Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 68, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1904 — Old Nick Turned Loose. [ARTICLE]

Old Nick Turned Loose.

They had ‘ Old Niok” on trial Saturday afternoon, before Squire* Troxell It as not thereat "Old Nick, himself” who is the enemv of *>verybidy but himself, but just Oid Nick Zimmer, who is the enemv of nob idv but himself. He was charged with stealing a ditching spade belong to Ben O’Conner. Ben had been using bis spade March 22 d, on the Catbolio farm, south of town, and left it beside a private road, cm the farm. NeXi morning he missed the spade, and fiudmg a piece of a broken buggv tougue, he and his mate followed the buggy tracks towards town, and coming here they found Nick’s buggy, with a part of the tongue gone, hitched near a sal >od, and the missing spade was in the buggy. Nick’s story, which was borne out by the oiroumstanoes, was that he drove into town on Maroh 22nd and got so d'ruuk that he did not know what he was doing. That he started to drive home in the eveuiug, got turned off- into the fields some place south of the Indian sdhool, got lost and epent the night there in his buggy and in the morning drove aok to town after more, fiouz? If Jie picked up the spade at any time, he had no recollection of when, where and how he did it. Ou this showing of the case the squire decided that it, would not be advisable to hold Zimmer to the oirouit oouri, and be was discharged. The fact was developed at the trial ttiat Zimmer is prone to get so drunk that he don’t know where he is or what he does, and that about Christmas time, he got lost in imioh the same way, aud laid out all night, and has been sick all winter in consequence.