Macon County IL Archives News.....Macon County Notes June 19, 1877
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The Inter-Ocean [Chicago IL] June 19, 1877
Circuit Court Doings - Brilliant Meteor — The Crops — Obituary, Etc. 
            I
Correspondence of The Inter Ocean

Decatur, Ill., June 16, 1877.

Circuit Court drags its slow length along. Between planting and fishing little 
timo is left for litigation, yet some noted cases have been disposed of. The 
Hackett murder trial resulted in abolishing a saloon and recruiting an able-
bodied culprit for Joliet for eight years. Dr. Black, who runs a little drug 
store and doctors a little, chiefly on Sundays, when he prescribes whisky, got 
a chance to rest in jail for thirty days and pay up a few hundred to help the 
county revenues. Nick Webber, a noted German beer-gardener, was sent up for 
sixty days and $440 for running his garden stuffs on Sunday, etc. This was a 
direct thrust at those who forget that the roilly Sangamon is not the blue 
Rhine of Faderland, and they feel terribly outraged. Then the Toledo, Wabash 
and Western Railroad Company were fined $1,000 for charging too much passenger 
tariff. And our County Clerk was somehow so imposed upon that he issued a 
marriage license to a youth of 20 to marry a sweet maid of 40, for which 
offense the court, on complaint of  the youth's father, adjudged that a fine 
of $300 would square accounts; the case goes up to the Supreme Court. A few 
days ago, on motion of the Hon. A. B. Burns, the court directed the County 
Attorney to procure fishworms for the use of the bench and bar, while they 
waited for the docket to overtake court. And now, just to add variety, Mr. 
Pekin, of Macon, has got into the court of the Methodist Church, and yesterday 
the Master in Chancery, J. Augustus Brown, went down to defend him, while the 
church was to be represented by Mr. _____. It is said Pekin has somehow been 
seduced by whisky and women from the paths of grace. Whether the women were of 
the household of faith or not, we are unadvised, but the whisky was 
undoubtedly an unconverted article.

Last Monday night our city was paid a flying visit by a most beautiful, 
brilliant meteor. It appeared about a foot in diameter, and of bluish cast, 
and full of scintillations. It appeared due north, about forty-five degrees 
high, and sailed slowly eastward, leaning about thirty degrees high and twenty 
degrees north of east. It occupied about 3 1/2 minutes in the passage, leaving 
us about 15 minutes past eight.

Corn is growing finely, and many are plowing it, yet there are many who are 
still planting. The hail and rain of last Saturday did no damage here.

On the 12th inst. W. D. Hamilton, Esq., an old and esteemed citizen of 
Wheatland, died. He was a wheel-horse among the grangers of this section, and  
was well known in all parts of the State.

There has been quite a fluttering here among the friends of General Moore, 
lest he should lose his pension office and have to return to the ministry, and 
your Washington dispatches are read with great eagerness. A great many feel 
that the salary is enough for the General and Miss Sweet too - more than they 
could make at anything else. Why not keep up two offices? As for keeping Moore 
in to "appease" any one, that is all nonsense. In fact, politics don't run 
very high now in this part of Illinois. Most Republicans think if there is no 
way of protecting such men as Judge Chisholm by the U.S. authority, there 
ought to be; and a few can't see any civil service reform in the trade of 
Pitkin for Jack Wharton; and they think the contraction policy of Sherman 
ruinous. All these points cool down Republicans. Hence in the judicial 
question now pending, no questions will be asked. In fact, we are not likely 
to have much fourth of July.

The European war news seems to be the absorbing topic and in this regard THE 
INTER OCEAN takes precedence of all other papers. It is a matter of common 
remark that "THE INTER OCEAN has the heels of all other Western papers on war 
news."

In regard to crops: The apple and peach crop is a failure here; the small-
fruit crop is light; potatoes look well; wheat promises well now, so do oats; 
corn is very late, but a great acreage is out. The weather now is favorable. 
Business is very dull, money is scarce, and interest rates are
enormous on short time. Very truly, X.S.


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