Tried to Burn a Barn

New York, 1895

An attempt was made Saturday night to burn the barn of Alfred Cole, in College Point. A quantity of hay in the stable had been set afire, but the flames were quickly subdued.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, N.Y., Jan. 11, 1895, p. 1.

A Barn Burned at Roslyn

New York, 1895

A series of assaults and attempted robberies, of which John Fischer, of Roslyn, has been the victim for several months, assumed a more serious aspect on Wednesday evening when his barn was burned. There is every indication that the fire was of incendiary origin.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, N.Y., Jan. 11, 1895, p. 1.

Didn't Kill Himself

New York, 1895

Cornelius B. Seaman, a blacksmith of Port Washington, on Tuesday got a verdict in the Supreme Court of $525 against the Prudential Life Insurance company on two policies that be held on the life of one of his workmen, Jacob Mettloch. In January a year ago Mettloch was found dead in Seaman's barn. A rope used to lower feed from the haymow was found wrapped around his neck and his body was in an upright position leaning against a ladder. A Coroner's jury found that Mettloch committed suicide. The insurance company refused to pay the policies, asserting that the man had taken his own life. Lawyer Merrill set up the theory that Mettloch was seized with heart disease while descending from the mow, where he had been sleeping after a spree, fell, and became entangled in the rope, which had nothing to do with his death. The jury rendered a verdict for the full amount with interest.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, N.Y., Jan. 18, 1895, unknown page number.

New Hampshire Neighbors — West Brownfield

New Hampshire/Maine, 1916

Mrs. Horace Mason and son Harry of East Conway, N. H., were Sunday visitors at Mrs. James Dennett's.

Miss Peggy Comstock of South Conway, N. H., was seen in this neighborhood one day last week.

Walter Mason and wife and Lester Mason of Conway, N. H., were weekend visitors at J. L. Dennett's.

Among those seen in the neighborhood Sunday were: Thomas Harmon, M. L. Rounds and wife, Clayton Spring, Ralph Miller, Harold Littlefield and Ralph Bishop.

Mrs. F. M. Chamberlain, son Earle, M. L. Rounds and wife and Ralph Bishop made a motor trip to Ossipee Corners and Chocorua lake Sunday afternoon.

Mrs. Charles Stearns with her daughter, Mrs. Jenney, and granddaughter, Miss Jenney, of Brookline, Mass., were callers at Mrs. James Dennett's and at J. L. Dennett's one day last week.

A good many people are calling to inspect Lieut. Walker's new barn these days. This barn, we are told by those who should know, will be, when completed, the equal if not the superior in finish and modern equipment of any in the state. It is 113 feet long and 36 feet wide, and will have two tie-ups, one on each side, the cows facing each other with a walk for feeding purposes between. There will be steel tracks and carriers for handling both feed and manure; the floors will all be of concrete with steel stanchions. Two large silos of glazed hollow tile are already in place. A system of ventilation is being provided, having numerous air shafts connecting with three large metal ventilators on the roof arranged to turn with the wind. The finish of the building, both inside and outside, is excellent and we are told that the cost will exceed $13,000. This barn is being built on what was formerly the John Payne farm, on the road to South Conway, which Mr. Walker purchased some time ago.

School began Monday with Miss Murphy teaching here again.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 3.

Cider Saves The Property

1910

Barrels Burst Just In Time To Quench Hot Blaze Which Had Started In Residence

Bellows Falls, Vermont — The thirty-two barrels of hard cider stored in the loft of the barn of George Seabury, in Langdon, N. H., some distance from this town, were mainly responsible for saving his beautiful dwelling house from destruction by fire. The flames started in the cellar of the barn and had almost entirely consumed that structure when the cider barrels, owing to the intense heat, burst, flooding the barn and extinguishing the flames.

There was a high wind at the time and as Langdon boasts of but a bucket brigade the house would undoubtedly have been ignited by the flying sparks and consumed before aid could have reached them from this town. The stock was removed from the barn to safety.

Farmer Charges Cat Sucked Breath From Children

1908

Gladstone, Michigan — Two children of Clarence Stearns, a farmer living near this village, are dying and three others are seriously ill, due to a cat having "sucked their breath" when they lay asleep in bed.

The father, in the dim light, saw the family cat sitting on the child's breast, its nose close to the babe's lips. The cat's claws scratched the child's breast as the father drew it away.

Going to the bed of the other children he found, he says, that the cat had sucked the breath of all and that two were so ill it was necessary for him to hitch up his horses and drive to the village for a doctor.


