Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1891 — Two Odd Lawsuits. [ARTICLE]

Two Odd Lawsuits.

“We have some odd lawsuits in the South. There was a case at Dahomey some time ago which may interest you,” said a gentleman recently. “Two negroes claimed a little mangy pig that was not worth over 50 cents. One of them was a minister of the Baptist Church, the other an elder of the Methodist Church. “I got a hint that bad blood was brewing between the denominations, so I sent for the negroes and tried to quiet them, but the Baptist congregation had notified the minister that unless he brought the other negro before the law he would be dismissed from their pulpit. The Methodists, on the other hand, told their elder they would expel him from the church if he did not bring the Baptist minister before the la\p& “The issues were joined, and neither man nor devil could have stopped the quarrel after that. They went into court, each engaging lawyers and sumponing clouds of witnesses and entailing expenses as though sl,ooo,OOOwere at stake. The case ran along in one way or another for three years, when they compromised, each agreeing to pay half tb£ costs. Court costs, lawyers’ fees and all amounted to over SI,OOO, and meanwhile, within a week after the suit was brought, the pig died from disease and starvation. “There was a famous case in Tallahatchie County, Miss., between two white men over a duck,” continued the narrator. “The bird was what we call a puddle duck, very similar in appearance to the mallard. One of the white men, while out shooting, killed a puddle duck, thinking it was a mallard. The man to whom the duck belonged thought it was an act of maliciousness. He instituted a suit for damages, which remained in court seven or eight years. “The duck was worth twenty cents. The costs of the court and attorneys’ fees amounted to over $2,000, and was finally compromised by each party paying halt” —New York Press. Bingo —ls I were rich for jnst one little hour! Kingley—l should like to know what good that would do you. Bingo—" Well, I’d spond about fifty-five minutes in making my property over to my wife.