Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1899-09-08
AROUND THE STATE.
ITEMS GATHERED HERE AND THERE
FROM OUR EXCHANGES.

Charge-The Latest Confidence Game
Adventure of a Montpelier Plain Drunk
Bullet with Record-Other Items.
This story of the latest confidence
scheme for fleeing the unsophisticated
farmer is going the rounds of the coun-
try press. A man who represents him.
self as travelling preacher calls and
asks to remain over night. Before the
hour for retiring a young man and wo-
man come along and ask If there is not
a minister in the house who can perform
a marriage ceremony. OF course there
is. The young couple Join hands and
the farmer and his wife are asked to
sign the marriage certificate as witnesses.
The certificate afterwards turns up a
promissory note.
While James Burke Of Montpelier and
some companions were walking through
the Central Vermont railway bridge near
the United States Clothes Pin company's
shop about midnight Friday night, he
fell through the bridge to the stream
below. His companions were panic
stricken and without attempting to give
him aid rushed into the streets shouting
for the police. Officers proceeded to the
scene and after procuring lights and
lanterns found Burke in a drunken stupor
lying beneath the bridge. Part of his
body was in the water.
S. w. BENJAMIN of Montpelier had an
iron bullet removed from his back re-
Gently. The bullet lodged in his back
July 3, 1868, at the battle of Gettysburg,
shortly after Pickett's charge. Mr..
Benjamin was nine months man in
company G, Thirteenth Vermont, but
served eleven months before his dis
charge. The bullet weighs half an ounce
and is badly corroded. During the 36
years it had been in his body it had
worked down his back eight inches, and
was removed from Just above his hips.
John Procey of Plymouth, aged IS,
has been arrested by Deputy Sheriff
Stearns in Mendon on suspicion of max
Ing fatal assault upon Perley Pitts of
Shrewsbury week ago Sunday and
lodged in the Rutland county Jail.
Procey is not disposed to talk about the
matter, but he admits that he and Pitts
had trouble on Rube Rangers lumber
lob in Pittsfeld. There were several
persons looking on at the time, but little
is known about the details of the fight.
John Fielder of Muddy Brook, near
Burlington, met with a tragic death
Monday morning. 1t seems that Mr..
Fielder was subject to cataleptic fits.
He went on the roof of his house to do
some shingling, although warned that it
was dangerous, and was busy at work
fell to the ground and received injuries
of which he died inside of two hours.
The two hundred dollar bond stolen
about two weeks ago from the residence
of Prof j. B. johnson at Northfield was
returned intact to him by mail last week.
The envelope bore the Boston postmark,
but there was no possible clue to the
identity of the sender. These bonds
were easily negotiable, but the thief
evidently was afraid to attempt to con-
vert them into cash.
| The following bankrupt petitions have
been filed; Joseph Soulia, a farmer of
Pittsford, liabilities $500, assets S3l13,
exempt 5000. Jason j. Nye of Brook
field, liabilities $3.50, assets consisting
of household goods and furniture, pro-
vision for family use and wearing ap-
parel of petitioners family $3.50, one
COW $50, and one two-horse wagon $40
(mortgagedG.
A thunder storm passed north OF
White River Junction Monday afternoon
about o'clock. A lightning bolt struck
near the boarding house on the Advent
campmeeting grounds a mile from there
during the services. John Harding OF
Copperfeld, who was attending the
meeting, was Frustrated by the shocb
and did not recover consciousness fol
several hours.
Henry F. Field, president of the Rut
land City Hospital association, speaking
of decision of the Rutland County court
filed at the county clerks Office on Satur
day, giving an Interpretation of the will
of Susan Pierpoint of Rutland, who dice
in 1890, which gives to the Rutland city
hospital $4,000 with accrued interest, sale
that in his opinion the decision was final
James Brown, car inspector at New
port, was coupling the hose between th'
cars when car was kicked back upol
the train without warning to him and hi
head was caught between the cars ant
seriously lammed. The injured man
was carried to his home in West Derby
where he is resting easily, with hopes o
his recovery.
Nine head of young cattle owned b.
Emory Curtis of Burlington were foun
dead in the pasture. The pasture wa
, in back part of the town and had NO
been previously visited for two weeks
In the meantime stream which crosse
the pasture had dried entirely up and tn
, cattle, being unable to find water, die
: from the thirst.
A grand celebration of the first legs
? Labor Day in Vermont took place 6
: Barre Monday under the auspices {
: the local branch of the granite cutter