Goat and Man in Duel

Kansas City, Missouri — Bruised and battered on all four sides and with all of his corners knocked off, Frank Schleich lies on a cot in the emergency hospital as the result of a battle in the dark between him and a goat. The goat invaded Schleich's room in the barn and, as the man was unarmed, the goat might have killed him had it not been for the arrival of another barn man, who subdued the horned and whiskered beast by throwing a horse blanket over its head.


Baby Born with Brand

Peoria, Illinois — A letter "H" as distinct as though branded with an iron shows on the forehead of the two-months-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hartman of Alton.

Neighbors gather daily at the Hartman home to view the unusual birthmark, which is exactly in the middle of the forehead and which has become more plainly visible within the last few weeks.

Physicians say the birthmark will disappear within two or three years.

Rat Army Invades Texas

Feb. 1920

Rabbits, Too, Are Now a Pest on Many Farmsteads

ODEM, Texas — For the past several months rats and rabbits have become so plentiful that the damage done by them is becoming serious. A conservative estimate is $100 damage to each farm, done by rats to grain and seed in the barns alone. Some farmers estimate they have 1,000 rats in a single barn.

Rabbits are doing thousands of dollars' worth of damage to cabbage and garden crops. It is not uncommon to see Mexican boys coming in after a few hours' hunt with from ten to fifty. One farmer shot four rabbits with two shots in his cabbage patch and killed seventeen in one afternoon.

The peculiar thing is that these pests are new to the country. Two years ago it was a rare thing to see either a rabbit or a rat.


Kid McCoy, Former Boxer, Staging Billy Sunday Role in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — "Kid" McCoy, former pugilist, is at Marion, the county seat to assist in knocking out the devil at evangelistic meetings now in progress there.

The ex-fighter is declared to be as eloquent in the pulpit as he was aggressive in the ring.

Herds of Hobos, Tramps, Bums, Idlers Cleared From Town

Huron, South Dakota, 1909--

City Briefs:
Herd of Hobos Driven Out, Big Hail Proves Useful

Wednesday morning the police made a big cleaning up around the yards of the Chicago & Northwestern, where a herd of hobos have been taking their ease among the freight cars. The Chief of Police stated that about 40 bums were gathered into the fold and afterward were shipped bag and baggage from the city. This is the time of the year when this class flocks into the farming states of the northwest under the pretense of being farm hands and harvesters, and the summary disposal of this large number of these most undesirable citizens is a good thing for the town, and for their energy the police are deserving of commendation.

E. T. Gorsuch went to his farm near Hitchcock Friday. At the time of the storm of one week ago he and his wife were at their farm. The hail at that point fell so fast that one could not see through it. The hail stones were not large, but nearly every chicken was killed in that neighborhood. A grove of cottonwood trees were entirely stripped of leaves, and all crops were destroyed. Worse than in many places, the corn stalks were cut off about a foot and a half above the ground. The wind moved Mr. Gorsuch's large barn, which is very heavily built, eight inches on its foundation at one end, and put it out of plumb. The amount of the hail may be judged from the fact that twenty four hours after it fell he gathered sufficient hail in a protected corner near the barn and froze ice cream. Several of his neighbors' barns were blown to the ground.

--Weekly State Spirit and Dakota Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, August 19, 1909, page 2.


Another herd, maybe some of the same hobos...

DRIVING OUT THE TRAMPS.

Authorities at Aberdeen Roused to Action by the Assault on W. J. Brown of Brookings

Aberdeen, S. D., Aug. 9.—Roused to retaliatory action by the petty crimes, which have been committed by tramps for a week or more, culminating in the slugging and robbery of W. J. Brown of Brookings on Wednesday night, orders have been issued to the police department by Chief Zirbes to rid the city of the tramps and to keep them out. Men seeking legitimate work are welcome. All others must stay away.

The first action in this campaign to drive out the men without visible means of support or inclination to exertion, was taken Thursday night about 4 o'clock, when Officers Daly, Culhane and Pierson and Special Officer Savage made a raid of the box cars and cattle pens in the Northwestern railroad yards.

The officers rounded up 153 hobos in the early dawn, routing them from their slumbers in holes and corners in the open air. They were herded together and driven in a body from the city. Down the Northwestern track as far as the Lockington packing house the band of idlers was sent on its way.

--Weekly State Spirit and Dakota Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, August 19, 1909, page 7.