This Week in History:
- On September 21, 1893, Frank Duryea drove the first American-made gasoline-propelled vehicle.
- September 22, 1499: Switzerland became an independent state.
- September 22, 1656: An all-female jury heard the case of Judith Catchpole, accused of killing her child, and acquitted her in Patuxent County, Maryland.
- September 23, 1779: John Paul Jones aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard defeated the British frigate HMS Serepis and soon became the United States’ first well-known naval hero.
- September 24, 1869: The “Black Friday” panic on Wall Street after investors Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market.
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I just heard of the passing of the Brazilian jazz and samba legend Hermeto Pascoal [1], at age 89. Feliz retorno para casa. I’ll see you there, someday, irmão.
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Sale Ends Tonight! The special sale on all of my pre-1899 antique Swiss rifles at Elk Creek Company [2] ends at Midnight tonight, Eastern Time. Take a look, for some great prices. BTW, I have a small supply of scarce factory boxes of .41 Swiss Rimfire cartridges exclusively available for the buyers of any of our Swiss Vetterli rifles. E-mail me for details. – JWR