Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 December 1900 — BECORD OF THE WEEK [ARTICLE]

BECORD OF THE WEEK

INDIANA INCIDENTS TERSELY TOLD. *' ' H Wheat Damaged by He**ian FlyFatal Result of Prank by Mischievous Boys—Farmers to Organize for Protection Against Horse Thieves. E. S. Holmes, special agent of the statistical bureau of the Agricultural Department, who has jnst completed a trip through northern Indiana, expresses the fear that the two almost total failures of the wheat crop in 1899 and 1900 will be followed by another failure next year. Mr. Holmes declares that fully one-thifd the wheat examined has been seriously damaged by the Hessian fly and that with bad weather henceforth the plants will have small chance of maturing. In some localities he advised farmers to plow up their wheat and cultivate the land in other crops until the larvae are destroyed, but the farmers hesitate to sacrifice the prospect of even a partial crop. - I Alarming Theft of Horae*. The theft of horses in the counties of this State north of Indianapolis has become such a serious matter that callsare being issued for the organization of vigilance leagues. The Kankakee swamps seem to be the headquarters of an organized gang, the members of which have carried on a wholesale business within the past year. Shrewd- detectives have failed to unearth the gang. Within ten >days, twenty horses were stolen im'various sections of northern Indiana, but not a single animal was recovered and the thieves covered their trail so ingeniously that not an arrest was made. Horse Drags Boy to Death. Dragging at the heels of a frightened horse, a boy named Hall was battered to death six miles north of Nashville. The two older companions, named Pittman and Copenhavea, in a spirit of boyish recklessness, tied young Hall on the horse’s back, telling him they would teach him to become a circus rider. The boy became alarmed as the horse started to gal Lop and his terror increased his companions’ merriment. The animal topk fright and began to run at a terrific pace. The boy clung to the frightened animal’s back for some distance, but in his terror he lost his hold and fell under the horse’s hoofs. Claims the Bite of La Porte. Charles L. Pokagon, only surviving son and heir of the late chief of the Pottawatomie Indians, will take legal measures to gain possession of land worth millions of dollars; the land in question covering the site of the present of La Porte. Mr. Pokagon has documents showing that the government by virtue of treaties issued a patent for 40 acres to Chief Pokagon, father of the late chief, Simon Pokagon,.and grandfather of the present claimant - . Mr. Pokagon is sanguine of establishing his claim. His residence is at Hartford, Mich. Gaa Explosion Rain* Office. A terrific gas explosion, followed by fire* completely wrecked the office of factory No. 11 of the American Window Glass Company in Muncie. The fact that the explosion occurred on Sunday saved the lives of nearly twenty office employes. Falling debris caused several glass workmen employed on night turn to receive injuries, but none were seriously hurt. All the valuable records and papers kept in the office were burned, and the loss will reach several thousand dollars. Btate New* in Brief. New gas well at Arcadia has a 259pound pressure. The Dinkey factory, Shelbyville, has had fifteen accidents in a year. Sonth Bend Polish societies want Congress to erect a statue to Pulaski. Fireman Way lost a hand and narrowly escaped death in a Big Four collision at Fortville. Charles Mitchell burned to death in the engine room of the Eagle iron works, Auburn Junction. Indiana State Grange, Terre Haute, resolved in favor of teaching agriculture in public schools. Said that Andrew Carnegie is favorably considering the establishment of a school for librarians at Winona. Charles Biddle. Lafayette, found the body of a colored child in a catch basin. It is said he dreamed he would find It. Charles Wagner, 35, recently installed as Bartholomew County sheriff, is the youngest man who ever held that office. Arm of John Clark, near Bloomington, crushed in a corn shredder. Machine had to be taken to pieces before he could be released. Homer Houser, Bowling Gre.en, Ohio, oil well driller, was instantly killed by being struck by a piece of bursting bull wheel at Geneva. Southern Indiana Press Association, meeting at Bedford, decided to hold ita next meeting in Buffalo, during the PanAmerican exposition. An effort is being made in Whitley County to organize a company of twenty young men to go to Corea in the spring, to work in the mines. While fishing near Rome City, Charles Uackett brought up a piece of cloth and a bunch of hair. An old man disappeared from the neighborhood a few weeks before. A party was organized and the river dragged. An old buggy top was found. At Currysville, a tramp colored boy was the victim of savage torture at the hands of drunken miners. He was given several mock trials, {trior to which he was branded with a red-hot poker on his head, face and all parts of his body. He was sentenced to be burned in a redhot stove, and in his struggle* burned his * hands almost to a crisp. Sober heads « saved the boy from further punishment. While the ice was over Heaton’s pond,jj Morristown, fishermen speared carpy! weighing from fourteen to eighteen pounds. Some that were still larger cw-'S caped. Milton Rutter, Hartford City, died fronts, being struck with an iron ladle by Lent Skinner. Skinner, who is not considered j bright, was constantly tormented by his * fellow-workers. Kokomo will no longer have “Patrol* naan No. 3.” That number bis beep abob* * ished. since the death ot Patrolman Kirk,- 1