Number of Voters Who Could Not Read-20

July 16 1880  

The moist and sultry atmosphere melted all the dignity of the city. Roasting ears were selling at $0.10 per dozen; the price of blackberries was $0.10 a gallon in the week of July 16, 1880. The weather was hot; the streets dusty.

Lew Hite had a good position in a drug store in Girard, Kansas. John Cole had returned fully satisfied with Kansas and the far West. The wife of John Hensley, daughter of Jonas Wenger, of Sand Ridge died Thursday evening. Wheat came in briskly and large shipments were made every day by the dealers.  The price this week was from 5 to 7 dollars.

H G Wineman sold his house south of the newspaper office to TW Roberts. W Barden and W Allison of Bond Township started for Minnesota for their health. Mr. Allison had been sick quite a while with consumption. The County Poor House had 18 boarders. The biggest part of the hay crop would be stacked by the following next week. Stivers Springs was planning to have a picnic on July 24^th.The Springs were a greater success than ever, and they were becoming a favorite resort with invalids, all of whom seem to be benefiting by the waters. 

Lots of the sidewalks in Lawrenceville were lined on each side with dog fennel to such an extent that a lady walking out after a shower or early in the morning could not help getting her clothes all wet and ruined.  “Cannot a boy be hired cheap to cut it down?” asked the newspaper editor.  Charlie Musgrove, Jim Dixon, and Jim Sandiford got into a fight with Irv Gosnell and Billy McFall. Billy came out second best with a bruised head and lacerated face, body, and limbs. There were no arrests.

The following people were attending the Normal (teacher’s) school in Lawrenceville: Misses Kitty Schafer of Lukin, Alice Smith of Sumner, Molly Sheridan of Petty, Jennie Kingsbury of Chancey, Robert Kirkwood, Cicero Hodge, JC Price of Russell, and Charlie Martin of Bridgeport. The reporter from Denison Township noted that Misses May and Annie Buchanan expected to attend as well.

The Honorable William H Robinson of Fairfield Illinois was in town visiting his cousin Squire Robinson. Mr. Robinson was a native of Lawrence County having lived here with his parents on what was then known as the Culbertson farm 40 years previously.  Two young men from Bond Township by the name of Shin would hereafter look out a little when laying off their coats.  They were in town on Monday attending the circus show and it seemed they left their coats in Jim Pritchard’s office during the night.  They were carried off by some petty thief. No clue as to who the guilty parties were.

The enumerator  of Lukin Township, Mr. Joel A Cooper, furnished the following statistics: whole number of farms in Lukin Township 361; number of dwellings 348; number of families 393; number of population 1834; number of voters 423; number of voters who could not read 20; number of voters who could write 36; number of deaths during this census year 36; the oldest citizen being 90 years of age.

The West Port brick yard across the river from Vincennes commenced operation after a short suspension for the harvest. Miss Christena Irwin of Sumner started for her residence four- and one-half miles northwest of that place on horseback.  On the road the horse became frightened and threw the lady, breaking one of her legs midway between the knee and ankle.  Dr Bedell fixed her up and she got along as well as could be possible in the hot weather.

A circus without a fight would be a dry show. One of the roustabouts of the Van Amburg circus undertook to “make one vote less for Garfield”, as he put it, by clubbing Mr. Armstrong, the colored barber of Saint Francisville.  Lawrenceville’s police officers Gosnell, Childers, Shields and Deputy Sheriff Ryan were soon on his track and the man started to run.  Two or three shots were fired at him by Shields and replied to by the man.  He ran on until he stopped short for lack of breath and was brought before Esquire Walton on a charge of assault and battery. These performances, not being on the circus bill, a compromise was made without trial.  The Esquire assessed the fine of $10 and it was paid.  Another warrant was then issued upon a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, another arrest made, another hearing, and the court rightfully acquitted him, and the show went on.

Being advised that ‘His Majesty Mr. Bolivar Elephant’ and suite of wise camels would stop at the river for refreshments, the editor Miss Jane Buntin solicited an interview which was accorded to her with as much grace as became such lordly personages.  The crowd took a position upon the bridge while she proceeded to meet His Highness on the riverbanks where after exchanging salutations and drinking to her health and his health, her interview was had.  

The Sumner paper noted that a land scheme was at hand. It reported that Miss Acre(Aker) Miss McAcre(McAker), Miss Halfacre and Miss Hardacre attended the barbecue on the 3rd.

Bridgeport Brevities: Thomas Smith Jr. was clerking for WL Gray in the warehouses and was kept busy weighing and unloading wheat. Joseph Trainer and Company of Saint Louis would open a first-class dry goods and clothing store in the room formerly occupied by SP Barton.  GW Cooper was to open up his summer drug store in the Hobarts brick building on 2nd St.  That would make four drug stores in Bridgeport.  Beer would be sold at $0.20 per bottle. (Apparently drugstores doubled as liquor stores.)

Died at her residence on the 10th of the month after a long illness, Mrs. WM Neal living a few miles north of town.  She was buried in the Pleasant Hill cemetery (AKA White House Cemetery) north of town.

Denison news: The wife of Victor Buchanan, or better known as ‘Kentucky Vic’, returned home from a few weeks visit to relatives in Kentucky.  During her stay her mother died at that place. Clarence Buchanan, while unloading hay with a patent fork, had the misfortune to be thrown from the wagon on the barn floor, bruising his face so badly that he could not see out of one eye for two days. William T Buchanan added on to his dwelling house. HG and GA Buchanan formerly of this place were now in Colorado, the former in the town of South Arkansas and the latter in Gunnison. Professor Weller gave music lessons to two scholars at John G Buchanan’s and two at William Gillespie’s place. A couple of the widow King's little boys were playing with the cider mill, and one had the misfortune of getting his hand caught between the rollers crushing it so badly that two of his fingers had to be amputated.

Fatal Accident: A terrible accident occurred at Raccoon bridge on the C&V railroad South of Saint Francisville in which one poor man lost his life while resolutely standing at his post of duty.  As is usual in such cases the railroad men would not talk about the affair.              

However, the engine of which William Yelton of Vincennes was the engineer and Albert Downey of Carmi was the fireman had hauled the Thornton circus from Saint Francisville to Mount Carmel where it was to present a show.   The engine was returning to layover at Vincennes and was bringing two carloads of wheat and a caboose.  When the short train arrived within about 200 feet of the Raccoon bridge, the engine left the track and ran up to the entrance of the bridge on the ties where it struck and tumbled down the high embarkment taking the two cars of wheat with it.

William Yelton, the engineer jumped from the engine before they struck the bridge a distance of about 40 feet.  He was stunned and had his shin skinned but aside from this and a sprained wrist escaped unhurt. But not so with Albert Downey, the fireman.  He stuck to the engine and went down with it and was horribly crushed under the wheels.  Both legs were broken, one of them being reduced to jelly from the knee down.  An internal injury was received which crushed the lungs, rendering life an impossibility.  He was taken out of the wreck but all stimulants which could be used by Dr. FM Harris at Vincennes who went down to the site in obedience to a telegram, were unavailing and Downey never recovered consciousness.

The doctor bound him up as skillfully as possible and told them to take him directly to his home in Carmi; that his injuries were fatal.  The words of the doctor were only too prophetic because the spirit of poor Albert Downey was with his Maker before the lacerated body was moved from the scene of the disaster.  The cause of the accident was unknown. No cause was perceptible, and it was the opinion of the railroad men that something broke about the tender of the engine. 

New facts were presented during the investigation; the engine was being backed up the track at a rate of about 25 miles an hour, which was ten miles too fast. The tender was too light for that speed and consequently jumped the track.