The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, November 05, 1908, Image 7
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STORY OF A STEER.
I
Animal Worth About Thirty Dollars
Cost Owner a Fortune.
Died, July 1, at his home near Lagonda,
Mo., one red steer, 12 years
old, 17 hands high, worth $10,000; j
the property of Elijah E. Rice. Peace
to its hide.
The above obituary appeared in a
9 Charlton county paper recently. Details
of the animal's death were obtained
from Jim Rice, Elijah's son.
He thinks it was a case of broken
heart. There was talk of the steer
being exhibited at county fairs this
season as Missouri's most famous
quadruped. When the old animal
learned the idea had been abandoned
it laid down and expired.
* - -- ~ 1 ii ion a ^Viq
At tne uecemoei can, .uu-x, w
Kansas City Court of Appeals docket,
the biggest case over a small matter
ever tried in Missouri passed into history.
The subject of litigation was a
spindle-shanked steer, "a very ordinary
animal, a scrub," the plaintiff
said, "worth about $30." The
life of the steer fight and the great
Civil War were about the same?five
years.
If there is a Missourian who has
not heard of the celebrated steer
case it is because his parents were
shamefully derelict in their educational
obligations to him. It has become
part of the state's fame.
In September, 1899, John Massen.
gale of Macon county, (known.as
"Missouri John" when herding cattle
back in Wyoming), missed from his
ranch a small steer. It didn't bother
him much, because he had a thousand
of much better quality left, and
he never lost any time in hunting up
(f the prodigal. But one evil day a
horseman came along the road and
called "Missouri John" out. He told
him that he had seen his missing animal
down on Rice's farm, which was
just across the line in Charlton coun
IJ. jonn weni uvcr iu occ
Rice. Together they visited the herd,
and Massengale promptly spied the
scrub.
"That's mine, Elijah," he said.
"No, John," replied Elijah, "we
raised that ourselves."
Massengale telephoned to his lawyer
at Macon and a suit in replevin
was filed. Before the justice the
plaintiff described his animal as a
"dark red steer, a round body, rather
a small dark two-year-old, a little
under average size, and with a white
spot in his forehead and an underbit
in the right ear."
Elijah gave the description of his
steer as follows: "Well, the steer is
what I would call a red steer. He
has just a little white spot on his
forehead and an underbit in the right
ear."
" The similtude of belief furnished
beautiful grounds of warfare. Both
men had money burning in their
pockets. The border soon was aroused
by adherents of the two prominent
litigants. "Missouri John" had been
in his career by rounding up cattle
in the west, and he knew he could
not be mistaken. Elijah had grown
up m me vaneye wucic a uauo owcial
success was rated according to
his knowledge of steercraft, and he
felt that he knew the subject of con!
; troversy as well as did any member
of his family. In passing, it ipay be
remarked that it is fairly safe to criticise
a cattleman's command of the
King's English language, or his manners
at the dinner table, but when
you challenge his capacity to identify
anything that wears horns you can
look for trouble with entire confidence.
*
y There were seven trials. Hung
juries,, appeals and changes of venue
strung the litigation out half a de4
cade. It traveled along a highway
paved wth shining dollars, until at
the climax it was figured the unsuccessful
litigant stood to lose $5,000.
The case would have endedv in
1900, but at the very end of the
trial, during a strong appeal to the
jury, Elijah's leading lawyer, J. A.
Collect, used this language, taken
from the printed record:
?Un?iAr,>,n1a nMolna/1 Vlio atorf hv
uuiaiuvu Uia HVMI V ^J
rounding up unbranded cattle in the
west and branding them as his own.
In the west they call that 'branding
mavericks,' but here in Missouri we
call it plain-out cattle stealing."
That short tirade cost Elijah $800,
for the plaintiff appealed on the
1 ground that there was no evidence
in the record to justify the attack,
p and after the Appellate Court had
read through the 275 printed pages
it so held that Elijah had to pay for
the brief.
During the life of the steer case
it had ben tried at Bynumville, SalK
isbury, Kansas City and Fayette.
When the trial was "on" in a town
the tavern keepers would send out
for extra help in the cook rooms
and buy out the grocers. Each side
levied on its respective townships foxwitnesses,
and when the two clans
would meet in a town there wasn't
much room for anybody else.
The case was fought out with the
varying honors until a fatal day last
' April, when a jury came into court
* at Fayette and said the steer belonged
to Elijah.
"Missouri John's ' lawyers went
through the long record of the last
trial with a microscope and then met
- their client at Macon.
