July 2nd, 1881, US President James Garfield [1] was shot by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker. Garfield died 79 agonizing days later.
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July 2nd, 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. In January of 2024, there came this report: Explorers say they think they’ve found Amelia Earhart’s long-lost plane [2].
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July 2nd, 1679. Europeans first visited Minnesota and saw headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
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On July 2nd, 1808, Simon Fraser completed his trip down Fraser River, British Columbia, and landed at Musqueam.
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And on July 2, 1901. Butch Cassidy [3] and the Sundance Kid robbed a train of $40,000 at Wagner, Montana.
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [4]. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon [5]. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2,000.
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course [6] (a $1,095 value),
- A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” [7] variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses [8].
- Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, [9] (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
Second Prize:
- A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord [10] (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
- Two Super Survival Pack seed collections [11], a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [12], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
- A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters [13] (a $305 value),
- Three sets each [14] of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
- A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC [15] that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [12], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
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More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics [16]. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [17] us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.