Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-03-18
tFrom the Abingdon Virgnlan.l
Katy Sage, the Lost Child.
Interesting Narrative.


been inserting Oh first page of the Nir-
ginian, each week, an original article,
upon some subject OF interest to our
readers, and among them the narra-
tives of Indian depredations upon the
early settlers of Southwestern Nir-
ginia. The following incidents, for
the particulars of which we are in
dcbted to DIR. Jas. w. Sage, Of Lee
county, are more thrillingly and sad
~ interesting than anything we have
yet published upon the subject of the
troubles Of the first settlers of this
once wild and romantic but now quiet
aud beautiful country.
Katy Sage was the daughter of
James and Louis Sage, who lived on
Fix Creek in what is now Grayson
county, in 1892. The morning of the
llth OF April in that year was bright
and balmy, the early wild flowers
were bursting into bloom, the song
birds We're trilling their melody in
the budding forest, the bespangled
trout were sporting i'm the crystal
waters OF the mountain stream, and
all was peaceful and joyous around
| the cabin Of the pioneer. The hus-
band and father was preparing his
clearing for the Summer crop, and
! the wife and mother arranging for
the days washing. She had gone to
the creek near by TO build II fire, leav-
| ing Katy, then only five years old,
chasing butterflies among the pea
vines in the garden. After starting
! the fire, the mother returned to the
house for the clOtncs she intended to
wash, when she missed the child she
had left sporting in the garden II short
| time before. After IA diiigent search
for some little distance around the
enclosure, she became alarmed and
called her husband from the field, and
D.. they both sought the missing little
one till night fell upon the scene, and
still no tidings. The weary hours oI
the night rolled on, the agon2el pa.
rents still calling, but no answer came
tocheer heirhearts. On the morrow
the neighb0rs gathered in, the coun-
try ut that day being sparsely populat
ed, but some 80 or 90 of them cam,
together, and for weeks searchc,
every cave and thicket and noun.
tAin.siIe, and stiil no tidiugs OF the
little wanderer.
AT last all gave up the search eX
cept the father, who continued it fol
months, passing over nearly every
square yard of ground for mile,
around with the melancholy hope
at least that the bones of the chile
might he found, which would be NOR,
satisfactory than the agoniZing sus.
pcnSe. In his wandering he heard OF
the fame of an old woman known by
the name of Granny Moses, wht
\ lived beyond the mountain in North
Carolina, and who was believed tc
possess the faculty ofrevealing all mys
terics and foretclling future events
He sought her out and consulted her
i After consulting her occult sciences,
she informed him that the child was
still living, but that he would never
see or hear of her, but that his wife
who would survive him, would hear
from, but would not see her, in hel
old age.
Time wore on, thirty-one years hat
passed, and in 1923 the father died
and still no tidingS of the lost one.
Time was still on the wing, and amid
the changes and vici>Situdrs ant
Startling events, the mysterious dis
appearance of Katy Sage was unrc
Nealtd In the meantime the family
became scattered-one of the sons
Sampson Sage, settling in Lee coun
ty, Samuel, another brother, settling
in Southern Missouri, and II third,
Charles Sage, finding Il home in til,
then Territory of Kansas. Year
swept on, and in 1851, Charles Sage
having business with the Govern,
, N.i.if.n,l tlA In,lf.A
the Kansas border. On entering the
office he attracted the attention %
the Agent, who asked him If he ha,
II sister or other relative among tn,
;, Indians, rs there WAS n white woman
among the Shawnccs who sometime,
visited the Agency, 20 whom he hOr,
Il most remarkable resemblance. IL,
informed the Agent that he was moi
aware of having such II relative, but
that, more than 90 years ago, he hat
u sister lost who hUdncvcr been hear,
Of The Agent, believing the woman
among the ShaWUCCs and the lost
child 10 Toe one aud the same, from
the remarkable resemblance, pro-
posed to have her sent for and tn,
mystery solved.
She was sent for, and came to tn,
Agency with mn Interpreter. Charlie,
Sage instantly believed her to he hi
lonp-lOst sister, from the strong fam
lily resemblance, got perm ,Ssion tt
take her home with him, and at one,
wrote to his brother Samuel to com,
to Kansas Immediately aud see if h,
was old enough to remember he
+ when she disappeared, lie went
, und rs soon n hc saw her he hurS
into tears, 50 certain was he that Sht
was his sister Katy. But all Susppns
and mystery was di,sipatud, whcl
she informed them through an inter
prefer FOR she could neither spcal
, nor uudrrst md II word of English,
that .le had been taken from he
home when small chi,l 10y a whit
man. lived several years among th
ChpraNecS, then among the Greeks
: and finally among the Shnwnces, An,
that in all her wandcrings she ha,
gone hy the name of Katy. She hat
. been three times married 10 Shawuc
o. Chiefs, had lost an only child, an,
I WAS now widow.
+, 10 plncr the identity of the Us
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