Contemporary Review, Volume 43, Issue 1

The Contemporary Revew, January 1883.

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The Mirror of Taste and Dramatic Censor, Volume 1, Number 1

The Mirror of Taste and Dramatic Censor, Volume 1, Number 1, January 1810, edited by Stephen Cullen Carpenter. Published 1810.

This issue includes The Foundling of the Forest by William Dimond.

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Donahoe’s Magazine, January 1886

Donahoe’s Magazine, Volume 15, No. 1, January 1886. Published 1886.

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The Knickerbocker, January 1844

The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, Volume 23, Issue 1. Probably edited by Lewis Gaylord Clark, but I can’t find a definitive (i.e. library) reference to this.

This is the first issue of what is likely to be a very long series.

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Phenomenon at Niagara Falls

It is stated that at Niagara Falls, during a recent storm, the strong easterly gale sent the waters of Lake Erie westward, leaving the Niagara River and tributaries lower than were ever known before. Buffalo Creek was so low that all the vessels in it were grounded, and Niagara Falls was a rivulet compared with its native grandeur. The bed of the American branch was so denuded that you could travel in its rocky bed without wetting your feet, and mysteries that were never before revealed came to light on that day. Rocks that were heretofore invisible appeared in their full grown deformity upon the surface, and great was the consternation among the finny tribes. The Three Sisters were accessible to foot-passengers, and many traversed where human foot had never trod, with perfect impunity and dry feet. Below the falls was the wonder of wonders. The water was full twenty feet lower than usual, and the oldest inhabitants gazed in wonder at the transformation. Near Suspension Bridge the celebrated rock at Witmer’s mill, upon which a drowning man caught and was rescued several years ago, which barely projects it head above the water, was laid bare 20 feet above the surface. Suffice it to say the wind subsided that evening, the waters returned to their wonted haunts, the fish breathed freer, the rocks again hid their diminished heads, and the roar of the cateract [sic] resumed its ancient tone, and the waters rushed onward to the sea. Niagara was herself again.

Underground River

The last Fremont, Ohio, Journal says: It is not generally known that there exists about a mile west of this city, a remarkable underground stream, with a swift current, and no outlet above the surface of the ground this side of Lake Erie. It was discovered several years ago, on a farm north of the Four-Mile House, now owned by widow Sheffer, by a man who was returning from a day’s chopping in the woods. In walking over a slightly sunken place, he noticed a hollow sound, and turning struck the ground with his as. The ax broke through and disappeared, and never has been recovered. Further investigation showed a rock about six feet below. By tracing its course further down, and breaking through the crust, the phenomenon appeared again, and by dropping a piece of wood or other floating substance in the upper apperture, it was soon seen to pass the lower one, showing a strong current. A lead and line let down to the depth of seventy feet, found no bottom. The supply of water is only slightly affected by drought, and a pump set in one of the places above mentioned has furnished the purest water to the whole neighborhood during the late dry season. It is certainly quite a remarkable stream.

A Prodigy in Mental Arithmetic

Some years ago a German of the name of Dase exhibited his wonderful powers of calculation and memory before the Queen. I once met him at the house of a friend, but unfortunately arrived to late to witness more than a few of his feats. Sixty-four figures were chalked upon a board, at which Mr Dase gave what I thought to be a cursory glance, and, immediately turning his back upon them, he stated the order in which they were placed, and repeated them backward. He was then, without altering his position, dodged by one of the company, who asked, “What is the twenty-third figure?” He answered at once, and correctly. Again, a vast amount of dominoes–I wondered where they got so many–were distributed on the table among several ladies, who arranged them in squares of various dimensions, while Mr. Dase stood with back to the table. He was then requested to turn round, and in an incredibly short space of time he told us the number, not of the dominoes, but of the spots. Thus far the evidence of my own eyes and ears. For the rest, I was told he can multiply in his mind 100 figures by the like number. He is an hour about it, but he result is always correct. I was told that he could extract the square root of one hundred given numbers in fifty-two minutes.–University Magazine.

A Skeleton Giant in the Oil Regions

On Tuesday morning last, while Mr. William Thompson, assisted by Robert R. Smith, was engaged in making an excavation near the house of the former, about half a mile north of West Hickory, preparatory to erecting a derrick, they exhumed an enormous helmet of iron, which was corroded with dust. Further digging brought to light a sword, which measured nine feet in length. Curiosity incited them to enlarge the hole, and after some little time they discovered the bones of two enormous feet. Following up the “lead” they had so unexpectedly struck, in a few hours’ time they had unearthed a well-preserved skeleton of an enormous giant, belonging to a species of the human family which probably inhabited this and other parts of the world at that time of which the Bible speaks, when it says “And there were giants in those days.” The helmet is said to be of the shape of those found among the ruins of Nineveh. The bones of the skeleton are remarkably white. The teeth are all in their places, and all of them are double and of extraordinary size. These relics have been taken to Tionesta, where they are visited by large numbers of people daily. When his giantship was in the flesh he must have stood 18 feet in his stockings. These remarkable relics will be forwarded to New York early next week. The joints of the skeleton are now being glued together. These remains were found about 12 feet below the surface of a mound which had been thrown up probably centuries ago, and which was not more than three feet above the level of the ground around it. Here is another nut for antiquarians to crack.–Oil City Times.

Ah, TionestaGiant trees, giant fish, and maybe some Big Foots (Feet? Footen?). But where is the skeleton now? And that sword?

Apparently giant skeletons are common finds. And they’ve been found in Pennsylvania for a while now. A “newer” find than this one (1885) is mentioned by Corliss.