Omaha daily bee., 1881-06-11
Death and Litigation, the Relics
of a Horse Trade in
Platte County,
The Courts Called Upon to Set
tie the Case, and Dispose of
Two Omaha Thugs.
Great Rejoicing Over the Return
of the Prodigel Road
to Columbus.
Collar County and its Capital.

COLUMBUS, Neb., June lO.-lhe
district court for Platte county is now
in session, and number of interest
ing cases are coming up for considera
ton. Unusual interest is manifested
in civil suit for recovering the value
of some horses lost by contagious
disease. The case is known as Them
hardt VS.. Mckenzie, and these facts
are Ithus far established: Theinhardt
and Mckenzie traded horses and
shortly after Mr.. T, noticed that his
new horse was sick with loathsome
disease of the mouth, glanders. II
subsequently died as did also foul
other horses kept in the same stable,
The plaintiff alleges that the de.
fendant had horse die of this same
disease prior to the trade, and that he,
the defendant, knew the horse traded
to him to be affected, and that was his
reason for trading. The plaintiff now
sues to recover the value of horses
lost, and the expense of doctoring
them, in all over 81 ,000 The parties
both live in Colfax county, where the
people are mostly Scotch, as is also
the defendant. The plaintiff is Ger
man, as are also many of the Platte
county people.
The grand jury have had great
quantity of business for consideration,
but have not found many bills, as yet.
They have found an indictment against
Jack Lewis, blacksmith of Omaha,
and Charlie Wilson, a cigar manufac.
turer of the same place, for burglariz-
ing the safe in the county treasurer's s
office of Platte county. |: is quite
probable others may be implicated.
The particulars of this safe blowing
have already been detailed in THE
BEE.
THE LATE OF GAMBLERS.
The jury is now wrestling with evi-
dence agains parties for gambling.
The forgerics of S. L. Barrett, and
the suicide of John Lawson, have
been charged against bucking faro,
and excessive indulgence in other
chance games. Some deas have been
in operation for two or three years
past, but the keepers and feeders
have all skipped town now. Some
fifty witnesses are in waiting on this
case. Lawson wrote letters before
committing the rash deed, in which
he ascribed his dispondency to losses
at the gambling dens. He gave the
names of parties engaged in the busi-
ness and some of the runners for them.
Columbus is prosperous, her mer-
chants are kept very busy and the far.
mers in surrounding localities have
fine crop prospects and are very hope
full.
THE JUNCTION.
The railroad is now completed max
ing Columbus the junction of the Z.
p. and o., N. & b. H. railroads. A
free excursion to Columbus will be
given the people of Norfolk, Madison,
Albion, and other towns on the branch
roads, one week from yesterday. On
this occasion the Z. p. railroad poll
ticians of the region, assisted by po-
litical manager John nj. Thurston, OF
Omaha, will deliver harangues to the
people thus assembled. b. X. Smith,
member of the last legislature, and
Loran Clark, member of former one,
are advertised to be on hand. We
presume they will tell how sweet and
profitable it is to be railroad politi,
clan and advise everybody to join
hands and circle in the ring. They
may inadvertently say the railroad is
now built into Columbus because the
company calculated lit less expensive
to build the road into Columbus thar
to reconstruct the Loup river bride
and that the $50, 900 bonds voted was
desired simply as testimonial of theil
friendly feeling. The pride of the
average citizen will be slightly
elevated on learning that
they have been guilty OF
such high handed generosity as donat
ing the munifcient sum of $25, ,O0(
bonds as token of affection to mel
who scarcely know whether they hav,
contributed S25, 900 or $50, 200 at ;
single specified time to a specified
object The people may be reminded
of similar tokens sent in advance b,
one sovereign when approaching an
other in the good old Bible times
However the most refreshened mem
ory will hardly alight upon king win
with the donation in hand can organic
himself into stock compan
and initiate that peculiar animalknowi
as stock capital to ten times it's nor
nal size, and utilize this as a basis 70
levying upon the producing industrie
of other lands, for the development
: of which it purports to have been al
piled. List to the echoes
CoLFAx COUNTY
has excellent crop prospects. Their
was considerable new ground broke
in the county last year and ther
is an increase in acreage of al
kinds of grain. An unusua
amount of fax was sown thi
year. The ground has been $
: wet and weeds have grown so fas
that farmers find it almost impossibl
to clean the corn ground.
Schuyler, the county seat and onl
town of this comfy, has been yer
quiet during the past two years, bu
is now reaching forth in all lines G
!, trade with new vigor, The merchant
: are all doing fine business and ais
two banks. This county contains
great number of hogs and cattle an
a number of small fiocks of sheeI
! Hay has been the greatest export con
modify, large quantity of it going
!, the Denver market. JAY.