lamp,  appear- 
ing like  an  Egyptian  statue,  the  only  thing  the  light  would  not 
illumine.  As  his  strength  declined  with  advancing  years,  he 
abandoned  all  active  employment,  and  relied  upon  extraneous 
aid  to  supply  his  few  wants.  I  remember  him  most  vividly  of 
late,  trudging  along  home  at  evening,  staff  in  hand,  in  earnest 
conversation  with  himself,  which  usually  ceased  for  a  moment 
to  respond  to  my  salutation,  and  was  at  once  resumed.  I  re- 
cord his  death  more  particularly  because  I  have  heard  it  ques- 
tioned whether  negroes  ever  die.  They  seem  to  go  off  some- 
where— fade  out  from  community,  but  the  death  of  one  is 
rarely  chronicled. 

I  may  add  the  name  of  John  VanNess,  who  died  January 
13.  Mr.  VanNess  was  a  Pyrotechnist  of  some  note,  and  the 
boy  of  thirty  years  ago  regarded  him  with  awe,  as  the  maker 
of  sky-rockets  and  wheels  and  'snakes  and  Koman  candles 
and  the  like  concomitants  of  the  celebration  of  the  anniversary 
of  our  national  independence.  His  age  may  have  been  65, 
although,  being  thin,  sallow,  wiry,  a  decade  made  as  little 
impress  upon  his  physique  as  a  single  year  upon  the  average 
man.  He  was  prosperous  in  early  days,  but  with  the  decline 
in  patriotic  enthusiasm,  his  business  dwindled.  Added  to  this, 
he  was,  several  times  in  the  prosecution  of  his  craft,  blown  up, 
"hoist  by  his  own  petard,"  to  his  pecuniary  detriment.  Wed- 
ded to  his  vocation,  he  disdained  to  change  it  with  the 
changing  times,  and  his  means  being  exhausted,  he  accepted 
public  benefaction  and  died  at  the  County  Poor  House. 


188  POSTSCRIPT. 

Of  the  more  or  less  distinguished  personages,  outside  our 
immediate  community,  whose  careers  have  terminated  within 
the  period  of  which  I  write,  I  note  the  following : 

April  12th. — William  M.  Tweed  died  in  Ludlow  Street  Jail, 
at  the  age  of  55.  There  ended  the  most  remarkable  career  of 
ignorance,  shrewdness,  unblushing  and  defiant  knavery  and 
corruption  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Such  a  career  would 
be  deemed  possible  only  in  a  republic,  but  the  unreflecting  will 
wonder  that  the  same  influences  which  made  the  career  possible 
were  swift  to  make  it  ignominious,  and  sure  to  cut  it  short. 

April  22nd. — William  Orton,  well  known  as  the  President 
of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  died  at  the  age  of 
52. 

May  1st. — At  the  age  of  47,  State  Senator  John  Morrissey 
died — a  noted  instance  of  the  possibilities  of  citizenship  in  a 
republic,  and  of  the  conservative  influence  of  politics.  Not 
every  one,  however,  can  advance  from  the  prize  ring,  and  the 
parlors  of  chance,  to  a  seat  in  legislative  halls.  That  one  did, 
should  not  be  accepted  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the  theory  of 
natural  selection. 

May  12th. — Catharine  E.  Beecher,  of  some  fame  as  an  author- 
ess, died  at  the  age  of  77. 

June  3rd. — William  F.  Allen,  Associate  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals,  and  distinguished  as  a  jurist,  died  at  the  age  of  70. 

June  12th. — William  Cullen  Bryant,  the  venerable  and  dis- 
tinguished poet  and  journalist,  died  at  the  age  of  84. 

June  26th. — Mercedes,  the  fair  young  Queen  of  Spain,  whose 
marriage  scarcely  six  months  previous,  I  chronicled  in  my 
record,  died  at  the  age  of  18. 


POSTSCRIPT.  189 

July  3rd. — Dr.  James  C.  Ayer,  the  father  of  patent  medi- 
cines, died.  His  age  is  not  given,  but  I  doubt  not  that  bis 
longevity  fully  sustained  the  reputation  of  his  medicines. 

