Western Historical Manuscript Collection: Johnny enters the story disguised as a black man. He is described several times in terms that are today socially unacceptable: colored man, darky, Sambo, and Rastus. None of these terms made it into the printed story. The last one is perhaps the more interesting. Rastus is the Cream of Wheat chef and is still depicted on the Cream of Wheat box that you can buy in the store today.
This was the first microfilm I looked at based on a recommendation by Will Murray. He said whole chapters of this story had been left out. Boy was he right. There are a couple of chapters in the middle of the story that are completely different from the printed version. Here are a couple of interesting points.
Early on Doc meets two employees of Andershot and Cugg – a pair of guys named Happy and Harry who try to shoot him. This pair accompanies Doc and his men on the visit to Andershot's mansion. They are a slightly annoying pair.
Doc hides ultra-violet lamps and movie projectors around the Carlaw-Hill well. Doc later develops the film. Dent lets us know that something interesting is on the film by means of Doc's fantastic trilling. It isn't until the end of the story that the reader learns what was on the film and that Doc had really known everything was faked from that point on.
The
One of the places mentioned in the story is Ponca City which is also the place where Lester Dent and Norma Gerling were married.
February 11, 1937 – Radio: The three largest broadcasters, NBC, CBS, and Mutual, simultaneously broadcast the same program.
February 11, 1937 - General Motors formally recognizes the United Auto Workers union.
February 16, 1937 – Nylon is patented.
February 16, 1937 - The US Treasury revealed its intentions to create a Federal silver bullion storage vault on the Military Academy reservation at West Point, New York.
February 18, 1937 – The second shipment of gold bound for the Federal storage area at Fort Knox, Kentucky left. The bullion was valued at $120,000,000.
February 21, 1937 – The Aerobile flying car makes a flight.
February 21, 1937 – The League of Nations prohibits any other nation from involving itself in the Spanish Civil War.
February 25, 1937 – A third shipment of gold ($120 million) heads to the United States Bullion Depository in Kentucky.
