Local Brevities

Alfred Paul claims to have raised the largest crop of oats and wheat on the gravel road.

The Old Bachelors, of Northfield, will hold a picnic next Wednesday afternoon in the orchard of Toto Wallacee. Everybody invited.

The Ann Arbor road showed an increase of $13,096 in earnings during July over the corresponding month last year, or 15 per cent.

Some mean man abandoned an old horse on Chubb st. It was taken in charge by Marshal Gerstner, who will have to dispose of the animal.

One of the chief speakers at the Mission festival to be given in the Bethlehem church Sunday September 17 will be Dr. Paul Menzer, of Richmond, Va. He is particularly well known as being the only divine in the party when Kaiser William visited the holy land.

F. E. Mills, secretary of the Washtenaw Fair has opened an office over Mann Bros. drug store on S. Main st. Mr. Mills is now devoting all his time to the interests of the fair. If every citizen will assist this will be the finest exhibition ever given. Washtenaw is a rich county and a good showing of its varied products will help the price of property.

The Ladies' Society of the Bethlehem church have arranged to give a trolley party to Detroit Wednesday Sept. 17. The party will leave the crossing on Fourth ave. near the church at 7:45 o'clock local time and return from Detroit at 6 o'clock p. m. Arrangements have been made for a special car. They will visit the German home for orphans and 'aged people. In addition other points of interest will be visited as the car will be at their disposal for the day.

Ex-County Clerk Arthur Brown in speaking of the books in the register of deeds office said he did not think there was mnch danger that the books would be ever damaged by fire, but he did think that they would some time be ruined by water if there ever was a fire in the building. This could be prevented if metal cases were used. They would be much more convenient than shelves. When closed at night they would be water tight, and if water was thrown in the office the books could not be hurt. This is a subject that interests every property owner in Washtenaw county.

The assault and battery case of the people vs. Etta Crosby was tried before Justice Childs Monday and resulted in verdict of guilty as charged against the defendant. The care grew out of a report alleged to have been circulated by Mrs. Julia Talbot, the complaint, to the effect that the defendant was in batning with the complainants husband and that neither party had on the regulation bathing suit. This report coming to the ears of the defendant angered her and she and her mother went to the home of Mrs. Talbot to vindicate the good name of Etta Crosby. Etta called the Talbot woman a liar and then struck her. Thereupon the Talbot woman had Etta Crosby arrested for assault and battery. The parties are all colored. The defense undertook to prove that the Talbot woman struck the first blow, Mrs. Crosby and her daughter both so testified. But when the father of the girl was placed on the stand there appeared an important discrepancy between his testimony and that of his wife and daughter as to the time and place was the first blow was struck. The complainant swore positively that Etta Crosby struck the first blow after first calling her a liar. As the case progressed it became apparent that there was a case of assault and battery all right and the jury was out only a few minutes when a verdict of guilty as charged was brought in. The court fined the defendant $1 and costs, the whole amounting to $16.80, or if the fine be not paid at once, 30 days in the county jail.

From Wednesday's Daily Argus.

The statue of Ben Franklin is still in Superintendent Reeves' warehouse. Mr. Reeves says he won't let Ben get out until he has been filled up with plaster, which will make him solid with the boys.

Suit bas been commenced in the circuit court by Stowell Wood by his attorney, G. W. TurnBull against Eugene B. Freer for 85,000 damages for slander. Wood claims that Freer made serious charges against his acter of a nature not fit to print and that the same are not true and he wants damages.

Anton Schiappiacasse, of N. Main st., died last evening. The funeral services will be held tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock in St. Thomas' Catholic church. Mr. Schiapiacasse has resided in Ann Arbor for many years. He commenced as a peanut vender and by industry aud frugality acquired considerable property. Everybody liked "Tony" and he had a smile for, everybody. He has been sick for some time and it is believed he suffered from a cancer of the stomach. He leaves a widow and a number of children.

Rev. H. E. Hinman, of Whitier, California, was in the city yesterday greeting friends. Mr. Hinman is engaged at present in booming the California excursion business. He is largely interested in the fruit canning business. He says they peel all the peaches by hand. If the women and girls make too thick a peeling they are docked. They become very expert. The peach as well as the apricot stones are all shipped to Europe, the canning company receiving $7 a ton for them.

From Thursday's Daily Argus.

The 15th annual convention of the Milan, Exeter and London Sunday schools was held at the Milan M. E. church yesterday with about 300 present.

Hunter Jones, the Jackson colored man, who lost two legs and an arm by being run over by a freight car in this city some years ago, now walks with a pair of willow legs for the purchase of which the public contributed $125. He is now learning to walk again and is quite happy over it.

John G Fischer. the butcher of W. Huron st., says that this has been the hardest week this summer in ice. He has used more than on any previous week. The atmosphere has been so very sultry and it was difficult to keep meat.

George Aprill, the cider manufacturer, of Scio. was in the city today. He says he will start tomorrow to make jelly. He thinks the people west of the city are as much entitled to rural free mail delivery as those of any other region. Mr. Aprill is very much in earnest about this and "Meinself and Heinrick" had better get a hustle.

'Major Geo. W. Chandler, of Detroit, special agent for several fire insurance companies, was in town Tuesday last and transferred the agency of the Baloise Fire Insurance Co., of Basle, Switzerland. from F., T. McOmber to Z. P. King's agency. Mr. King now represents, in addition to his American companies, three large European Fire Insurance Co. 's

The will of Rev. John Bradshaw, who died July 8, has been filed for probate. The estate is estimated at 1,000 personal and $200 real estate. He gives his son Rev. John W. Bradshaw his library excepting such books as his widow may choose. He is to receive one half of the estate the other half to be in trust for the use of his adopted daughter and after her death to go to the children of Rev. John W. Bradshaw. The will is witnessed by John Ross and George W. Sweet, and the two codicils by Noah W. Cheever and Simon Seeger and Spence Sweet and Beulah B. Davis Rev. John W. Bradshaw, Mrs. John Bradshaw and Noah V. Cheever are nominated as executors.