The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-08-16
STATE NEWS.
Items and Comments Culled From
State Exchanges,

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State Exchanges.
General Benjamin F. Butler is the mad
dest big man in Washington. He owns
the stone building Just south of the capt.
toll, and for years ne has been attempting
to sell it to the government. The gov
erRment now pays him $4,000 a year
rental for the use of it. Senator Allison
offered an amendment to the sundry civil
bill appropriating $227,000 for the pur-
chase of the property. When the amend
ment came up in the senate a few days
ago Mr.. Edmunds asserted that the price
was about five times too great. This
annoyed Mr.. Allison, but the amendment
was finally rejected. Butler thinks Ed
munds was really too severe.-Waco News.
Friday night at Irish Toms restaurant,
on South Main street in Bonham, des-
perate fight ensued between an Infatuated
negro cook with a knife and Sid
Buchanan, a saloon keeper, who kept cutfy
at bay with chair, which badly bruised
Buchanan's forehead. Another white man
came to Buchanau's assistance, but in the
melee which followed chairs, knife, negro
and white men were one heterogeneous
mass. The negro is recently from Deni-
son, and had not learned that his impu-
dence would not be tolerated in Bonham.
There was slight rise in the Rio
Grande Friday at Laredo, and for while
created some apprehension that the false
work being used in placing the Mexican
National bridge across the Rio Grande
would be lost, but on the contrary it en-
abled the contractors to float the heavy
bents used under the third span across
small island in the middle of the river to
their new position under the fourth span.
ALI the material for the bridge is on hand
or arriving, and without accident the
bridge, as before reported, will be COM
pleted by the 1st of September.
Friday in the United States circuit court
at Ell Paso, Merchant and Teel, as attor-
neys for Jose Lerma, filed the suit which
when tried will determine the validity of
the grant of lands made to Don Jose Ler-
ma in 1928. The grant covers an area of
about SIC, 900 acres of the best mining and
grazing lands in the county of Ell Paso.
The suit is filed against W. II. Stevenson,
who, it is alleged, has unlawful possession
of part of the land.
Thursday night about dozen Mexican
soldiers deserted from tho barracks in
Paso del Norte, escaping over the Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad bridge.
The bridge Waterman, Mexican, tried to
stop them and received two bullets for his
pains. He will die. Most of the soldiers
in Paso del Norte are men who have been
sentenced to military life for crime and
are constantly watched and guarded by
non commissioned officers, who are volun
teers to keep them from DESERVING.
A Fridays special from Brownsville
says: On Wednesday night six masked
bandits, well armed and mounted, rode up
to the house of d. Olivarez, at the Mes
quite ranch, surrounded it, and entering,
obliged Olivarez to give them $500, the
product of some cattle he had recently
sold. They then rode off and made good
their escape. 1t is believed that the rob-
berry was planned by a relative of Olivarez,
who is under indictment in this city and
fugitive from justice. Sheriff Brito at
once sent out force of deputies in pur-
suit of the band and left to-day with an
additional force. The thieves are from
the other side of the river, and as the
Mesquite in on the other side of this
Arroyo Colorado, they may be intercepted
before they can reach the river and CROSS.
This is the third robbery of this kind
committed in this county in the last three
months by armed bands of marauders from
Mexico, and another attempt made on
Mr.. Jesus Saldona was only prevented by
the thieves hearing four of Brito's depu-
ties coming up the road, when they broke
for the woods and escaped. The only pro-
lection the people of this county have is
the few deputies the sheriff is able to
maintain by money paid out of his own
pocket and from an income which is being
constantly cut down and reduced.
Thursday night, at Tyler, the police
force was called upon to arrest negro
named Bud Priosr. Pricer has been in
the habit of abusing and beating his wife
whenever it suited his fancy. Thursday
night he kicked her out of the house, in
the northwestern part of town, and she
started away, it is supposed, to notify the
mayor. Pricer overlook her, and, knocking
her down, kicked and stamped her until
there is no hope for her recovery. The
woman was inciente, and if she dies the
beast will be guilty of double murder.
Negroes found the child dead on the
ground where the woman received her in
iuries. There was great excitement
among the colored people that night, and
lynching was freely talked of. Pricer is
in jail.
Complaint has been made of the negro
women of low character who frequent the
streets at all times of day and night.
Yesterday afternoon lady passing the
corner of Houston street and Avenue @
was compelled to hear the profane and
obscene language used by two of these
creatures in conversation with half
grown colored boy, and in few minutes
quite a wrestling match occurred, when
one of them kissed the youth. If white
women acted in this way they would ap-
pear before the recorder the next morn
ing, after spending the night in jail, while
but little notice appears to be taken of
this kind of thing when the offenders are
colored, although more or less of it may
be seen every day on the streets.-San
Antonio Express,
Trouble has existed for some time be-
tween the Gray and Mullens families, liv-
ing on adjoining farms near the cotton
gin, eight miles east of Mexia. On We'd
nesdsy daughter of Gray and daughter
of Mullens met and were engaged in a
hair pulling tussel when Charles Jackson,
a relative of the Gray's, came up and
dragged the Mullens girl about by the
l.