The Newark Journal
O. F. Craig, Editor.
Assessor’s Notice.
u^Tot|ce Is hereby given that I will
atiend in person, orl>y deputy, at the
usual voting places in the various
townships iii^ Independence county.
Arkansas, for the purpose of taklug a
list of the personal property of each
resident of said township and the per
capitia tax of such us are liable to pay
same for the year 1904, on the days
and dates specified below:
Washington township at Calaway’s
Store Monday and Tuesday, June 6th
and 7 th.
Stubbs township at Cushman, Wed
nesday, June 8.
Union township Salt Peter School
House, Thursday, June 9,
Jefferson township J. P. Montgom
ery’s store. Friday, June 10.
Gainsboro township, Moorefleld, Sat
urday, June 11.
Gainsboro township, Sharp postof
fice, Monday’ June 13.
Gainsboro township, Ham's school
house, Tuesday, June 14.
Ashley township, brewer's school
house Wednesday, June 15.
Barren township, (iray's store,
Thursday and Friday, June Hi and 17.
Black Itiver township, Charlotte,
Saturday, June 18.
Black River township, Walnut
Grove, Monday, June 20.
Black River tow.iship,»Cord, Tues
day, June 21.
Logan township, Logan school
bouse, Wednesday, June 22.
White River township, Sulphur
Rock, Thursday, Friday and Saturday,
June 23, 24 and 26.
Greenbrier township, Desha, Mon
day, June 27.
ureenorier townsnip, Jamestown,
Tuesday and Wednesday, June 28 and
29.
Relief township, Covcrston school
house, Thursday. June 30.
Liberty township, Floral, Friday,
July 1.
Fair view township. Pleasant Plains,
Saturday, July 2.
tairview township, Pleasant Plains,
Monday, July 4.
Salado township, Salado, Tuesday,
July 5.
Salado township, Rosie. Wednesday,
July 6. _ -
ChristianTownship. Smith's school
house, Thursday, July 7.
Christian township, Oil Trough,
Friday, July 8.
Oil Trough township, Elmo, Satur
day, July 9.
Big Bottom township. Newark,Mon
day, Tuesday and Wednesday, July
11, 12 and 13.
Ruddell township, BatesviUe,Thurs
day, Friday and Saturday, July 14, 15
and 16.
And at my office in Batesville July
17 to 28. after which time all persons
failing to list will be subject to a pen
alty.
You must assess in person. Each
person will have to swear to his or
her assessment, and each person will
be required to give number of school
district. School Directors will please
furnish list of tax-payers at precinct
on first day of assessment.
JAKE MAGNESS, Assessor.
Independence County, Arkansas.
Lodge Directory.
Newark Camp W.O.W. No. 288 meets
second and fourth Tuesday nights in
each month. E. H. Magness, C. C.;
O. F. Craig, Clerk.
Independence Lodge No. 2379 K. k
L. of H. meets first and tnird Monday
nights in each month. K. H. William
son, Protector; Mrs. Jennie Pascoe,
Reporter.
A. D. HOLLAND,
Dentist,
Newport, - Arkansas
J. T. MILLER,
Physician and Surgeon
Office Back of John Martin’s Store.
Residence Phone No. 03.
Office Phone_No. 70.
CALLS PROMPTLY ATTENDED.
M. B. Owens F. M. Owens !
OWENS & OWENS,
Physicians and Surgeons
Office adjoining
Sisk & Williamson
Magness Arkansas
DR. W. P. LAWTON |
Offerb his proressional services to the
citizens of Newark and vicinity. |
Diseases of Women and Children
a specialty. Office in the Racket Store.
Residence formerly the Jake Magness
place. Residence phone 83; office 19.
Many Farms Inundated.