"The jig's up, John," said one of
I the barristers, gravely. "There ain't
the ghost of a ground to hang an appeal
on this time."
"We're beat, you mean?" asked
the big ranchman.
"You've guessed right.
"Well," said John, "I hate a
croaker. I went to law for a measly,
( spindle-shanked steer and I'm going
to take what the law, hands out. Figure
up what the fun has cost me,
boys, and the check's ready."
He sat awhile and calmly pulled at
his pipe. Then he pickeed up his
sombrero and walked to the door,
V where he hesitated and walked back.
"But, say, fellers," he remarked,
"that was my steer."'
The defendant notified "Missouri
John's" attorneys that he would file
a motion for affirmation in the Court
'* of Appeals at the fall term, and they
told him to go ahead?they were
tired'.?St. Louis Globe-Demfccrat.
%
FAIR WEEK POLITICS.
' M. L. Smith to Run for Governor on
Prohibition Platform.
Columbia, Nov. 2.?There was the
usual amount of "fair week politics"
engaged in here last week among the
numerous men more or less* prominent
in state politics from various
parts of the state in Columbia to see
the fair and each other, but diligent
inquiry failed to reveal anything definite
"cocked up" as a result of this
| gathering of politicians. In fact the
j only thing definitely attempted appears
to have signally failed. There
| was much talk of an attempt on the
part of Representative Wyche, of
Newberry, and his friends, to prepare
the way for organizing the new house
on the prohibition issue "with Mr.
Wyche as speaker, but this scheme
got no encouragement even from the
prohibitionists on account of the general
popularity of Speaker Whaley,
r>onn/\t ho hooton
W11U 11 AO WUV/VUWU Vxc
for speaker.
The logrolling this week has had
only the effect of bringing the certainty
of his re-election into bolder
relief. Mr. Whaley himself, who was
here several days, frankly told his
prohibition friends of the new house
I that he could not suport a state-wide
j prohibition measure. He did not regard
it as giving the state generally
l a square deal for a Charleston mem|
ber to vote for prohibition, because
| if he was frank he must acknowledge
! that the Charleston sentiment for
prohibition was not sincere, and all
Charlestonians knew "that prohibition
could not be enforced there*
The prohibitionists, however, claim
that their count of noses in the new
legislature clearly shows that they
have a safe majority in both houses,
and they profess to thoroughly believe
that state-wide prohibition will
succeed next spring. It was said that
a straw vote had been taken among
the new members through correspondence,
but the man credited with having
the letters denied that he had solicited
such an expression, and did
not know anybody who had done so.
Ex-Speaker of the House M. L.
Smith frankly acknowledges that he
rotii run fnr eovernor two years hence
on a prohibition platform, but he
gays he will have other very important
planks in his platform. He had
a deal of support pledged to him
here this week.
An interesting feature of the week
was the evidence o'f an undercurrent
of politics that bubbled up through
the speeches delivered at the mass
meeting of farmers here fair week.
Many people in the audience read
Senator Smith's satirical jabs at "diversification"
put forth by Congressman
Lever who had preceded Mr.
Smith in the speechmaking, as -the
solution of the cotton and agricultural
problem generally in this state, as
an attack on Mr. Lever for the latter's
activity against Mr. Smith in the
recent primaries. Mr. Lever as a
prominent member of the Federal
house agricultural committee has for
several years been getting very close
to the farmers throughout the state
through the farm demonstration
work, and in Mr. Smith's work for
" " X * ? ifl T* ? fn 1 I
me couon assuuiatiuu it 10 uaiunu
there might be rivalry between them,
although Mr. Lever in his speech here
referred in a very complimentary way
to Mr. Smith.
Shooting at Winnsboro.
Winnsboro, Nov. 1.?A shooting affair
ocurred at the Fairfield cotton
mill last night and as a result Padgett
Broom lies in the Magdalen hospital,
Chester, in a precarious condition.
Herbert woods fired the fatal
shot, which is alleged to have been
in self-defense. The exact particulars
are unknown. The wounded man was
shot in the stomach, seven perforations
of the intestines being njade by
the pistol bullets.
Phosphate Plant Destroyed.
Mulberry, Fla., Nov. 1.?Fire today
destroyed a large portion of the
Mulberry plant of the Prairie Pebble
Phosphate company. The fire wasi
discovered at 8:30 a. m. and the em-|
ployees of the company battled with
the fire for several hours before the
flames could be extinguished. The
entire drying plant, dry bin and general
offices of the company, together
with a boarding house, hotel and two
private residences, were destroyed.
The loss is estimated at $100,000.
May Be Released.
