Thursday, December 13, 1900
Snowden Hogsett, one of the Golden’s clerks has smallpox and is in the quarantine where he is well attended to.
After a series of adventures, hardships and narrow risks from being shot by quarantine guards, Dr. Price is home again from his trip to the cities.
The Greenbrier River at Alderson, during the last flood, rose 18 1/2 feet, making it the largest flood at that point since 1877.
A select crowd of young people assembled at the courthouse on Thursday evening and danced until the wee hours of the morning.
A merchant at Falling Spring by the name of Givens died last week of smallpox. This is the third or fourth death from this disease which we have heard reported in this state.
The “vaccination car” came up the Greenbrier Monday. The C. & O. requires all employees to be vaccinated or leave the service, owing to the prevalence of the smallpox along the main line.
William Gay, of Indian Draft, was in Marlinton last week with his team for a load of camp supplies for the construction force at Driftwood or Stony Bottom. The freshet proved quite a windfall for teamsters.
Conductor Randolph Bledsoe, who has been wrestling with the smallpox at Hinton for five weeks, was in Marlinton Friday. The health authorities burned all his clothes and scraped the wallpaper from the walls in disinfecting the room. He acquired the disease while in service on the Greenbrier Railway.
The Greenbrier Railway is building a fifty-thousand-gallon water tank just below where the turnpike or Main Street crosses the track. Much trouble was experienced in getting a solid foundation. The pumping station will be located near the Knapps creek crossing.
BIG LAWSUIT
An important lawsuit was decided at Huntersville last Saturday, growing out of a horse trade. Some time ago, George Rayburn traded horses with William Hamilton. The latter gave his note for $15 boot between horses. This note was assigned to John Andrew Cleek. Hamilton refused to pay the note on maturity and a suit was brought; McNeil for the plaintiff, and Rucker for the defendant Hamilton.
Hamilton filed as an offset a bill of $25 on account of the blindness of the horse and proved a warranty of soundness on the part of Rayburn. A legal battle followed and many authorities were cited bearing on the question of whether total blindness is patent or a latent defect. The plaintiff offset the question of blindness by a claim for damages on account of the other horse having the heaves.
When the taking of testimony was ended, the question arose who had the opening and closing of the argument, the defendant having filed an offset greater that the plaintiff’s claim. The defendant was allowed to open and close.
Upon consideration, the court entered an order “dismissing the suit at defendant’s costs.” The costs were large and both parties claimed to be the plaintiff, and there the matter rests.
SHOOTING IN MINGO COUNTY
At Williamson, Mingo County, S. Davis Stokes, a lawyer and Democratic nominee for State Senate of his district, and Rev. John E. Wohl, a Presbyterian evangelist, had a shooting affray, in which Stokes was dangerously wounded and Wohl was instantly killed.
Wohl had preached a sermon directed against the German club, of which Stokes was leader. They had had some words about it, and quarreled again in front of Wohl’s house. Hot words had passed when Wohl rushed at Stokes and, drawing a revolver, shot him through the body.
Stokes fell, and when Wohl fired a second time, he shot him through the head. Wohl was instantly killed. The quarrel does not seem to have involved any questions of importance, and the whole tragedy must be attributed to the pernicious habit of carrying revolvers…
DIED
Little Buena Vista, daughter of James W. and Laura A. Copenhaver, near Academy, December 1, 1900, aged 4 months and 12 days. A bright angel has gone to live with Jesus, beckoning to father and mother, friends and kindred, to come and live with God.