August  loth. — President  J.  H.  Raymond,  of  Vassar  College, 
died  at  the  age  of  64. 

August  21st. — Maria,  the  deposed  Queen  of  Spain,  died  at 
the  age  of  72. 

October  2nd. — The  King  of  Burmah  relinquished  his 
earthly  crown  for  an  heavenly. 

October  8th. — Gen.  Gideon  J.  Pillow,  of  Mexican  and  Con- 
federate war  fame,  died. 

November  26th. — Lyman  Tremain  of  Albany,  a  prominent 
politician  and  counseilor-at-law,  died,  aged  60. 

December  14th. — Princess  Alice  Maud  Mary,  daughter  of 
Queen  Victoria,  and  Grand-Duchess  of  Hesse  Darmstadt,  died 
at  the  age  of  34. 

December  19th. — Bayard  Taylor,  traveller,  editor,  poet,  and 
U.  S.  Minister  to  Berlin,  died,  aged  54. 

January  2nd,  1879. — Caleb  Cushing.  the  man  of  "conti- 
nental mind,"  died,  aged  79. 

February  2nd. — Eichard  Henry  Dana,  one  of  the  old  time 
poets,  critics  and  essayists,  whose  pen  had  long  been  corroding 
in  its  rack,  died  at  Boston,  at  the  age  of  93. 

Had  not  my  postscript  already  exceeded  the  limits  of  peace- 
ful endurance,  I  should  be  pleased  to  enter  more  in  detail  into 
local  matters,  particularly  the  exploits  of  the  49th  Regiment, 
in  their  summer  encampment  at  Sheldrake  ;  of  their  successful 
but  unfortunate  competition  for  the  Nevada  badge,  which  still 
hangs  in  blissful  uncertainty,  between  them  and  the  48th  Regi- 


190  POSTSCRIPT. 

raent  of  Oswego ;  to  recall  the  midnight  discussions  of  the 
Common  Council  over  the  street  committee  imbroglio,  and 
the  eloquent  constitutional  debates  over  the  Orchard  street 
sewer,  and  many  other  items  of  equal  importance,  but  with  a 
brief  glance  at  the  outside  world,  I  must  close. 

Of  notable  disasters,  the  following  are  more  prominent: 

April  27  th. — The  mysterious  Barclay  street  explosion 
occurred  in  New  York,  involving  a  loss  of  a  million  and  a  half 
of  property,  and  several  lives.  The  cause  of  the  explosion, 
after  the  strictest  investigation,  remains  a  mystery. 

May  2nd. — The  great  flour-mill  explosion  occurred  at  Min- 
neapolis, by  which  five  mills  were  destroyed,  17  lives  lost, 
and  a  million  and  a  half  of  property  destroyed.  The  explosion 
is  supposed  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the  ignition  of  parti- 
cles of  flour  dust  in  the  process  of  manufacture. 

May  81st — Two  German  iron-clads  collided,  while  maneu- 
vering in  the  English  channel,  sinking  one,  and  occasioning 
the  loss  of  270  lives. 

Sept.  3rd. — The  excursion  boat,  "Princess  Alice,"  was  run 
into  and  sunk  in  the  Thames  river,  and  between  600  and  700 
lives  were  lost. 

Nov.  26th. — The  ocean  steamer  "  Pomerania,"  from  New 
York  for  Havre  and  Bremen,  was  run  into  and  sunk  in  the 
English  channel,  and  some  fifty  lives  were  lost. 

Of  other  events,  I  have  noted  the  failure  of  the  Bank  of 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  on  the  2nd  of  October,  occasioning  wide- 
spread pecuniary  loss,  and  nearly  creating  a  financial  panic  in 
Great  Britain  ;  the  robbery  of  the  Manhattan  Savings  Bank  of 
New  York,  of  nearly  $3,000,000  on  Sunday  morning,  Oct.  27th, 
no  part  of  which  has  been  recovered  ;  the  stealing  of  the  remains 
of  the  late  A.  T.  Stewart,  from  his  tomb  in  St.  Mark's  church- 


POSTSCRIPT.  191 

yard,  New  York,  Nov.  7th,  no  trace  of  which  has  yet  been 
obtained. 

