THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AMBROSE BIERCE

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In December of 1914,71 year-old decorated CivilWar Major, accomplished journalist, and famous author Ambrose Bierce wrote his Niece and his secretary to tell them he was going to Mexico to cover the Mexican insurrection led by Pancho Villa and others.He felt likely thathis fate would be probably be that of being lined up against a wall and shot- as these insurrectionists were quick-tempered killers. Not long after, Bierce disappeared completely, and years of searches have not brought any concrete evidence of what happened to him- but the legend told by those who daid they saw him or knew of him in his last days tells the story very much like the one he envisioned.

This is his story.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Welcome back, everyone, everyone, to 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories, and Mysteries podcast.
0:36.9	We are celebrating 10 years of 1001 Heroes this month, December, 2024, having released our first two episodes in December of 2014, those being Gremlins and John Wayne goes to Harvard, both stories that I treasure to this day.
0:53.6	We've done over 500 stories here, and I look
0:56.5	forward to the day I can announce number 1001. We owe it all to you listeners who have made it possible.
1:03.4	You are my family, and what a family of devoted fans you have been. There is no time better than now
1:09.6	to show my appreciation for the notes you have sent me,
1:12.4	sometimes telling me how you may have been involved with the subject matter of an episode,
1:16.3	or suggesting a story, or sharing information about a relative, or letting me know about a correction
1:21.7	needed, or asking if I will consider your book for an interview, or one of a hundred topics that
1:27.1	can come up between my
1:28.1	show and your take on it. Your reviews and comments are treasured. Suggestions for stories at our
1:34.5	story podcasts have also been highly valued here, both short and novel form. And here I can't help but
1:40.7	recall your suggestion of Zane Gray's baseball stories, Doc, and the Tarzan novels.
1:46.2	All this has led to many millions of listens over the past 10 years and a bond between you loyal listeners and I that will always be treasured.
1:55.3	These past 10 years of my life as a podcast host have been truly a blessing and the best days of my life so thank you thank you all now to our story
2:05.2	our listeners at one thousand one classic short stories and tales as well as many of you are aware who
2:11.3	ambrose bierce was i'm not sure if you know just how much of a literary giant he was and how many other writers he influenced,
2:19.5	so I'll share that as we go forward here.
2:22.1	The point being that he had achieved fame, wealth, and friends,
2:26.4	and could have lived the rest of his life out very comfortably.
2:30.5	But 100 years ago, in 1914, at age 71, he penned a letter to his niece Laura, followed by a second,
2:39.6	then another letter to his secretary in Washington, D.C., and disappeared forever, headed south without a trace.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jon Hagadorn, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jon Hagadorn and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.