Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-01-16
A Live New Years Gift.

MI. and Mrs. Riley Burgess, two
old people of Steady Run township,
were forcibly reminded Of younger
days on New Years night, just pre-
vious to bed time. The door was
softly opened and basket containing
three weeks old babe was showed
In. Mr.. Burgess went out but in the
darkness failed to discover any per-
son near. In the morning the tracks
were followed to a, hill where it was
found that buggy had been halted'
also that q man and woman in COW
cred carriage had stopped. at neigh
boris the evening before, The woman
asking for milk for her babe, and the
man watering his team. The buggy
was tracked about the neighborhood
until it was found by the road. side
broken down, and the parties were
also discovered at q farm 'hSnse not
far from, the place Of the Accide nt.
George Sylvester, q well known char
acter living near the northern. line of
Wapello Co., was the, driver, but
whether be was directly interested in
the contents of the basket we do not
know, as he Isl queer genius, always
on hands for an odd job where cum
ming and dare devil are needed, and
sometimes he is the interested party.
He had made his way through BY.
Haysville day or two before on foot,
pretending to be q stranger in the
country, and enquired the road to
Delta. Somewhere on his route he
procured the buggy, and the. woman
was loaded in at Delta. The two
were taken before Squire Morgan
and held In 500 bonds each on 4
charge Of desertion. y Il.
Since writing tho above we learn
from Capt. p. G. Baker that the girls
home 10 on Cedar creek, In Wapello
Co., and that the child, which is one
Of pair of twins, the other of which
died, ls the joint property OF Sylves-
ter and the girl. He had been rum
ming q threshing machine with q son
Of Mr.. Burgess during the past sc ason,
and their route had taken them into
!oF4 county. It is thought the girl
had been taken bv Sylvester to aome
place. in that section At all events,
ne brought her from that direction,
and left her OF the house Of M, Had.
dleston, in Sigourney, which place
she left on Tuesday saying she .wasI
going by rail to- OskalOosa, but un.
doubtedly stopped off at Delta where
sbe, met Sylvester. They were com
pelled TO take the child, away from
Mrsa Bpfgess', and hunt sope other
Place foFsits care apd keeping.
!. Sylvester is the chap who was in
SigoHrpey last summer, telling some
that be was skulking to avoid person-
81 injury which he feared from hav-
ing helped to trap some wheat stack
burners over in WRpello Co, one Of
them getting shot beverley. lie also
feared the man, then in aDr's. charge
1t ;Ottumwa might die, and was un-l
easy about being, able TO prove that
ne was detective. To others he
limited that he. was on trail of some-
thing wrong in the revenue, and was |
employed by Deputy U. S. Marshal
liaot OF Mt. Pleasant. In the even.
ing ne was arrested for Drunkenness,
and taken to the county Jail to sober
off, When searched, his pocket dis
closed various things, but principally |
some sort of drugs; and In the corner
OF lib vest, tightly sewed in, was a
vial ofstrychpsne which when releas-
Cd in the morning he was very par
ticuiar to have the SheriGs wife sew |
again in the place from whore II was
taken. There were various surmises |
as TO his object and some thought |
tnat MS trip Was planned for the sole |
purpose of getting inside the jail, and !
among the prisoners, Whatever end |
richer by the fine he paid.r-aigqu,rey |