The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1893-06-08

At meeting of the blue lodge last
Saturday night a committee was APP
pointed to confer with other committees
with the view of having union picnic
on the oath inst. of all the secret socie-
| ties and Sunday schools in town. One
of the most successful pienics ever held
here was union affair of this character
and if the one now in contemplation
should be as successful it will be well
worth attending.
MIR. X. l.. Lawrence OF Appleton
writes us that Rev. p. II. Brant was
stricken with paralysis while in the field
at work on Thursday, May 18th. He
was carried to his house by his family
and fingered till Sunday when he died.
After the stroke he never spoke save to
tell his family that he expected the at
tack to be fatal. He was a good man
and useful citizen.
| Monday June II is the dav set for
the examining trial of the parties under
arrest for completely in the attempted
assassination OF Robert Harrison, the dep
uty u. S.marshal. Messrs. Horace and Ed
Bradley will appear for the defense and
jeff Davis for the State. The theory of
the defence will be that Newton county
friends of the prisoner in charge of the
officers followed them across the noun
tain and did the shooting. The State
will combat this theory and insist that
the guilty parties live in the vicinity
where the shooting was done. The trial
will be held in the court house before
Esq. Meade, it having been moved to
this place, after taking the deposition of
Mr.. Harrison ut Dover last Thursday.
Within the past three weeks between
| 10 and 20 inches Of water have fallen and
the damage TO crops Is almost past COM
putatlon. In the river bottom hail last
week literally ruined large plantations
of cotton and greatly injured corn. We
hear of some tenants who become so dis
couraged at the outlook that they
abandoned their lands and have moved
away. On uplands and along small
water courses many farms were well
nigh stripped of their soil and the crops
demolished. Upon the whole the out
look is really distressing and the peo-
ple seem to have little heart to labor
further. But they have gone to work
with courage and energy that is com
mendable to make the most that is pos
sible out of the depressing situation.
Jim Hurst came over from Darda-
| utllt hpuuSl anu lOiu sun
which in some respects distances that of
Jim Miller related in last weeks Demo-
Graf According to Hurst there is a
u.an and woman at Dardanelle, recently
arrived from points up the river, whose
| sole business it is to catch snakes to stock
snake farm at some point in Missouri.
They have now on hand 800 reptiles of
all sizes and varieties from the common
black snake to the deadly water-mooa-
! sin. The most marvellous part of the
story is that these people have with
them an educated black snake whose
duty it is to act as "copper"" and many a
reptile has been entrapped by its clever
work on this line. 1t will even go into
hollow trees or cliffs Of rock in quest of
victims and il one is found it is decoyed
i to place where it is easily caught The
man and woman take great delight in
their occupation and never tire exhibit
ing their specimens to visitors. Both of
them show signs of coming too closely
in contact with the fangs of some of
their Catches" but as they carry with
them superior quality of snake anti
dote they seem TO care very little for
such accidents.