The present high stage of the
; Arkansas river lias caused great
disaster to befall runny farmers
' along its route. So sudden was the
* rise that many people living along
I
the stream did not have time to
save their stoek and household
goods. From above Fort Smith
to the moutli of the river thousands
of acres of corn, cotton and other
products have been destroyed. At
Fort Smith the river reached a stage
of 33.3 feet, a rise of over 14 feet
in thirty-six hours. The water cut
through the north bank at Van Hu
ron, flooding a large area. At Lit
tle Hock, on the south side above
the Iron Mountain bridge, the wa
ter hacked up through a bayou and
Hooded a large section west of the
union station. Several manufac
turing plants are located in this ter
ritory, which were considerably
damaged. In North Little Rock
the water ran over the banks and in
the eastern part of the city several
families had to abandon their homes,
«md the water reached the first floor
of a number of business houses
and flooded the streets for some
distance. Nothing like a cor
rect estimate of the damage done
can be made until the water
recedes. The flood coming this
late in the season will prevent
the replanting of thousands of acres
of cotton, which had been brought
to its growth by the expenditure of
a vast sum of money. The Choctaw
experienced some difficulty in get
ting trains through west of Little
lfock, and on the White River
branch of the Iron Mountain sever
al small slides are reported west
of Batesville. The Frisco, Kansas
City Southern, Fort Smith and
al small slides were reported west
temporarily abandon service. Heavy
losses are reported by farmers along
the White, Black, Red and Ouachi
ta rivers. The sudden rise of all
these streams was due to heavy rains
in Indian Territory and other west
ern states, and heavy rains in this
state.
Notwithstanding hundreds of
men were kept at work on lands be
low Little Rock, the mighty force
of the water cut through at several
places. The river at Little Rock
reached the highest stage of which
there is any official record. It is
estimated at least 30,000 acres of
cotton along the Arkansas river
alone has been ruined. The own
ers of the overflowed lands are pre
paring to plant fast maturing corn
or cow peas as soon as the water
recedes. Where the cotton has been
ruined there will be no replanting
of this crop.
Believes He Is Porsued By Ghost.
John Whitehead, a fanner, liv
ing near Texarkana, has been driv
en insane from brooding over the
killing of a young farm hand about
four years ago, who was in his em
ploy. Whitehead accused the young
man of being intimate with his
sister, and told him he must
marry her or die. The young fel
low emphatically denied the accu
sation and refused to inarrv the
voung woman, whereupon White
head shot him down in his tracks.
The grand jury indicted the slayer
for murder in the degree and
after lying in Jail for the better
part of two years he was finally
tried and acquitted. He now has
the hallucination that the ghost
of his victim is following him about,
threatening to kill him.
Railroad Contract Let.
The Arizona Construction and
Improvement Company lias been
awarded th« contract for grading
and constructing the proposed St.
Louis, Little Rock and Gulf rail
road from Little Rock to Winnfield,
La. Sub-contracts will be let for
portions of the work and it is stated
by President Shaner that actual
work will begin in the next few
weeks on that part from Little Rock
south to Sheridan.
: Bankrupt Sent to Jail.
j In pursuance of an order made
; by Judge Trieber and approved by
the circuit court of appeals, G. H.
Schweer, a bankrupt, is confined
in the Pulaski county jail. On
February 13, 1903, Judge Trieber
ordered Schweer to turn over to
the trustees of his estate the sum
of $15,607.61, or be committed for
contempt. An appeal was taken to
the United States circuit court of
appeals, and the decision was af
firmed March 26 last. Upon re
ceipt of the mandate Judge Trieb
er gave Schweer until the 10th
inst. to comply with the order. On
the above date Schweer appeared
and, stating he had no money, was
remanded to jail, where he will re
main until further order of the
court. lie was formerly a mer
chant at Montrose, and later agent
for the Iron Mountain at Monti
eello.
G. A. R. Encampment
The twenty-second annual en
campment of the department of Ar
kansas, G. A. It., was held at Lit
tle Rock on the 8th inst. The ses
sion was held behind closed doors
and beyond the election of officers
and the selection of a place for the
next meeting, nothing of general in
terest transpired. The officers elect
ed are: Department commander,
Ed T. Wolfe, Mena; Senior vice
commander, Frank Pease, Silver
City; Junior vice commander. S. P.
Beck. Conway; medical director, Dr.
A. D. Thomas. Little Rock; chap
lain, W. S. Bartholomew, Mans
field ; delegates to national encamp
ment at Boston, D. C. Rugg of Hot
Springs and F. W. Tucker of Little
Rock. After the business session,
visiting comrades were entertained
at Glenwood Park by McPherson
Post Xo. 10.