In  the  political  world,  the  notable  feature  has  been  the  rise, 
progress,  and  decline  of  the  Greenback  and  Labor  Reform 
movement.  One  of  its  episodes,  was  the  mission  of  the  Sand 
Lot  oracle,  Denis  Kearney,  across  the  dark  continent  from  San 
Francisco  to  Boston,  to  infuse  the  new  political  education  into 
the  effete  organizations  of  the  east.  Denis  unfortunately  got 
at  loggerheads  with  the  press,  and  the  newspapers  unkindly 
"  blew  him  out."  His  mission  was  not  eminently  successful, 
and  the  great  agitator  retraced  his  steps  in  disgust,  and  relighted 
himself,  by  starting  a  newspaper  of  his  own  in  San  Francisco. 
In  the  earlier  part  of  the  season,  some  success  attended  this 
movement,  notably  in  Maine,  where  Mr.  Hale  was  succeeded  by 
a  Greenback  member  of  Congress,  and  a  Democratic  Governor 
was  secured.  Later,  however,  it  seemed  to  pine  and  grow 
sickly.  New  York  elected  a  Republican  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  and  an  overwhelmingly  Republican  Legislature,  which 
returned  Senator  Conkling,  without  opposition,  to  the  U.  S. 
Senate.  The  feud  between  the  Senator  and  the  administration, 
over  the  New  York  Custom  House  appointments,  was  soon 
after  terminated  by  the  confirmation  of  the  President's 
appointees.  Congress  has  devoted  its  energies,  mainly,  to 
investigating  committees,  notably,  the  Potter  committee,  which 
has  latterly  been  inquiring  into  the  paternity  of  the  celebrated 
"  Cipher  Dispatches."  On  the  21st  of  November,  the  U.  S. 
paid  to  England,  the  five  and  one-half  million  dollars  Fishery 
Award,  after  considerable  diplomatic  correspondence.  The 
most  noted  political  event,  across  the  waters,  was  the  resigna- 
tion of  the  French  President,  Marshal  MacMahon,  on  the  30th 
of  January,  and  the  election  by  the  Assembly  of  his  successor, 
M.  Grevy,  for  seven  years,  without  the  usual  revolution.  A 
distressing  famine  has  swept  away  countless  victims  in  China, 
during  the  summer  and  autumn,  while  a  virulent  type  of  small 


192  POSTSCRIPT. 

pox  has  decimated  the  population  of  a  large  district  of  Brazil. 
In  the  latter  part  of  July,  the  yellow  fever  appeared  in  New 
Orleans,  rapidly  increasing  and  extending  its  ravages  to  Vicks- 
burgh,  Memphis,  and  adjacent  localities.  It  was  confined  to 
the  lower  Mississippi  Valley,  but  was  terribly  destructive  until 
about  the  23d  of  October,  when  it  was  checked  by  frost.  Some 
20,000  victims  to  the  scourge  bear  witness  to  its  severity.  It 
is  worthy  of  record,  that  the  cities  of  the  North  contributed 
promptly  and  liberally  to  the  relief  of  the  sufferers,  our  own 
city  contributing  something  over  two  thousand  dollars.  Late 
in  the  season,  the  black  plague  broke  out  in  the  southern  part 
of  Eussia,  and  is  making  its  way  northward.  A  portion  of  the 
Russian  army  has  been  detailed  to  do  picket  duty,  in  prevent- 
ing the  further  spreading  of  the  disease,  by  confining  the 
inhabitants  to  the  infected  district.  The  malady  is  said  to  be 
fatal  in  all  cases  of  attack.  It  is  presumed  to  be  identical  with 
the  plague  of  olden  times,  and  no  effort  is  being  spared  to  check 
its  progress.  In  the  late  fall,  diphtheria  prevailed  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent  in  the  neighboring  village  of  Geneva,  but  was 
fortunately  confined  to  that  immediate  locality. 

