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

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

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.

Narrative

John Vennum, Marshall McClure, Tony Klaus, Charlie Rattinger, and two or three others set out on a several-days camping hunt, targeting hell-divers and gophers at a slough about seven miles north of Spiritwood Lake. Before departing they all signed the Murphy pledge and swore off drink — though they brought a five-gallon demijohn of snake bite medicine along for emergencies.

“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”
“scene of their carnage of hell-divers and gophers”

AI-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

People

John Vennum
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

Jamestown, North Dakota (primary)
Dakota Territory / North Dakota (context)

Themes

Source type

news_item, society_column

Related sources

1884-12-18 — Jamestown Weekly Alert, p.3

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.

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.