Jamestown Weekly Alert, 1883-08-31, p.4

Jamestown Weekly Alert, Jamestown, 1883-08-31, p.4

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Summary

A short comic society-column item in the Jamestown Weekly Alert reporting that a hunting party — John Vennum, Marshall McClure, Tony Klaus, Charlie Rattinger, and two or three others — set out for a slough about seven miles north of Spiritwood Lake. The piece jokes that they "all signed the Murphy pledge and swore off before starting, and only took a five gallon demijohn of snake bite medicine along to 'kiver' accidents." The "Murphy pledge" is the famous temperance pledge associated with Francis Murphy, the Pennsylvania temperance reformer — not a personal Murphy reference.

In its time

Narrative

John Vennum, Marshall McClure, Tony Klaus, Charlie Rattinger and two or three others set out with a camping outfit for a few days' hunting at a slough some seven miles north of Spiritwood lake. All signed the Murphy pledge before leaving, carrying only a five-gallon demijohn of snake bite medicine against accidents.

  • “The scene of their carnage of hell-divers and gophers will be at a slough up about seven miles north of Spiritwood lake.”
  • “They all signed the Murphy pledge and swore off before starting, and only took a five gallon demijohn of snake bite medicine along to "kiver" accidents.”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

People

  • role: subject · family confidence: 0 not family
  • Anton Klaus(as printed: Tony Klaus)
    role: subject · family confidence: 0 not family

Also mentioned

  • Marshall McClure · hunting_companion
  • Charlie Rattinger · hunting_companion

Places

Themes

Tags

Source type

news_item, society_column

Related sources

Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# Transcription — Jamestown Weekly Alert, 1883-08-31, p.4 **Source**: Jamestown Weekly Alert (Jamestown, Dakota Territory), Friday 31 August 1883, p.4. **Status**: Complete. --- A hunting party consisting of John Vennum, Marshall McClure, Tony Klaus, Charlie Rattinger and perhaps two or three others started out with a camping outfit on a few days hunt yesterday. The scene of their carnage of hell-divers and gophers will be at a slough up about seven miles north of Spiritwood lake. They all signed the Murphy pledge and swore off before starting, and only took a five gallon demijohn of snake bite medicine along to "kiver" accidents.

Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.

Open questions

  • Is John Vennum here the same man as "acting Mayor Vennum" in the same paper on 18 December 1884? Plausibly yes — same surname, same small town, civic prominence consistent — but the 1884 clip gives no first name.
  • The "Murphy pledge" reference is to Francis Murphy's temperance movement (1870s onward). Period-typical. Recorded so it is not mistaken for a personal family Murphy.