T  must  not  forget  to  mention  the  flying  visit  of  the  English 
Dean  Stanley,  to  our  country,  in  the  latter  part  of  September, 
because  he  enjoyed  himself  so  thoroughly,  during  his  short 
stay,  and  spoke  so  charitably,  kindly  and  hopefully  of  us  to 
his  countrymen,  when  he  returned  home.  Nor  must  I  fail  to 
note  the  pride  of  our  neighbors  across  the  border,  at  having 
a  real  live  member  of  the  royal  family  domiciled  with  them. 
The  Marquis  of  Lome,  the  new  Governor-General  of  Canada, 
with  his  spouse,  the  Princess  Louise,  arrived  at  Halifax,  on  the 
22nd  of  November,  and  the  whole  dominion  was  wild  with  joy. 
The  Marchioness,  who  is  the  star  actress  of  the  cast,  is  winning 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  by  her  simple  ways  and  democratic 
notions,  notwithstanding  some  harsh  criticisms  of  the  strict 
ceremony   inflicted   upon   the   early   receptions   of  the   royal 


POSTSCRIPT.  193 

party.  The  mother  country  has  been  much  disturbed  during 
the  season,  by  troubles  among  the  laboring  classes.  Strikes 
among  workingmen  have  been  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  in 
some  instances  have  assumed  threatening  proportions.  Happily 
they  have  thus  far  been  adjusted  without  the  serious  conse- 
quences which  sometimes  attend  such  uprisings.  A  mania  for 
regicide  seems  to  have  prevailed  in  the  old  world.  Twice  has 
the  life  of  the  Emperor  William  of  Germany  been  attempted, 
and  the  Kings  of  Italy  and  Spain,  and  the  Emperor  Joseph  of 
Austria,  have  each  been  the  subject  of  attack,  but  all  have 
fortunately  escaped  without  serious  injury. 

The  great  Paris  Exposition,  which  opened  on  the  1st  of  May, 
has  occupied  the  attention  of  European  visitors  during  the 
summer,  and  may  be  classed  as  a  success  as  world's  fairs  go. 
It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  each  of  the  different  varieties  of 
sewing  machines,  and  all  the  pianos  exhibited,  succeeded  as 
usual  in  securing  the  highest  award  for  excellence.  This  will 
be  satisfactory  to  those  who  are  owners  of  sewing  machines  or 
pianos,  as  they  will  content  themselves  without  change,  but  it 
will  be  terribly  perplexing  to  those  who  are  about  to  purchase, 
and  seek  to  "get  the  best." 

When  my  record  closed,  the  war  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
was  near  its  termination.  The  Russian  army  was  before  the 
Turkish  capital,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  between  the  belligerents 
was  effected,  which  was  unsatisfactory  to  England,  who  regarded 
with  distrust  the  approach  of  Russian  sway  towards  her  Asiatic 
dependencies.  After  considerable  bull-dozing  on  the  part  of 
England,  backed  by  Austria,  and  no  little  diplomacy  on  the 
part  of  Germany,  a  European  Congress  was  agreed  upon,  which 
assembled  at  Berlin,  June  13,  and  continued  in  session  just  one 
month.  As  a  result  of  its  deliberations,  nearly  all  the  white 
meat  of  Turkey  in  Europe  was  apportioned  between  Russia  and 
Austria,  while  the  minor  powers  interested  were  compelled  to 
content  themselves  with  wings  and  drumsticks.     In  the  melee, 


194  POSTSCRIPT. 

England  grabbed  the  Island  of  Cyprus,  which  she  has  since 
been  negotiating  to  purchase. 

Peace  once  more  prevailed  among  the  nations,  until,  in 
November,  England  declared  war  against  Afghanistan,  and  has 
found  an  easy  conquest  of  the  barbarous  natives.  The  country 
is  regarded  important,  as  affording  an  approach  for  Russia  to 
India,  and  will  doubtless  be  held  in  such  way  by  England  as 
will  best  subserve  her  Eastern  interests.  Since  the  winter 
opened  the  Zulus  of  South  Africa  have  become  fractious,  and 
have  involved  England  in  another  war.  It  will  doubtless  be  of 
short  duration,  except  as  a  kind  of  border  warfare — something 
like  the  Indian  wars,  which  keep  our  standing  army  kiting 
backwards  and  forwards  over  the  mountains  of  the  West  every 
summer — as  the  Zulus  are  not  particularly  rich  in  resources 
for  a  war  with  such  a  power  as  England. 

