Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1900-10-12

An Ottunwa dispatch says the in
dica tions nre strong that Ritchie,
prominent Chicago First ward poll
tician, charged with the Eldon bant
robbery, will be freed. The witnesses
says the dispatch, We're probtaapt'i,
bribed.
| William Swift, q brakeman on the
Kansas City railroad, and residing
ut MouIton. met horrible death at
/; Bloomfieldn few days ago. his train
stopped to do some switching, and
/ Swift was sent back to flag an AZ
preaching train from the rear. He is
said to have sat down on the track to
wait for the train and fell asleep
| He was not awakened by its approach
| and was killed beneath the wheels OF
the engine.
At Sioux City q few days ago N. Z
HUBBARD Of Mondover, Wis.,, o capital
list, horse buyer and cattlemnn, was
relieved of q gold watch. $500 in
money, $4,000 in notes and a letter Of
| credit for $4,000 issued by the Bank
of Mondover. Mr.. Hubbard was on
his way to Idaho to buy horses and
had stopped in Sioux City to see the
carnival. He left the money and Sc
curities in pocketbook in his
| in his room and when he returned it
was gone.
An $4,000 blaze at the Sioux City
stock yards few days ago came very
near proving more serious. For o
time it was feared that the fire, fam
ned by northwest wind, would
sweep over the. entire yards, but the
firemen and stock yards men man
aged to keep the blaze within reas-
enable limits. The fire started in one
of the hay barns, and it is supposed
to have caught from spark from
passing locomotive. 1t spread from
one barn to another, and then to the
pens. Four barns and twenty-five
pens were burned, but all the stock
but one or two head were saved. The
barns will Mt once be rebuilt, and the
buildings will be larger and better
than the old one. The loss, about
$4,000, was fully covered by insur-
ance.
After long drawn out litigation
Judge Wakefield of the district court
of Woodbury. county decided the IA
nous lake bed land case involving
Woodbury. county lands worth about
S45, 900. The land is known as the
Sand Hill lands and was originally
the bed Of Sand Hill lake. At one
time it was large body of water, but
in the past quarter of century IL
has gradually dried up and now al
most it's entire bottom of more than
1000 acres is under cultivation.
Owners of adjoining property claimed
the new land by right of accretion.
but very quietly w. L. Ogden secured
swamp land title to it from the gen
eral government and year or more
ago began suit for possession. Judge
Wakefield decided that neither the
claim on the ground of accretion nor
the swamp land claim is any good but
that the land belongs to the state OF
Iowa. 0. --- -.-
A sensation was sprung few days
ago in the district court in Ottumwa
when Dick Dodd, who has here
tofore figured prominently in the con-
viction of different persons implicat-
ed in the Eldon bank robbery of 1897,
| went upon the stand and testlhed
that he had never seen one alleged
Samuel J. Richie, whom the author
tiles arrested recently in Baltimore,
Md, on the charge of being implicit 7
ed in the robbery. 1t was thought
Dodd would testify to the identity
of the man whom the authorities mad
arrested. Richie stoutly maintain
| ed that his name is S. ]. Bryant, the
| name under which he was doing busl-
ness when arrested in Baltimore last
spring by the Chicago Pinkerton
agency. Capt. W. F. Forsee, assistant
superintendent of the Chicago Pinker-
| ton agency, is here. 1t was primer.
pallv through his efforts that past
! convictions of parties implicated IN
the robbery were made.
Following is preliminary estimate
of the average yield Of staple farm
crops. summarized fror' reports re-
ceived by the Iowa climate and crop
service, October 1, 1900. and subject
to revision- in the final report of the
season. TO De lSSucu doOuV DCScAAOSA
i: Corn-The crop indicates an aver
age of little more than II bushel:
per acre for the state. The aret
planted was s,61s,6e0 acres, and thu
total product will be 353,365,06
bushels, or 100000 bushels abov'
the heaviest yield heretofore harvest
ed in Iowa. The figures are yer.
conservative, making due allowanc
for recent damage by winds and we
weather. Wheat-Yield Of white
: wheat, 16 bushels per acre; spring l
: bushels. Total product. 22,465,53
: bushels, as against 19,574,792 bushel
g last year. Oats-Yield per acre. 8
bushels; total for the state, 139,707
, $50 bushels. Rye-Average per acr'
E II bushels; total, 1,7e2,58o bushel
E Barley-Yield per are, 90 bushels
D total product, 14.34s,72O bushels. Fla
$ seed-Yield, II bushels per acre; tx
tai 1,l97,35O bushels. Tame Hay
s Average yield, Ia tons per acre; tota
3,56s.47O tons. Potatoes-Yield pc
), acre, y bushels; total :tput, 1O,776
:, 200 bushels. The final report is likel
e to show increase, rather than d