Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-09-24

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The advance entries of stock for
the county fair ale very large and
this promises show which will be
one of the features oe the exhibition.
At the foot ball meeting held
Monday evening II. =. Clark was
elected manager, Hugh Philips
treasurer, and Ernest N. Smith cap
tain of the new town team. There
IS considerable interest taken in the
new team and it is hoped there will
be sufficient encouragement to war
rant the men in going ahead, orga.
nizing and putting in the practice
necessary. The grand stand is
promised for the fall sports and with
this in view there is some assurance
of good sport on Vail field in the
nsxt month or two.
The Woodstock base ball team
went to Bridgewater last Saturday
for final bit of exercise and won,
E to 4. Both sides put up Il good
game, only q few errors being made.
Sergeant W. Fl. Markham, who
returned from Chickamauga last
week, is i'll at the home of Schuyler
Burrows.
Tax time expires Oct. S and the
town treasurer asks all delinquents
to call and pay.
DR.. IIullbutt and family returned
to Stamford, Ct, Thursday. Miss
Hortense Griffin accompanied them
and will spend the winter in SIAM
lord.
Louis Desc remains in DR.. Hurl-
butts employ and has gone to STAN.
ford, Ct, with him.
Miss Emma ]. Mack, formerly of
Woodstock, and Daniel ]. Holland
of South Groveland, Mass, were
married at Haverhill, Mass, Tues
day, Sept. 20.
CHURCH HILLS SENSATION.
For three or tour weeks the farm
of Wilbur F. Washburn. mile and
half up on the Church hill road,
has been the scene of strange
series OF petty. mean depredations
by unknown parties, and it was kept
up until the whole neighborhood,
the village and town were excited
over 1t to an unusual degree. 1t has
been rare sensation, hut the mys-
terry is now being gradually cleared
up and the wonder over a boys APP
parently charmed life assumes
very practical view Of the matter.
The trouble, in which a mystic
rious masked man figured more or
less, began about fou weeks ago
with raids on the melon patch.
Some of the melons were stolen and
oil ers were destroyed. Crudely
written notes of an unpleasant char
acter were found lying about. The
barns and other buildings were en-
tered by some one evidently familiar
with the premises, day and night;
wagon bolts were loosened, meal
spilled on the floor, wool scattered
about, tools tempered with, and 20
on through long list of vexatious
happenings. Not a great amount
of damage was done anywhere and
there seemed to he no possible mo.
tive for the depredations.
The occurrences did not become
generally known outside the neigh.
borhood until two weeks ago today,
when rocks began to fly about the
house, dropping from all directions
on the house and barn, the woods
about thc premises affording plenty
of protection for the stonc-throwers.
Some of the stones were big and
dangerous and the careless hail of
rocks on the roofs and in the door
yard gave the situation 4 more ser;-
Gus look.
Matters reached IN acute stage
last Saturday afternoon when sew
eral revolver shots were heard and
the ID year-old son of Mr.. Wash
burn said he had been shot ut by a
masked man. Again on Sunday
morning more shots were fired, and
the boy said that on several occa-
SONS he had been confronted and
once or twice assaulted BY an UNI
mannerly stranger. The news of
the shooting brought big crowd of
visitors from the village Sunday, in
carriages, on bicycles and on foot.
Things were quiet enough, though,
and since then the family, thorough
ly worn out, has not been disturbed
and the guards about the premises
were taken off.
The strange proceedings have not
all been satisfactorily explained, but
it is now stated that the young son,
Willard, has admitted that he is re-