Gen.  Grant  has  continued  his  saunterings  through  the  old 
world,  enjoying  the  hospitalities  of  the  nobility,  congratulating 
the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias  over  his  victories,  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  condoling  with  the  young  King  of  Spain  in  his  bereavement, 
at  Madrid.  He  was  made  a  citizen  of  Dublin,  on  his  visit  to 
the  capital  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  and  might  now  rejoice  in  being 
a  Native  American  Irishman,  had  not  Cork  indignantly  refused 
to  endorse  the  action  of  Dublin.  Gen.  Grant  had  said  or  done 
something  or  left  something  unsaid  or  undone,  sometime  during 
his  career,  which  was  construed  as  subversive  of  the  interests, 
or  humbling  to  the  pride  of  the  city,  which  is  presumably  the 
guardian  of  the  entrance  to  the  Demijohn  of  Erin,  and  Cork 
uncorked  her  vials  of  wrath  upon  the  General,  by  declining  to 
tender  him  the  freedom  of  the  city.  So  the  citizen  soldier  re- 
sorted to  his  old  tactics  of  flanking  the  enemy,  turned  his  face 
Mecca-ward,  and  silently  sailed  away  over  eastern  seas  on  his 
homeward  way  by  the  Golden  Gate.  He  is  doubtless,  by  this, 
mingling  the  perfumes  of  his  Havana  with  the  fragrance  of  the 
Souchong  or  Bohea  of  Canton,  or  discussing  in  pigeon  English 


POSTSCRIPT.  195 

the  capacity  for  resistance  of  the  great  Chinese  wall,  with  some 
mandarin  at  Pekin. 

To  return  once  more,  from  my  wanderings,  nearer  home :  on 
the  7th  of  January,  the  State  Legislature  ensconced  itself  in  its 
quarters  in  the  new  capital  building,  at  Albany.  On  the 
evening  of  that  day,  the  citizens  of  Albany  gave  a  reception  in 
honor  of  the  event,  at  the  new  building,  which  was  a  success  as 
to  numbers,  notwithstanding  the  absence  of  many  who  had  been 
invited,  but  who  were  kept  away  by  the  railroad  blockade. 
The  new  building  is  said  to  be  complete  in  all  its  appointments, 
and  gorgeous  even,  in  its  finishings,  and  if  legislation  is  not 
rose-tinted  and  lemon-scented  in  future,  it  will  be  no  fault  of 
the  legislative  halls. 

At  12  o'clock  29  minutes,  noon,  on  the  17th  day  of  Decem- 
ber last,  Mr.  C.  Gimbernat,  of  No.  60  Exchange  Place,  sold  to 
Mr.  P.  Gillet,  No.  16  New  street,  at  the  gold  department  of  the 
Stock  Exchange,  New  York,  $10,000  gold,  at  par.  I  am  par- 
ticular in  giving  these  gentlemen  the  honor  of  the  transaction, 
for  I  assume  it  to  have  been  in  good  faith,  as  it  is  the  first  time 
in  16  years,  that  gold  has,  officially,  been  sold  at  par.  Should 
it  be  thought  advisable  to  erect  a  monument  to  commemorate 
the  transaction,  I  should  counsel  placing  Mr.  Gimbernat's  name 
a  little  higher  up  than  Mr.  Gillet's,  both  for  convenience,  and 
because  Mr.  Gimbernat  took  the  chances  of  sacrificing  a  six- 
teenth per  cent,  to  establish  the  credit  of  government.  Janu- 
ary 1, 1862,  gold  was  quoted  at  102  ;  in  the  summer  of  1864,  it 
ran  up  to  285,  from  which  point  it  gradually  declined,  until 
the  transaction  above  detailed.  The  official  resumption  of 
specie  payment  took  place  January  1.  It  is  astonishing  with 
what  complacency  the  public  accepted  the  situation.  The 
citizen  who  draws  his  check  for  five  dollars,  with  commendable 
regard  for  the  safety  of  the  national  treasury,  and  with  calm 
indifference  as  to  his  personal  pecuniary  safety,  says  lie  will 
take  bills,  as  gold  is  so  inconvenient  for  business  transactions. 


