Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 August 1887 — INDIANA STATE NEWS. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA STATE NEWS.

Over 120 new buildings are in course of erection at Huntington. Oil was struck at Walton,Cass county Thursday, at a depth of 1,007 feet. Seymour has five active building associations. Indianapolis -has nearly eighty. Huntington is talking of water works. Logansport owns its own water works, and its service is probably the cheapest in the State. O. H. Morgan of Ft. Wayne became mentally depressed from insomnia and Tuesday shot three bullets into his breast and died. The ’’First Regiment Patriarchs Mui tant I. O. O. F. held k successful three days encampment at Warsaw last week. There were several dignitaries of the order and quite a large number of members present. ( It is estimated that the serious drouth Clark county is now passing through will increase the price of hay to S2O a ton and corn to 75 cents a bushel before six njonths have passed. The hay crop is almost an entire failure. On Saturday a vein of powerful magnetic and sulphur water was tapped at a depth of 300 feet at While’s institute gas well, now being drilled near Wabash. It is stated that the water is so heavily charged with magnetism that a knife blade dipped in it will hold up a bunch of keys. The well is constantly flowing a heavy stream. Saturday night some dastard disemboweled two valuable horses owned by W. Z Martin, which were running in pasture in Tippecanoe county. The devilish act was committed with a butcher knife. The perpetrator is undiscovered. A valuable horse owned by Marcellus Rawles, six miles west of Lafayette, was cut in a number of places and rendered worthless. a- A fourteen-year-old son of John Kunkle drooped a lighted match in the water-well in front of the old Cottage Hotel at Portland. A terrific explosion followed, hurling pump, platform and boy against the hotel. The boy’s clothes took fire and his feet and legs were terribly burned. The gas found its way into the well from the natural gas well, located some sixty yards south.

Dedrick Cramer, a prominent saloonkeeper at Weisburg, Dearborn county, died in jail Sunday from the effects of delirium tremens. Cramer a few years ago was a wealthy and prosperous man, but was ruined by dissipation. His horrible roarings and demoniacal yells and curses before death ensued created a panic among the the other prisoners and filled them with superstitious terrors that remained to chill even after his distorted corpse was removed from the jail. Dr. Robert Hay, a reputable practitioner, residing at Greenville, Knox county, Wednesday received notice from the “Yellow Caps” to leave, under penalty of a severe thrashing. The “Yellow Caps” claim that the Doctor is not in sympathy with some of their proposed plans, hence their threats. Dr. Hay will hot leave and bids the outlaws defiance. Reports of depredations by the gang from other localities come pouring in daily and the people seem to be powerless. The mills of the Tippecanoe Paper Company, located at Monticello, were destroyed by fire Tuesday afternoon, causing a loss of $76,200. The building and machinery were insured for $12,300. The principal stockholders of the company are Bradner, Smith & Co., of Chicago. The mills were recently rebuilt, having been completely destroyed by fire less than two years ago. A spark from a chimney falling into some shavings near the building, on the outside, is the supposed origin of the fire. A miracle is reported at Commisky Jennings eounty. Months ago the Baptists concluded to build a church. Work progressed favorably until it came to raising a big beam, whicli was to support the roof, when it was found that a derrick large enough could not be procured, and work was stopped. On last Monday morning, however, it was discovered that the beam had been placed in position by some unknown agtncy Hundreds of people gathered about the place and the miracle, if sucn it may be termed, has created great religious excitement in the neighborhood. No dis Acuity was experienced in raising SIOO to go on with the work, and it was decided to call the new edifice “Christ’s Own.” The last Legislature approprated several sums for the Soldiers l Orphans’Home at Knightstown, among which was $65,000 for completing and furnishing the new building. In addition to this were appropriations of $20,000 for shops, purchase of material and machinery, $20,000 for other buildings and a chapdl, and $5,000 for ornamentation of the grounds. Of these several sums the trustees have so far drawn $20,325.60, and that ’on account of the appropriation for the main building. Ten days ago the Governor instructed the Auditor of State to draw no more warrants on these appropriations, stating that the funds v ould not permit of any experditures except those for the maintenance of the benevolent and other State institutions, and for current demands. Tom Rufus, a blacksmith, of Hollandsburg eight miles east of Rockville, an evicted tenant of W. H. Cutbirth, postmaster, got into a row with the latter .because-he. turned *. calf into the gardenon the premises where the vegetables

had not been gathered. Rufus, armed with two hammers, attacked Catbirth, who drew a pocket-knife. The result was Cutbirth got a fearful blow on the head, laying bare the skull and crazing him. Rufus had the muscles of his right arm literally sliced from him, besides a cheek laid open, several gushes in the breast, one of which has so weakened him that physicians say he cannot recover. Cutbirth is wild as a maniac "and still has possession of the shop, forbidding friend, enemy and doctor coming near. The postmaster is very unpopular, and it is believed that the calf episode was only an excuse for an attack upon him. The following patents were issued to Indiana inventors Tuesday. Conant, Ossian A. C., Terre Haute, flour packer; Gustavei, Lewis G. W., Monticello, hame tug; Horrod, Sanford H., Canton, and S. J. Lamb, assignors of one third to W. W. Borden, New Albany, station indicator; Hartman, Charles R., Vincennes, spring hoe attachment for cultivators, sead drills, etc.; Hazen, David H and D. H. Kirkpatrick, Francesville, fence machine; Jones, William H., Liberty, mail sack; Kelley, George W., Goshen, carpet sweeper; McCarn,George, Goodland, power mechanism, for reciprocating plungers; Mandenhail, John C., Indianapolis, sweat-pad fastener; Parks, George W., and C. Z. Mathers, Scottsburg, railwaycattle guard; Purcell, William C., assignor of one-half to J. H. Jones, Somerville, axle skein; Speicher, Joseph B. and D. L., Wabash, automatically supplying watering trough.

Wednesday night four young men entered the the new cave recently discovered at Milltown, near Jeffersonville, and had an exciting experience. After passing the beautiful gallery they came to a bank of earth, and proceeded to dig through it. When a hole was pierced so as to provide a passage beyond, foul air flowed in from the unexplored part. Lamps and candles were extinguished by the gas,and the party was almost asphyxiated. One of the explorers became violently ill and vomited. Attempts to strike matches failed, they refusing to burn. Nearly exhausted, the party crept through the darkness toward the entrance, but were lost in a side gallery which was probably their salvation, as they were enabled there to strike a light. They reached the surface at 1:30 o’clock Thursday morning, after being in the cave three hours. All were very much prostrated by their experience.

The second trial of the celebrated Wise will case, which has been in progress at Sullivan for eight weeks, was brought to a close Wednesday afternoon by the jury agreeing to disagree, seven being in favor of the plaintiffs and five for the defendants. The suit, which was tried in the Knox county circuit court in 1885, is probably the most important civil action, with which the Indian* courts have every dealt. Two year* ago a verdict was returned in favor of the defendant, from which the plaintiffs took an appeal. The suit was brought to break the will of the late William J. Wise, of Vincennes, who bequeathed his entire estate, valued at $400,000, to his three nieces. The plaintiffs attempted to prove that the testator was of unsound mind, and that undue influence was brought to bear on him by the beneficiaries in the making of the will. General Ben Harrison was prominent among the attorneys for de-