Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 August 1871 — LOCAL MATTERS. [ARTICLE]

LOCAL MATTERS.

Thursday, August 3d, 1871.

Showefy this morning. Good potatoes retailing fur 15 cents a peek. Fairest new white clover honey is plenty and retails slowly for 20 cents a pound. Itisreportwl.thut afatal epidemic has made its appeareiice among the sucking pigs about town. Haying is over, that is .in tame meadows, and a splendid crop has been secured in good condition. 'Water-haulers charge 16 cents a barrel for river water for laundry {purposes, and find plenty of employment. The Francesville Local Topic »rciports the black-leg as spreading -among young cattle in Gillam township, this county. What has become of the watermellons? Early hatched ones as large as your head and larger were plenty in town two weeks ago. Plenty of nicest dessert and cooking apples at the stores retailing at from 40 to 60 cents a bushel, owing to the place you trade at. Streets are dusty, weather hot again, water becoming scarce in streams and low in wells, and people are beginning to wish for rain. The number of hogs m Jasper county is very large, the corn crop promises to be immense and therefore it is our judgment that pork will be cheap at killing time. Mr. and Mrs. S. O. Duvall camb up from Momence, 111., last Friday to bury their infant daughter in Weston Cemetery. This is the fourth child they have buried. It. F. Goddard has his now bakery “jist a-bibn’ ” and is now ready to contract with the Commissioners lo furnish the whole county with daily bread for five cents a loaf. Messrs. J. D. & C. D. Hopkins •have contracted for all the wheat they will buy tor the present. They paid II per bushel for good winter wheat without distinguishing variety. Messrs. R. S. Dwiggins and I. M. Stackhouse will attend the meeting of the officers at theN. Y. Western R. W. Company, in New York City on the 10th inst. Pear trees, grape vines and apple trees are bonding beneath their weight of fruit. These fruits may be relied upon in Jasper county for good crops, take one year with another. Work on the New Western railroad has been suspended until after the middle of the present .month. Whether it will then be resumed or not is not known by the public. Mr. Daniel Dwiggins’s new dwelling is inclosed and nearly finished inside. It is a neat and comforta bio looking building and is the only new dwelling erected in the place this summer. Owing to tho coolish evenings ice ere am men aro not realizing large profits. One “parlor” has already closed doors, and the other talks of following suit in a few days. The red hot days for a couple of weeks past have brought out the corn rapidly. As favorable weather for the next fortnight or twenty days will insure the largest crop ever seen by the oldest inhabitant. Messrs. Emmet Kannal, Robert <Y. Martin, Wm. A. Abbott and Syl.vester Haley honofed the editors of t this paper with a delicious s*erenade Monday evening, for which they ■’will please accept our warmest .'thanks. ■* A. Leopold, Esq., is moving the L of his building corner of Washington and Van Rensselaer streets to a lot corner of* Van Rensselaer .and Hutson, where it will be fitted up for a dwelling and occupied, as .we are told, by Mr. Samuel Fendig. We are informed that Rev. J. M, 'Montgomery, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, contemplates retiring from the ministry on account of a growing tendency to bronchial affections whiolj is constantly irritated by publiq speaking. By his modesty, good tl example and judicious conversation he has won the respect and friendship of all, and the people of this Circuit will wish him suctfess in whatever business he may engage.

Since the Colorado bugs “vamosed those yer diggiu’s” there uro those who worry lest late pota* toes will not bring more than ten cents a bushel, there having been so many planted and the prospect for a bountiful crop being so flattering. Mr. Sol. Boulder tells us that he raised a patch of common white oats this year adjoining the town plat, estimated to contain eight acres, from which was threshed 432 bushejs of clean grain, machine measure, or an average of fifty-four bushels to thp acre. Ono of Emmet Kannal’s goldfish roves no more. It died last week of water on tho brain. Emmet is disconsolate and wants to marry now, perhaps —go and inquire—for anything you want in the line of plainer fancy drugs; nipple-shields; ague medicine, liquid or powder; fine-toothed combs, perfumery, etc. Only three couples had courage |o coalesce in Jasper county during the broiling month of July as shown by the records in the Clerk’s office. Licenses were issued to tho following parties: William B. Uhileote and Lydia V, Barkley. Barnet Day witt and Sarah V. Marion. James C. Herron and Eliza Corico. Mr. L. G. Janetr of Kankakee township sends us word that his wheat crop this year averages 30 bnshels to the acre, and that there were acres in the field which competent judges estimated would go as high as 40 bushels. He is preserving one stool for exhibition at the Francesville Fair, grown from a single grain, from which springs 32 stalks, each bearing a perfect ear of plump kernels. J. W. Duvall, Esq., is having, a well dug at his residence on Front street. There is nothing especially remarkable in this fact that we know of only that now is a pretty good time to dig, but we refer to the fact for the purpose of introducing another fact, which is that the work is being done by Mr. James W. Porter and that it is a good job, particularly the walling. We have always found Mr. Porter a good, reliable workman and worthy of patronage. The Trustees of the Rensselaer School have decided to takeout all the windows of the first story and replace them with others balanced with weights and hung on pulleys, so that they may be lowered or elevated as may be necessary for ventilation. They will also have shutters put up to tho windows; have the second floor of the wing remodeled in order to deaden tho sound occasioned in walking over it; will rebuild the wing chimney, and contemplate other repairs and improvments for the comfort of tho pupils attending school this winter. E. G. McCollum, Secretary of the Kankakee Valley Draining Company, yesterday filed in the Recorder’s office a map of the proposed work to be done in Jasper county, together with a schedule of the lands to be affected thereby and an assessment of the benefits and damages sustained therefrom to each 40 acre tract. Tho schedule shows tho aggregate number of acres to be affected in this county is 90,515.80; total amount of benefits, |024,740 less $4,425 damages, or $020,321 net benefits. This is an average of nearly $6.85 an acre they propose to make the owners pay them for changing the channel of tho Kankakee river and cutting three or four lateral ditches. This assessment exceeds tho amount of the bond filed by the Company “for tho faithful application of all moneys which may come into its possession,” $380,321, and tho appraisen/ents of Lake, Nowton, Porter, Starke, Laporte, Pulaski, Marshal and St. Joseph counties yet to hear from. It looks very like there is h big swindle contemplated by somebody, don’t it?