Life in 1883

In the spring and summer of 1883, happenings from around the state included two accidents and a “devilish” act of animal cruelty:

‘Not a Suicidal Leap’

The June 2, 1883 Denton Journal reported that Miss Bertha Gebhardt did not commit suicide “by leaping from her bed room window” in Baltimore; instead, she fell out the window while she was asleep.

‘A Painful Accident’

Also in June 1883, this time in Easton, the 6-year-old son of Mrs. Lizzie Williams “met with a painful accident … by falling from a vehicle, into which he was climbing, and having his left leg cut open to the bone just below the knee.”

‘Devilish’

J.D. Koogle, who lived a mile outside Hagerstown, was in for a shock in August 1883 when it was discovered that “some person went into [his] stable … and punctured his fine black horse in the side and shoulder with the tines of a pitchfork. No less than thirteen holes were visible on the skin of the animal where the tines had penetrated.”

Sources: The Star-Democrat, June 5, 1883; Denton Journal, June 5, 1883; Herald and Torch Light, September 6, 1883