Early Morning Fire,
At an early hour on the morning
of the 5th inst. fire at Pine Bluff
destroyed the J. A. Homes Grain
Company's warehouse and the large
warehouse of the Puddephat Furni
ture Company. The fire originated
in the building of the Holmes com
pany, whose loss on building is
$5,000 and on stock $6,000, par
tially covered by insurance. The
furniture company's loss is esti
mated at $5,000 on building and
$30,000 on stock, which is also par
tially covered by insurance.
Peace Maker Killed.
George Newby accidentally kill
ed Will Walker on the Joe Long
farm near Lonoke. Both negroes
had been to the store of Gov. Eagle
at Pettus and had started home.
Walker mounted a mule behind
Newbv and rode home with him.
After entering the house Newby
and his wife engaged in a quarrel
and Newby drew his gun to shoot
her and instead shot Walker, who
was trying to part them. The cor
oner’s jury turned Newby loose on
the ground that the killing was ac
cidental.
Little Rock Mu Won.
At the shooting tournament held
at Camden, in the contest for the
south Arkansas individual medal, J.
B. Speers of Pine Bluff and John
Pemberton of Little Bock tied, each
breaking twenty-five straight. In
the shoot-off Pembertan won, with a
score of twenty-three, against
Spears’ nineteen out of twenty-five.
Sold Stolen Watches.
A man giving his name as Gil
bert Barrett was arrested at Little
Bock on the charge of disposing of
two watches stolen from a jewelry
store at Jonesboro. Barrett signed
a statement to the effect that he se
cured the cratches from a place
where they were hid by two men,
who are serving time for burglariz
ing the jewelry store.
Suit Involving land Title Settled.
Judge Trieber of the federal
court last week decided a case in
volving the title to nearly a million
and a quarter acros of land in dif
ferent parts of this state. The
lands involved were those granted
to the old St. Louis and Memphis
Railroad Company in 1873. Title
Was claimed by the grantees of the
railroad company on the ground
that they had not been forfeited.
Judge Trieber decided against the
railroad company grantees and in
favor of the present owners, the
defendants. The suit was brought
by the railroad company grantees.
The suit was hied in the eastern di
vision of the eastern district of the
federal court, at Helena, about
three years ago, and has been pend
ing since that time. The plaintiff,
whose name is Runnels, is a resi
dent of another state, and the de
fendants were Adelia Boiee and
Alberta Shark. The actual num
ber of acres involved in this suit
was between 10,000 and 12,000.
The actual question involved was
the validity of the deeds to this
old St. Louis and Memphis Railroad
Company. The road was surveyed
from Hoxie to Memphis, but was
never built. The survey was after
ward taken by the Kansas City,
Fort Scott and Memphis railroad,
now the Frisco. The total deeds se
cured by the road in 1873 are said
to have been about twelve hundred
thousand acres. The deeds contain
cd the condition trm the road
should be built and completed with
in three years. Stock and bonds in
the road were to be issued in pay
ment for the lands. In this par
ticular case the original owners
were the heirs of Edmond McGehee.
They sold this 10,000 acres to Hor
ace it. Allen in 1881. The de
fendants in the suit, Mrs. Adelia
Boiee and Mrs. Alberta Shark, are
the grantees of Alien. Allen re
deemed the land and paid the taxes
until ho sold it. The old railroad
company conveyed the lands to
Runnels, who brought the suit. The
defendants contended that the con
dition in the deed was in law a
“precedent condition;” that no title
was ever vested; that it was not to
be vested until the road was built,
and that as the road wa^ never built
the title was never vested in the
railroad company. Judge Trieber
held that this was the proper view
of the case, and decided that the
title never did vest in the railroad
company.
Mineral Products of Arkansas.
A bulletin issued by the census
bureau on mines and quarries in
the United States credit this state
with 120 mines, quarries and wells,
which give employment to 2,044
men and boys, whose annual wages
amount to $1,945,479. The prod
uct of these mines for the fiscal
year 1902 amounted to $2,840,341.
It is estimated the mineral prod
ucts of Arkansas for 1903 amount
ed to nearly $5,000,000.
Offer Bobus tor Railroad Shops
The citizens of Little Kock have
agreed to raise a bonus of $100,
000, on condition the shops and
general offices of the St. Louis, Lit
tle Rock and Gulf railroad l*o lo
cated in that city for a period of
fifty years. The proposed road is
to be eventually a continuous line
through the state to the Gulf coast.