196  POSTSCRIPT. 

The  feeling  seems  to  be,  that  gold  is  mainly  useful  to  hoard  up 
in  old  stockings,  or  for  Captain  Kidds  to  bury  in  hidden  nooks 
upon  the  seashore.  Had  the  public  accepted  Mr.  Greeley's 
apothegm,  that  "the  way  to  resume  is  to  resume,"  as  it  might 
have  done  a  decade  since,  I  should  not  have  had  this  item  for 
my  record. 

But  I  must  bring  my  wandering  notes  to  a  close.  As  I  have 
been  collecting  the  incidents  which  I  have  herein  embodied,  I 
seem  as  one  who  has  been  gathering  shells  upon  the  seashore. 
Sauntering  along  the  thickly  strewn  strand,  I  have  picked  up 
here  and  there  a  shell,  but  I  realize  how  many  I  have  left  un- 
touched, many  of  them  doubtless  of  more  value  than  those  I 
have  gathered,  but  the  collection  as  I  have  made  it,  my  dear 
doctor,  I  place  in  your  hands — nothing  but  shells. 

B.  B.  SNOW, 
Historiographer. 


INDEX. 


OBITUARY  NOTICES— LOCAL. 


Arnett  Silas  W. 

40 

Holmes,  Mrs.  Richard  S.    - 

183 

Arne,  Mrs.  David  H. 

183 

Hosmer,  Mrs.  Martha 

183 

Ashby,  Benj.             ... 

184 

Hubbard,  Col.  Oliver  C.      - 

183 

Beardsley,  Alice  B.     - 

-     21 

Highrighter,  Wm.    ... 

185 

Bishop,  Edson         ... 

104 

Keyes,  Lester  V.         -        . 

126 

Beers,  Henry       ... 

-     67 

Loughlin,  Rev.  M.  J.       - 

185 

Beardsley,  Peter       ... 

104 

Merriman,  C.  H. 

25 

Burt,  Henry  R. 

177 

Moore,  William        - 

67 

Button,  Mrs.  Harriet 

183 

Marsh,  Chas.  C.  * 

127 

Burr,  Mrs.  Amelia 

183 

Myers,  P.  Hamilton 

184 

Barnes,  Joseph        ... 

183 

Marvine,  Edward  C.    - 

185 

Bemis,  Charles    - 

184 

Osborn,  Emery          - 

66 

Carpenter,  Amos  T.         -        - 

55 

Peck,  George  W. 

66 

Chase,  Wm.  H. 

66 

Pardee,  Charles        ... 

167 

Cushman,  Thomas 

66 

Richardson,  Mrs.  Eliza 

183 

Curtice,  Amasa  ... 

118 

Sisson,  Albert  L. 

39 

Congdon,  Mrs.  Abigail    - 

183 

Suydam,  James  A. 

185 

Camp,  James      ... 

184 

Smith,  Lewis  L. 

186 

Dean,  Wm.  F. 

112 

Schyndt   Peter    ... 

186 

Day,  F.  G.          -        -        - 

146 

Terrill,  Fred  M. 

42 

Eldred,  N.  B.  S.      - 

185 

Thomas,  Winslow  M. 

183 

Fanning,  Chester 

24 

Titus,  David  S. 

185 

Filley,  Henry  R.      -        -        . 

185 

Turner,  William 

186 

Gridley,  Edwin  R.       -         - 

33 

Underwood,  Eliza 

133 

Gilbert,  Ezekiel        ... 

121 

VanNess,  John   ... 

187 

Gilbert,  Horace  B. 

127 

Wallis,  David  P.      - 

53 

Gould,  Jabez  '           ... 

165 

Wasson,  Thurlow  B. 

148 

Green,  Theron    ... 

184 

Wilkinson,  Lyman  L.- 

65 

Grant,  J.  Lewis       ... 

184 

Wheeler,  Edward 

66 

Hall,  Rev.  Edward     - 

75 

Wheaton,  Charles  L. 

184 

Hughitt,  Orrin         ... 

27 

Wood,  Charles  P. 

