Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-05
A Fish Story.

Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune: While
engaged in cleaning out the reservoir
in the rear of the pumping station of
the city waterworks last Friday Street
Commissioner higgins had rather
peculiar experience. When he got to
the bottom Of the huge storage basin
he noticed number of fish trying to
burrow into the soft mud. This sight
excited his appetite for fish, and Wis
ions of catfish steaks began to float
before him. He made an effort to
catch some of the fishy denizens of the
deep, but was unsuccessful until one
great giant of catfish, weighing
twenty-one pounds, literally leaped in
to his arms. Fred held on tight, and
he and his piscatoral prize were haul
ed out. Seven other large fish of the
same species were taken out of the
well. 1t is supposed that they came
in through the intake.
Spirit Lake Beacon: No resident Of
this section can recall a season in
which nature made a record better
than this year. All grains have grown
large stalks and with the exception of
wheat, which is fair crop, small grain
never matured a larger yield. Corn is
booming along to great results. So
great has been the growth that fields
badly smitten by frost in June have
largely recovered and will probably
make record of generation in quail
ity and yield. Grass has made great
pastures and bountiful hay crop. The
trees are recording growth such as
is ordinarily made in two or more sea-
sons combined In this part of Iowa
1902 will long be regarded as record
breaker in natural production.
Joe Trigs: 1t is great help when
trying to sing gospel hymn when
milking in fly time to have string so
fastened to the stall post that the
cows tail can be kept from switch
ng and swiping your face
Alton Democrat: M. D. Gibbs
brought in from his garden a rhubarb
leaf almost three feet across. 1t is
larger than lady's parasol and the
stalk is as big as a mans wrist. North.
west Iowa will soon be a tropical coun.
try. Mr. Gibbs says adam and Eve
were not SO bad off''-and they surely
were not if they had such leaves to
draw on. Two of them would make
pair of pants.
Greenfield Transcript: A great many
people in this county predicted a year
ago that Adair county land had reach
ed the top prices and would depreciate
in value because of the fact, as they
fhnnUhf fhof 1onI hoI Enr
ure at which it had ceased to be
paying investment. This theory has
been entirely disproved during the past
year. Adair county land is still adj
vancing in price and, as we recently
heard a farmer say, "a man who
wants to keep his farm doesn't dare to
put price on it, A large number of
Adair county farmers, have taken adj
vantage of what they thought was
temporary boom and sold their farms.
buying land agan in the new countries
of the north, south and west, and next
spring will see many of these men
back in Adair county buying farms at
considerable advance over what they
sold for year before
Keasanqua Republican: 1t rains and
it shines and it shines and it rains,
little more of the rain than shine. But
after all it isn't as monotonous as it
was this time last year. Then it was
all shine. Do you remember? We do.
And we remember that We heard some
persons say then that no difference
how much it rained thereafter, they
wouldn't grumble. Scarcely twelve
months have passed, yet most of these
people are grumbling now as energet-
ically as they did year ago.
WHY A NEW PARTY?