William Flippin, a planter, was
drowned while endeavoring to save
some stock on his farm near Van
Huron.
Herliert, the four-year-old son of
Poley Lindley, near Springdale,
was kicked by a horse and lived
only about fifteen minutes after
ward.
Law Students Graduate.
At the close of the term of the
law department, University of Ar
kansas, the following students grad
uated : James Campbell Brook
field, John Bruce Cox, Herbert
Thackeray Duval, Horatio Hugh
Hadcn, Wallace Graves Hughes,
James Ilickerson Johnson, Edgar
Lafayette McHaney, Thomas Clark
Trirr.hle and Ross Huffinaster.
YOWELL HANGED.
All Efforts to Secure Commutation
to Life Imprisonment Un
suc;essful.
Mart Vowel 1 was hanged at Par
agould on the 9th inst. for the mur
der of William Lovejoy August 11,
1903.
Vo well remained cool to the end
and died game. The trap was
sprung at 5:40 p. m.
The condemned man snoke in a
clear voice to those present, as fol
lows:
“This is the first and last sptech
of my life. I am ready to die. I
will prove that I am courageous. I
did not sleep last night, but will
soon reach a place where sleep is not
necessarv. Friends, mv death is
physical, not spiritual. If you want
to meet me again, do right, live right
and meet me in heaven. I do not
blame the officers ; they have treated
me right. I hope my execution will
benefit all who are leading wild lives.
Farewell to this earth and good-by
to all.”
It is probable such strong pres
sure was never before brought to
bear upon a chief executive of this
state to save the life of a condemned
man as was brought to bear upon
Gov. Davis in Vowel l's behalf.
Vowel 1 was an ex-Confederate sol
dier under Gen. Forrest, a Mason
and Odd Fellow. Friends in Clay
and Greene county, after the su
preme court had approved the ver
dict of the lower court, presented
a petition to the governor with
1.200 signatures praying that his
sentence he commuted to life impris
onment. Vowell’s wife, daughters
and brothers begged that his life be
not taken under the law, and thous
ands of old veterans added their
prayers and appeals for mercy, but
the governor, after hearing all these
pleas and reviewing the ease as pre
sented by the court records and the
friends of the murdered man, re
fused to interfere, and the mandate
of the law was carried out.
Vowell and Lovejoy lived in the
same neighborhood in Clay county,
near Kec-tor. While Constable Vow
ell and Lovejoy became enemies,
and on August 11 Vowell armed
himself and went in search of bis
victim. When he came upon Love
joy, Vowell -hot him down, appar
ently without giving him a chance
to defend himself.
Vowell was taken before a justice
of the peace and released on $2,000
bond. A few weeks later, when
Clay county circuit court met. the
grand jury returned an indictment
against Vowell for murder in the
second degree.
The presiding judge, Hon. Allen
Hughes, refused to accept this ac
tion of the g raj id jury, and after
their refusal to indict for a higher
offense than the second degree, the
body was discharged. Judge Hughes
then ordered the sherilf to summons
another grand jury, and this body
returned nn indictment against
Vowell for murder in the first de
gree.
Vowel 1 secured a change of venue
to Greene county, and at his trial
last fall he was convicted and sen
tenced to he hanged. Vowel 1 ap
pealed to the supreme court, and
that tribunal sustained the verdict
of the lower court.
After reviewing the case and hear
ing arguments of counsel for and
against Vowell, Gov. Davis decided
not to interfere, and last May issued
a proclamation fixing June 9 as the
day of execution. The condemned
man’s friends did not cease to exert
themselves in his behalf until with
in a few moments of his execution.
Mart Vowell was born in Tennes
see April 16, 1844. He enlisted in
the Confederate army when he was
19 years old and served until the
close of the war. He was a member
of the twenty-first eavalerv, Wilson’s
regiment, Bell’s brigade, Forrest’s
command. He participated in the
Price Crossroads battle, and during
this fight suffered a severe sunstroke.
He was a member of the Methodist
church for many years. He was a
member of Macedonia lodge No.
241, I. 0. 0. F., and of Macedonia
lodge No. 557, F. & A. M.