Lexington, October 31.?There is
apparently something "fishy" in the
case of Z. W. Wooten, the white man
who was arrested several days ago,
accused 1 the awful crime of criminally
assaulting his little 15-yearold
stepchild, an imbecile. The time
has been set for a preliminary on two
different dates and each time the
prosecutors have failed to show up.
The officers have so far been unable
to locate the prosecutors, who reside
in Sumter county, and it is not known
wherfe they are. Wooten still protests
his innocence and sticks to hisj
former statement that it was all a
put up scheme to keep him from
showing the ?irl at the State Fair.
Unless those who caused his arrest
turn up next week it is likely that the
solicitor will order Wooten's release.
t A?^
How's This
We offer One Hundred Dollars Reward
for any case of Catarrh that
cannot be cured by Hall's Catarrh
Cure. ' F. J. CHENEY & CO.,
Toledo, O.
We, the undersigned, have known
F. J. Cheney for the last 15 years,
and believe him perfectly honorable
in all business transactions and financially
able to carry out any obligations
made by his firm.
WALDING, KINNAN & MARVIN,
Wholesale Druggists, Toledo, O.
Hall s Catarrh Cure is taken internally,
acting directly upon the
blood and mucous surfaces of the
system. Testimonials sent free.
Price 75c. per bottle. Sold by all
Druggists.
Take Hall's Family Pills for constipation.
Address F. J. CHENEY & CO.,
Toledo, Ohio.
Sold by Druggists, 75c.
VOTING TRUST ILLEGAL.
Injunction Issued Against Rockingham
Power Company.
Charlotte, N. C., October 31.?Alleging
that a voting trust, entered
into by common stockholders of the
Rockingham Power Company, which
is developing great water power at
Biewett Falls, this State, is illegal
under the laws of North Carolina,
and that S. Z. Mitchell, of New York,
and R. lj. Warner, of Massachusetts,
who compose the trust, are endeavoring
to wreck the company in the effort
to create a new issue of common
stock, in which the present holders
are not cared for, Hugh MacRae &
Co., of Wilmington, N. C., to-day secured
a restraining order enjoining
Mitchell and Warner from exercising
control over the common stock of the
company. The injunction cites the
defendants to appear before Judge
t trrtr, n( ~win crotnn "NJnvpmhpr 1 R. and
show cause why the order should not
be made permanent and why the officers
elected by the voting trust
should not be vacated. The Knickerbocker
Trust Company, of New York,
is the financial agent of the enterprise.
Killed in Foot Ball Game.
Lexington, Va., Oct. 31.?Cadet
G. Cook Ferbee, a son of G. B. Ferbee,
of Norfolk, Va., died to-day from
concussion of the brain due to an injury
received in a game of foot ball
between Virginia Military Institute
and Roanoke College, played here
this afternoon on the former's parade
grounds. The injury resulted from
being tackled while running with the
ball as left half back. The game was
not finished.
The score at the end of the first
half was V. M. I. 57, Rpanoke College
0. The second half was not
played.
Adler Will Face Charges.
New Orleans, La., Nov. 1.?Attorneys
for William A. Adler, formerly
president of the defunct State National
bank of New Orleans, to-day
gave out a statement confirming the
reports that Adler was coming back
from Honduras to stand trial on inJ
n^foinof Vi i m in tho TTnitpjl
WltllliCUlo agaiusi. uiui iu buv
States court.
Adler suddenly left New Orleans last
year on the steamer Alps, which he
loaded with a full cargo of supplies
from the Adler wholesale grocery
company. Almost immediately after
he disappeared the grocery company
went into the hands of a receiver
with a long list of New York
qreditors and this was soon followed
by the liquidation of the State Natienal
bank. In his flight to Honduras
the steamer Alps was wrecked off
the coast of Honduras, but Adler and
his son got ashore with a small iron
safe. An examination of the affairs
ofA the bank by a United States injector
resulted in indictments of
Adler for illegal conduct in administering
the loans of the bank.
Cotton World Looking Up.
Great is the reaction in the New
England cotton mills from their recent
state of idleness. Within the
last three weeks three coastwise
steamships have carried more than
100,000 bales of cotton out of Savannah
into Boston. Yesterday a high
official of a coastwise steamship line
reported that the buying of cotton
in the New England states within the
last few weeks, judging from the
shipments given to his line, exceeds
the orders for any similar period in
several years. For months, as a result
of the financial depression, in
which thousands of mill hands in
Massachusetts and sister states were
laid off, the drop in the buying of
cotton by the woolen manufacturers
was tremendous. The reaction seems
correspondingly large. The steamers
City of Macon, City of Memphis, and
City of Columbus, which the Savannah
line has been operating as freight
and passenger carriers into this port,
were taken off that service because
of the cotton-carrying orders. That,
railroad business is steadily increasing
is indicated by the number of idle
freight cars in this country and Canada.
