New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-02-13
Story of a strayed chile.

Late last autumn a farmer living near the Adj
rondacks, in New York State, went out to cut
timber on the mountains in remote and solitary
locality. He took his son along with him. d little
boy of about four years of age. After having
been employed for a short time, he missed the
child, who had been amusing himself in chasing a
lid which he found on the hill, and he became
alarmed lest he should have fallen into one of the
many ravines, or stumbled over some of the many
rocks or precipices with which the place abonnds.
No trace OF the boy, however. could be found.
In vain did he call upon his name, for no answer
was returned. The anxiety Of the father led him
from place to place with the utnlost rapidity,
sometimes finding the print of his sons little feet
on the leaves, but he never dreamed Of crossing
deep gorge, which runs on the south Of the locality
alluded to, down the steep side of the mountain
to the margin of the Hudson. sSsssS IL II
Over this gorge he conceived il impossible for
the child to make its way In the evening he
found means to send to the settlement an account
of the circumstances, and several humane persons,
accompanied by the distracted mother, came to
aid his search for the poor child in this wild and
rocky region. One Of them happening to cross
over the gorge alluded to, perceived there the
impression of the boys footsteps, and these were
occasionally traced all the way down to the mar
gin Of the Hudson, when they lost all trace Of the
unfortunate little wanderer, and were filled with
the most painful apprehensions that he must have
been carried off by the stream.
Going along its banks, and crossing raVines and
sleeps, which they conceived it almost impossible
the child could have passed and climbed, they
again found the prints of his naked feet on the
soft sand Of small riyulet; and, by applying a
measure which they had taken OF the former I'M
pressions, they found it exactly to correspond.
They were, therefore, induced still to 80 forward,
though they had now proceeded upward of four
miles from the place of their setting out; and
| they continued for the space of about another
mile. accompanied by the anxious father and
mother, without finding any further traces of the
| boy.
| Night was now coming down on the forest; and
| as the search had now continued eleven honrs,
Of five he7f of
| retracing their steps in despar-the distracted
| mother tearing her hair, and starting at every
white stone, and figuring to herself the spe6ter of
the torn corpse of her son at the bottom Of every
cliff or stream which they passed. At this time
one of the party who had been before the rest,
on looking into the stream Of the Hudson, found a
handkerchief around a stone in the channel of the
river which he recognized to be that of the child,
and had now little doubt that he would be found
drowned near this place in the stream.
He called the rest of the party TO approach; +;
when a little further down the bank he perceived
the boy with his feet in the water, and his head
resting on q stone, in quiet sleep. Johnny
Johnny!, cried the trembling father, s.are Won
his rocky pillow, exclaimed: .'Oh, fatheri is it
you? Why didn't you come to help me catch the
little kid 2? The little fellows cap was filed with
pebbles, with which he had pursued the kid from
rock to rock, from hill to hill, and through the
ravines for upward of five miles, barefooted, over
one of the most rugged tracks in the State, and
had been for twelve hours without tasting o NOR
sci of food. The sudden joy of the mother had
nearly cost her her life, but the young Wanderer
was found not to have suffered injury from his long
peregrination.