Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-08-10

LOCAL DEPARTMENT.
A lBid.

LOCAL DEPARTMENT.
A Bid.
The new revenue law establishes the price Il
the publication of the taxlist at twenty cents eac
description, or thirty cents should the descripto
be more than one column In width. In order that
may fall as lightly as possible upon the taxpayer
We hereby offer to publish the entire list at Il
cents description.
We will now see whether the County Treasure
will do his part towards lessening the burden
taxation, or whether he will spend the people
money to sustain paper which the public doe
not consider deserving Of support. and whc
depends solely on official patronage to keep it av'
A H1ur. Those Of our subscribers VII
have been furnished with the paper contrary to on
advertised terms after the expiration Of their pait
up subscriptions, on their promise TO pay afte
harvest, are reminded that the time 10 now athau
and we are much In need Of money.
E We hope to hear from our Wel
Liberty correspondent frequently. His sxampl
should be followed by others in other parts of tn
county.
WILD PLUMs are more plentiful this sea
son than for q number of years past. They ar
retailing in the city at to cents per quart.
Miss DIX started, Tuesday, for Mt. Pleas
ant by way OF Washington. She will doubtless b
able to make some excellent suggestions with ref
erence to the Insane Asylum now in course 0
construction at Mt. Pleasant.
WArRRxELoNs. - This delicious fruit il
getting quite common at eur shops On saturda!
we saw a wagon-load of melons for sale on tn
street. 1t being the only lot in first hands fo
sale, caused quite a crowd to gather round it. W.
shall look to Muscatine Island this season for ou
choicest melons. though our own county will n.
doubt furnish many very superior onss.--Dsssnpsr
Gasetts, 9Th.
ALMOST A CoNrLA0RATIoN.-Ths dwelling
house occupied by DR.. Houghton. adjoining oul
office, came very near being destroyed By ar,
Sunday night. At about 10 o'clock, young LADY
living with the family saw bright light rejecting
into her room from another part of the building
and as it was unusual she went to see the cause
She discovered the window curtains and sash o.
one of the bedroom windows in which the children
were sleeping enveloped in flames. Mrs Il. wa,
aroused (the Doctor being absent from home) and
bucket of water well applied extngushsd the
devouring element just in the nick of time. Had
the IRE progressed, the entire block Of buildings
in which our office is situated must have been
destroyed
Abe fire is supposed to have originated from 9
$ Id do <,f xho ind
frame. The box 10 of tin and without cover. 1t ID
thought that the window curtains lone of paper
and the other of muslin) were swung about by the
wind and ignited the matches by rubbing against
them. It would be well for others who keep
matches in uncovered boxes to be warned by this
incident. We can assure the public that Dr..
Houghton, grateful for his deliverance this time,
will be more careful in future.
An OLD OFFENDER AGAIN IN LIMBO. -
Monday, officers of the law passed down the river,
On the Kate Cassel having in custody Lewis Bates,
3 desperate character, whom they found in Bride.
well at Chicago, into which he had been put for
burglary. Bates is charged with stealing six
horses and robbing store in Davis county, No.,
in July, 1859, for which he was arrested at the
time and broke Jail, by knocking down the jailor's
wife. He was again arrested at Quincy and
escaped the second time in January, since which
time he was not heard of till few days ago, when
the Chicago papers noticed his committal to Bride
we'll for burglary. Officers from Burlington and
Davenport, who were on the lookout for him,
went to Chicago and arrived just in
time to arrest him, as he had been discharged on
insufficient evidence and was about to leave the
city.
Bates was known to many Of our citizens, having
paid frequent visits here during the last five or six
years. He was known as 1.-THE sword-swallower,"
and is the man who several years ago accidentally
swallowed bar of lead at Wapello and was relieved
from death eleven days afterwards by remarkable
surgical operation performed by DR.. Bell, as
noticed in our paper a short time since. It appears
that Bates has led rowing, reckless life for many
years, and has been connected with q number of
itinerant shows. Sometime since he stole . lot of
bacon at Wapello, for which he was arrested and
broke JAIL after which he took an axe and totally
destroyed carriage belonging to witness against
him. At the time of the tornado he was keeping a
house of ilfame at Albany, ILL.,, and had both his
arms broken. He then went to Chicago and
obtained considerable money as one ofthe sufferers.
He was in this city only week or two since, and
in all probability had something to do with the
burglares about that time. The officers having him
in charge yesterday appeared determined that be
should not escape again. as he was heavily ironed.
MISS DIx's VIsIr TO OUR COUNTY JAIL AND
Pooh HOUSE,. We had an interview, Tuesday,
sAI 81 l.
whose labors of love and mercy have blessed 20
many unfortunate and distressed human beings in
various parts Of the world and made for her fame
more enduring than that of the greatest hero of
the battle field. She visited on Monday, in com
pany with G. W. Kiacaid, Esq, the jail in this
city and the County Poor House, i've miles west Of
the city. As she had not time to write out her
after inspecting these Institutions she
US to present them to the public in our
own language, which We promised to do. She
found in our Jail eleven prisoners, six of whom
are charged with no crime. but being insane are
confined in company with criminals. This she
thinks ought not to be done, unless the unfortu-
nate beings are too violent and dangerous to be
confined in more comfortable abodes. She was
shocked to find a woman among the
number, exposed to (and if report be true receiv-
ing) the insults of abandoned and vicious men.
Miss Dix does not c9nsure the officers having
these prisoners in charge for this sad state Of
affairs, but she thinks the citizens of the county
owe it to themselves and to humanity to have this
woman removed from the Jail, and kept
in some suitable place, though she is perhaps
unable to appreciate such kindness. Miss
Dix expressed willingness to pay from he,
own private means the extra expense of keep
ing this woman in some airy and comfortable
room, away from the criminals in Jail, if it could
not otherwise be done; but she added, the people
of this county are not less humane than other PEG
pie, and only need to have their attention called t.
this matter to see and perform their duty. II
regard to the arrangement of the Jail, she thought
it too low and damp, and the cells and arena TOT
lily ventilated. She observed that the drain from
the pump was not properly regulated, and pools o
water were standing and adding to the dampness