Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1909 — Wanted a Fight, Get It; Wanted Damages, Got Nit [ARTICLE]

Wanted a Fight, Get It; Wanted Damages, Got Nit

11 ■ A case for damages came up in the court this week. The plaintiff was A 1 Keister, of Jordan township, who asked damages in the sum of s{>>ooo for alleged injuries £e had sustained at the handß of John F. Mltchqll, a neighboring farmer in the same township. The trouble occurred about the stl#pf last September at Keister’s farm residence. - It seems that Kelsr, ter, Mitchell and Chas. Summers had been the joint owners of a bull and a disagreement arose as to the keeping of the animal, Keister claiming that he was keeping him during the winter and Mitchell during the summer and that he was getting the worst of it Mitchell and Summers went after the bull and trouble started as soon as Mitchell got out of the buggy and told Keister what he was after. The evidence seemed to show that Keister’s style was invective and that Mitchell undertook to pacify him. Keister then called Mitchell a liar using some cuss words to make his expressions emphatic and shook his fists in his face and Mitchell backed away. Keister followed him and indicated that he wanted a fight and finally he used a vile term in reference to Mr. Mitchell’s wife. This was more than Mitchell could stand and he let drive with a club he had in his hands and hit Keister on the head. The testimony of Keister and his family was that Mitchell had hit him at least three times with the club, but Mitchell and Summers and a Michaels boy testified that Mitchell hR him but once with the club and then let the club drop. They said, that Keister followed him up and that they entered into a fist fight and that Mitchell gave Keister a. sound thrashing. Mitchell is about 65 years of age and is an old soldier. Keister is atyout 62 yeras of age. Keister was quite thoroughly thumped, but the defense introduced evidence that ne .'had informed people before hand that he was going to give Mitchell a licking and his tfceligerent attitude before the scrap indicated that Mitchell’s action wag. not only largely in self-defense but quite a natural thing for a husband to do under the circumstances. That whs what the jury decided in about a half hour and brought in a verdict of acquittal for the defendant.