184 

Healy,  J.  M.       - 

66 

Wells,  Henry 

185 

Hall,  Mrs.  Hannah  M.    - 

183 

Williams.  Charles  P. 

185 

198 


INDEX. 


OBITUARY  NOTICES— GENERAL. 


Abbott,  John  S.  C. 
Adams,  Alvin,     - 
Allen,  William  F.    - 
Ayer,  James  C.  -         - 

Alice  Maud  Mary,  Princess 
Brownlow,  Parson 
Beekman,  James  W. 
Bowles,  Samuel 
Beecher,  Catharine  E. 
Bryant,  Wm.  Cullen    - 
Burmah,  King  of     - 
Collins,  Edward  J. 
Cushing,  Caleb 
Dana,  Richard  H. 
Grinnell,  Moses  H. 
Lewis,  Prof.  Tayler    - 
Leverrier,  Jean  Joseph     - 
Motley,  John  L. 
Morton,  Oliver  P.    - 


49 

Morrissey,  John 

188 

73 

Mercedes,  Queen  of  Spain 

188 

188 

Maria,  Ex-Queen  of  Spain  - 

189 

189 

Orton,  James            - 

94 

189 

Owen,  Robert  Dale 

53 

26 

Orton,  William 

188 

48 

Pruyn,  John  V.  L. 

106 

128 

Pope  Pius  IX,           - 

135 

188 

Pillow,  Gideon  J. 

189 

188 

Rawson,  George  W.         -        T 

112 

189 

Raymond,  J.  H. 

189 

129 

Semmes,  Raphael    - 

67 

1S9 

Thiers,  Louis  Adolphe 

74 

189 

Tweed,  Wm.  M.      - 

188 

103 

Tremain,  Lyman 

189 

45 

Taylor,  Bayard         - 

189 

80 

Welles,  Gideon 

136 

40 

Wade,  Benj.  F.        -        -        - 

147 

95 

Young,  Brigham 

67 

CASUALTIES,  FIRES,  &c. 


Auburn  Woolen  Mill,  43 

Barclay  St.  Explosion,   114,  118,  121, 

190 

Bridgeport,  Conn.,  fire    -         -  42 

Bath,  England,  R.  R.  disaster  42 

Burt,  Henry  R.        -         -  177 

Canajoharie,  fire           -         -  26 

Court  House,  Rockford,  111.    -  32 

Eurydice,  Training  Ship      -  158 
Glasgow,  Scotland             -         91,  102 

German  Iron  Clads,              -  190 

Huron,  U.  S.  Gunboat    -        -  103 

Hutchinson,  Henry  C.          -  177 

Iquique,  earthquake  40 

Kober,  Joseph     -        -        -  177 

Lynch,  W.  B.           ...  32 


Marblehead,  Mass.      -  53 

Metropolis,  Steamship     -  -       132 

Minneapolis,  Flour  Mills  -            190 

Mt.  Carmel,  111.  41 

Novelty  Works,  Montreal  -              26 

Princess  Alice,  Steamer  -       190 

Pomerania,  Steamer  -            190 

Saratoga,  Steamship  38 

Slatington,  Pa.,  R.  R.  -           166 
Southern  Hotel,  St.  Louis,  burned  20 


St.  Johns,  N.  B.,  fire 
Sheldon,  Wm.  B. 
Skadden,  Edmund  C. 
TarrifTville,  Conn.,  R. 
Wilkinson,  Thomas 


K. 


53 
177 

66 
127 
177 


INDEX. 


199 


CRIMES. 


Barr — Caslcr             -  -         102,  103 

Brotherton — Moon   64,  96,   101,   127, 

129 

Brown — Rooney         -  -         64,  89 


French — Barrett 
Hoppins — Proudfit 
Riley — Harris, 
Thorpe  —Howard 


5i 
64,  129 

89 
80,  89,  107 


LOCAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 


Aurelius  Ave.  Bridge,  25, 

29,  37 

.  71. 

72,  82,  94. 

Button  Factory,    - 

160, 

179 

Bell  Punch,     - 

- 

133 

Clapp,  E.  D.  &  Co.     - 

- 

179 

Franklin  St.  Sewer, 

- 

181 

German  Protestant  Church 

179 

Osborne  House, 

- 

179 

Presbyterian  Church,  2nd 

- 

179 

Robinson,  H. 