The American Railroad association
reports the number of idle cars
on October 14th as 115,036. This
means that 18,756 idle cars were put
in use in the preceding lortnignt.
The number of idle or surplus cars
was larger on April 29th, when there
was a total of more than 413,000.
The number has been decreasing
steadily ever since.?New York Times.
Night Rider Constitution.
Union City, Tenn., Oct. 30.?It is
reported to-day on what is considered
good authority that the constitution
and bylaws of the night riders were
procured and brought here yesterday,
and will be placed in the hands of
the grand jury.
The constitution and by-laws
among other things, it is said, provides
that no bank or tru^ company
will be permitted to make%ny loans,
large or small, for a greater rate of
interest than 6 per cent., and further
that after the first day of July, 1909,
no farmer will be allowed to employ
any colored help on his farms, and
that all negroes will be notified to
leave the rountv under Denaltv of
death; that all merchants shall sell
their goods and merchandise at not
to exceed 10 per cent, profit and
otherwise regulating all wages to be
paid by the farmer for help and regulating
the price of corn, cotton and
all farm products. The by-laws show
that the organization not only comprises
the night riders of Obion County,
but includes all night rider organizations
over the entire South.
More Good Than Doctors.
"I have a little girl 8 years of age.
For 3 years her heel has ben a. cracking
sore. I have tried the doctors
and they do no good. I bought a
box of Tetterine salve and it did more
good than all the doctors. My wife
says it will cure the child's feet. Send
prices on dozen and half dozen lots."
W. M. ELLIOT,
Goodwin, N. C.
Of all druggists 50c. or from J.
T. Shuptrine, Savannah, Ga.
Bathe with Tetterine Soap, 25c.
Cake.
. ' v f-'
I >t *J? .p ?p >J> J ,p .p gp t^i ?J* *p >1* ?l> <1* ?l? ?!> 1^
iENTERTAlNltlENTlllj
? ' ' !* :-m
3? '
? A visit to our handsome store is as entertaing and inter- ?* ii
ir esting as any entertainment you have ever visited, and * . i J
t j this is particularly true at this particular time, as we t
|j| have just receivea another shipment of that handsome S
1 Hand Fainted China ill
;;
a ,
^ that was admired and purchased by all who had an ? fSkWi
|? opportunity of seeing it. In this lot we have some pieces 11
?? even prettier than some in the other lot. If you want t
any of this you will have to hurry as it is going fast. |i
:: We have also just opened a nice assortment of. ? |jg|
1 Silverware Made in Our State jil|
I ' - .'I?!
i s at Hartsville, S. C. You should come and look this {
|| over whether you wish to buy or not, just to see what j j
|| can be and is being done at our very doors. Our line of
II Good Things for Christmas ilJl
$ ~ ' / fHi
|j is equaled by few and surpassed by none in this section
?: of the country. We have one of the nicest lines of Me- , ?*j||a
I J chanical Toys ever brought to Bamberg. We have in | : :J||
g this assortment Toys that will interest the old as well a*
:: as the young, and which are instructive as well as iQsfeaa
:; amusing. We alsct have presents suitable for the older : *
S folks. All we ask is for you to pay our place a visit | illlfH
; * before making your purchases. Looking entails no obli- *
| j gation to buy. Every article marked m plain figures. 11
$ M Q ' ; I - :M
||The Herald Hook Morel
$^eeeee?eeeee^eeeeeyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?w^S
'bargains ^ :l
Bargains , M
Bargains
Bargains 1
I thought in my last advertisement that I was offer- ;?|||I
ing bargains, and I was, but not the offers I have now,
for I have a lot of Clothing, Overcoats, etc., which I
picked up at a great reduction by paying cash for them. fl
I They are simply grand for the money, and I want my f wM
friends and customers to get the benefit of these bargains
is why I advertise them.
So Come and Look t||
Look at my line of E. C. Burt shoes for men. They are
guaranteed?every -pair. In fact every pair of shoes I
sell is guaranteed to be worth the money. If not as ' ~"J|
represented, you can wear them a while and get your
money bach. Is that not fair ? Come to see me often.
I will always give you full value for your money and
treat you right.
'
McGowan's Cheap Cash Store! j
Bamberg ...? - South Carolina I V