New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-08-13
THE ABDUCTED CEfILD
ABDUCTRESS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED

The mail boat from Mobile yesterda,
morning brought over, among its other pas
sengers, Special Officer Jourdain, one of til,
aids of Superintendent Badger, and Mrs
Louisa Murray, the woman supposed t.
have been the principal in the late abduc
ton case, and charged by Colonel Badger
with being accessory to it.
A railroad and a cab ride brought the ac
cused to the Superinteuden's Office, and thu
alleged abductress was at length in the
hands of the New Orleans police.
When her sister, Ellen Follin, was arrested
enough was accidentally dropped by un
willing witnesses to give the Superintendent,
the cue to the existence and probable i'm
| plication in the case Of this Mobile sister OF
the first prisoner. AS quietly as he has
managed the whole affair the chief man
aged this new development. He made in
person an affidavit against Louisa Murray,
alias Follin, and receiving requisition
| from the Governor, started Officer Jourtlain
without delay. There was no trouble ex-
perienced by the officer on his arrival. The
sympathy of the police there had already
been excited in the case of Mr. Digby. and
they rendered their earnest assistance to
the officer His papers were passed through
| all the fOrmalities almost without examina-
ton, and he found himself at liberty to
arrest Louisa Murray He judged, and
judged correctly, that she had had no COM
municatiOn with her sister or other parties
in New Orleans, and he determined. if DOS
sible, to surprise her by making his first
| 1,oC~, t.
| acter.
He dropped in on the lady most unex-
| pectedly. with the kind intention of giving
| her the latest news from her sister in New
| Orleans, and certainly none could better
| have given that latest news than the man
who had participated in the events of which
| he came to tell. He informed Mrs Murray
| that her sister was in trouble. and explained
| the nature of the trouble. Almost without
| hesitation his hostess started into vigor-
Ous defense of her absent sister. The child,
she said. had been left at her sisters
| door while she herself was in her
sisters house three weeks before, and
the child had been forced on her
| sister by accident. A strange woman
had come to the gate and asked to leave
the child, etc. 1.-THE old story. The officer
blandly explained that this statement disa-
greed with her sisters in the very important
and three weeks. He was cruel enough to
add that the young lady who had accom-
panied her from Mobile to her sisters house
| in New Orleans had stated that she Houisa)
found the child at her sisters house when
they got there, and seemed to know it well
enough to call it Camelia. Many other
little statements the officer made, truth
fully remarking that they originated
with the different members of Ellen
| EOl1iD's family and N har afforts 70 v,oI-a
all these stories agree. and make her own
agree with them, this sharp and active
business woman was betrayed into all kinds
OF Inconsistencies. and finally gave up the
effort, remarking to the officer in hopeless
way, that there must be some mistake. She
made no effort to impede her transfer to
New Orleans. and although she might have
taken advantage of technicalities to delay
her departure. She was too much shaken
to make the effort.
Mrs. Murray was well dressed when she
arrived here. There was nothing gaudy or
snowy about her appearance, but a display
of excellent taste. Shortly after her arrival
at the Superintendent's office she was inter
viewed by the Chief himself She was still
composed, and held out well to her story
1t had now become a sort of harmonizing to
agree as much as possible with the conflict
ing stories of her relatives. as she had
heard them from Officer JOurdain. She was
not sure of her facts. however. and again
involved herself in mass of contradic-
tiOns. For example. she said that the
child was left at the house the
morning before she left town
to return to Mobile, while her sister Ellen
is equally certain that the child was left at
the gate in the evening Mrs. Murray in
sists that she was here in New Orleans
when the child was stolen. Her sister
Ellen assured the police that Louisa was
not here, but on the contrary, was at her
home in Mobile when Mr.. Digby's child was
carried of.
1t is hardly necessary to give resume of
the story, but to understand the vital con-
tradictiOn on the part of all the witnesses,
it may be well to show the dates at which
the several parties saw the child at the
house of Mrs. Follin.
Louisa Murray saw her there on july 25.
John Blass said she had been in the house
a month.
The old woman cook was certain it was
three weeks.
Ellen Follin's youngest son. agreed with
the cook.
The lady boarder saw it there on July %.
iShe came to the house with louisa Muir
ray.)
Ellen Follin herself saws the child came
into her possession on August =.
1t is useless to comment upon the above
circumstances-vital ones to the parties
whose liberty and civil rights are in danger,
and Inconsistencies which can only be set
tied by jury.
Between nine and ten o'clock in the morn
ing, COlOdel Badger took Louisa into his
cab and they started for Mr.. Digby's house
on Howard street. AS they neared the
vicinity. people who had nothing to do. and
some who had. quickly suspecting the object
of the Superintendent's visit, followed in
the wake of the cab: and ne turned into
Howard street with large crowd following.
The scenes which followed the recovery of
the child were repeated, and dense crowd
soon filled the streets.
Colonel Badger took the woman into Mrs.
Digby's parlor, and that gentleman almost
after entered with the child in
his arms. The conversation was as fol
lows:
Mr.. Digby-Madame. do YOU know this
child
Louisa-Ycs, l saw it at my sisters
house.
Mr.. Digby-When did You see it there?
Louisa-Three weeks ago next Tuesday. |
MIR. Digby-Are you aware that your sis
ter says she did not have it in her house I'M
til week ago last Tuesday: how do you ac-
count for that
Louisa-I don't know anything about |
that: there is some mistake
Mr.. Digby said very little more. and one |
Or two OF the parties who claimed to have |
seen the child in the hands of a woman on
June .. the day she was stolen, were |
:alled on.
A lady. who goes by the name of ''Sukey'
among her neighbors, stated that Louisa
was not the woman.
Aunt Jane also testified that Louisa was
lot the woman she had seen with the child.
In the mp1ptJmp ('olnDpl RoGuar na aI dis
patched hrs cab to the confectionery estab-
conner of Ramnart and Canal.