- 

46 

Smith,  J.  D.     - 
Schoonmaker  &  Perry, 
Stevens,  A.  W.  &  Co. 
Soule  Cemetery, 
Steam  Heating, 
Telephone, 
Underwood  Block,  - 
Wall  St.  M.  E.  Church 
Water  Works  Co. 


-  46 
46 

-  177 
69,  142 

181,  182 
141,  149 

-  179 
131 

61,  180 


MISCELLANEOUS  AND  GENERAL. 


Anniversaries,     - 

68,  69 

Asteroids,         ... 

-       179 

Black  Plague, 

192 

Coal,  price  of           -        - 

28 

Cleopatra's  needle, 

90,  129 

Capitol  at  Albany,  - 

-       195 

Conjunction  of  Jupiter,  etc. 

178 

Gettysburg,  sham  battle 

-         56 

Gold  at  par,         -     .    - 

195 

Howgate  Polar  Expedition, 

70 

Indian  War,                59,  68,  ' 

74,  86,  97 

Leo  XIII,  - 

142 

Lome,  Marquis  of 

IQ2 

Manhattan  Savings  Bank, 

I9O 

Mars,  satellites  of    - 

71 

Mercury,  transit  of 

I78 

Paris  Exposition,     - 

-          193 

Railroad  War,  B.  &  0. 

64 

49th  Regiment,            42,  45, 

no,  189 

St.  Mary's  Church, 
Seymour  Library, 


-  26 
28,  29,  33,  178 
Shield's  Guard  Anniversary,  -  50 
Stanley,  -  -  -  -  78,  123 
Silver  Bill,  ...  143,  145 
Scotland,  Bank  of  190 

Stewart,  A.  T.,  remains  of       -       190 
Sun,  eclipse  of    -        -        -  178 

Vicksburgh  yellow  fever  -       192 

Grant,  General  U.  S.,  45,  59,  68,  86, 

123,  137.  I5L  168,  194. 
Scull  Races,     69,  72,  81,  95,  117,  173 
Turco-Russian    War,  25,   37,  45,  53, 
59,  67,  74,  85,  98,  108,  124,  129, 
136,  139,  147.  167,  193. 
Weather  Notes,  Birds   &c.  28,  29,  33, 
34,  39,  42,  72,  82,  83,  113,  118, 
121,    123,    132,    146,    149,     151, 
165,  171. 


200 


INDEX. 


FANCIES. 

Artists. 158 

Pic-nics,      - 

76 

Buttons,      ...             161,  180 

Political,          -       92,  93,  96, 

148,  191 

Business  depression,        -        -        46 

Potato  Bugs,            -        43,  54,  56,  62 

Calf  Day,    ....             41 

Pedestrianism,    -         -     157, 

159.  !74 

Christmas,        -        -        -        -       116 

Russian  Names,      -           37, 

113,  125 

Chinese  Laundry,         -         -            182 

Snail  Shower, 

88,  89 

Current  events,         -        -        -       152 

Shoveling  Snow, 

-       134 

Denis  Kearney,          -          -            191 

Sleigh-bells,         - 

140 

English  Sparrows,            -         -  36,  49 

Strawberries, 

5i 

Frogs,         ....              23 

Steam  Heat,        ... 

182 

Hand  Organs,          -         -         -         27 

Street  Cleaning, 

-       155 

Hymeneal,         78,  112,  129,  130,  143 

Temperature  record, 

62 

Isaac  Mink's  Concert,      -        -       117 

Toothache,      - 

-       114 

Liquefying  Gas.           -         -            137 

Tramps,      ...      27, 

115,  156 

Lillis  War,       ....       144 

Uniformed  Police,   - 

-       153 

Mosquitoes,  etc.          -                       34 

Valentine's  Day, 

140 

Mr.  Perrigo,    -        -        -  44,  83,  in 

Weather,          ... 

2l8,    121 

Moffat  Bell  Punch,      -         -            164 

Weather  Indicator, 

172 

New  Year,       -        -        -        -       119 

Women's  Hotel,  Stewart's, 

-         165