The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-18
NEGRO ATTEMPTS
 ID POISON FAMILY Puts Paris Green In Pot of
 Boiled Cabbage SHERIFF MAKES MISTAKE Buys Rubber-Tired Buggy and Now There Is a Rush of Candidates for
 His office-chicken Craze
 Reaches TaIladesa.
SHERIFF MAKES MISTAKE

Iailadega, January 17-fSpecial) )-Some
 time since Zeke Maxwell. a negro boy
 about 15 years old came to Talladega
 rom Sylacauga and obtained employ
 ment at the home of Mrs Puckett. an
 estimable white lady, member of one
 or the oldest families of the city. The
 negro boy claimed that his parents were dead. Mrs. Puckett put him to doing chores about the house and place. short while since she noticed tba hoy handling some Paris Green and admon- isned nm to be careful with it, as it
 was deadly poison, and nothing more was thought of the incident until after when Mrs. PuclSett had occasion to chas- use the boy for some trifiing offense The 1 boy went off sullen and muttering, Last Saturday the cook served cabbage for dinner and she observed the boy hanging about with some Paris green in his DOS session. When the cook put the cab
 bage on the stove to warm them over for supper she noticed that they did not look right, and called the attention of Mrs Puckett to the peculiar appearance
 of the cabbage. Suspicion being aroused the cabbage was not used, but a physi- clan was sent for who pronounced the cabbage as being poisoned with Paris green. The boy was arrested and con fessed that he had put the poison in the cabbage while he was angry He said that while he was mad at her he put in the Paris green with the intention of killing her. but that afterwards he got in good humor and intended to tell her about the presence of the poison. but that he forgot it. Maxwell was ar | rested and locked up in default of $1oO0 bond.
 The woods are full of candidates for
 sheriff in this county. It isn't such a
 goodpaying office. nor is it an easy job, but eight or ten first-class citizens seem
 to want the place. Probably the aggre- gate fees of the office will amount to about $500 per year. The present sher- if, "Billee'' Middleton, the smallest and
 cleverest sheriff in Alabama, some time ago bought a fancy pony and rubber
 tired buggy for himself and any other
 person who might ride with him ("BilIee" is bachefor) and it is thought this fact
 has induced candidates to believe that there is money in the office.
 The death of Mrs, J. E. Stone removed from Talladega one of the leading figures in Talladega society. She was a sister of George M. Cruikshank of the Ledger, and wife of J. Ed Stone, a prominent citizen of Talladega. Mrs. Stone was an active member of the foremost ladies' clubs of the city, and was universally beloved. All the societies with which she was connected sent beautiful floral offerings to the funeral service, and the
 most prominent people of the city laid her to rest.
 MT. and Mrs. Howard L. Smith left the city today for Anniston to make it their future home. MT. Smith was for
 meriy citizen of Anniston, but two years since he was offered and accepted the place of court reporter for the city court of Talladsga. One year since he married in Talladega Miss Annabel Van
 diver. MT. Smith takes a better posi-
 tion as court reporter in Annston. The
 younger social set of Talladega will great
 ly miss this couple, although the charm
 ing society of Anniston will gain by their
 removal.
 The poultry craze has about reached
 this city. For years Talladega has been
 quite shipping point for poultry from
 Clay county, but no one near here seemed
 to be ready to embark in the chicken
 business. Burt Henderson of the post
 office year more since began to
 breed the Buff Orphingtons. J. A. Wood
 ward, NJ Jackson and Sam McClerkin
 tried the Rhode Islands Red. George
 Dunglinson bred the Barred Plymouth
 Rock and Dr. Charles Northern began
 to experiment with the White Orpington.
 Now there is mad outbreak of anna
 teur fanciers, each of whom want a
 strain different from his neghbor. In the
 meantime the wire-bed-spring chicken
 weighing three-Quarters of a pound, is
 yet imported from Clay county, and
 readily sells on the market at from 30 to
 40 cents regardless of It's weight. When one of these mongrei fowls gets out of a coop it requires an aeroplane and a ten
 acre field full of little ntgger boys to catch it. There would be far more re- ligion among the gardeners of Talladega if it wasn't for these predatory Clay county chickens.