Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1875-05-12

Quincy Adams attracted cohsiuer-
able attention in Congress by a
strong speech which he made
in favor of bill introduced by b.
A. Bidlack, of Pennsylvania, which
provided that one square mile Of
the land then occupied by the
Miami Indians, embracing the
house and improvements of Frances
Slocum, should be granted IN fee
to her and her heirs forever. The
bill became a law, and she occupied
this special reserve until her death
in the spring Of 1917.
The history Of this woman was
remarkable. She was the daughter
Of Quaker who had lived in the
Wyoming Valley during the Re-
volution. Several months after the
massacre of ITS she was caught
up by party of marauding Della
ware Indians, who got off before
any attempt could be made to res
cue her. She was five years old at
the time. About month later
her father was shot dead by the
Indians while at work in a field
near his house. Knowing that he
was gone to his eternal rest the
widow in time became reconciled
to her loss, but she could never
forget her child, the last sight Of
which was when she was in the
arms of a brawny Indian, strugg-
ling and calling piteously upon her
parent to come to her help.
The sons of Mrs. Slocum became
prosperous business men, and after
the close of the Revolution they
used every effort to recover their
lost sister. In 1884 two of them
visited Niagara where large num-
Der of Indians were gathered, made
diligent inquiries and offered liber-
al rewards for any information of
her. They prosecuted the search
for several weeks and returned
home with the impression that she
was dead.
The mother, however, could not
be persuaded that such was the
case, and four years later the Slo-
Gums spent several months in the
West among the Indian agents and
traders, publicly offering five hun
dred dollars to any one who would
give any authentic information Of
the fate of their sister, but their
success was no better than before.
A similar expedition was under
taken in 1897 by four of the
brothers, with the same result.
AS in the Ross case, the search
brought numbers of stolen children
to light, but none was the one par
ticnlarly wanted.
Mrs. Slocum never lost faith in
her daughters existence. She be-
lieved she was some where waiting
to be clasped in her arms, and she
continued the search with scarcely
any intermission until 1907, when
she died, her children promising
her to use every effort to learn
what had become of the little one
abducted nearly thirty years be-
fore. They faithfully carried out
this pledge, and in 1896 made a
long and expensive journey to up
per Sandusky to see a woman who,
there was reason to hope, was the
one for whom they were searching.
Disappointed again, they finally
came to the conclusion that Fran
ces was dead, and the search ended
In the month of January, 1885
Colonel George w. Ewing, a gen
tleman connected with the public
service among the Indians, ant
able to speak several Of their Ian
guages, was benighted near an In
dian town known as the Dea
Mans Village, on branch Of the
Wabash. He applied for lodging
and was Hospitality received at
respectable dwelling. He was
fatigued and unwell, and after eat
ing lay down on some skins in TIT
corner of the room. The household
consisted of venerable woman
and number of children, all o
whom treated her with the great
est Difference, and who departed
to their own rooms.
AS Colonel Ewing lay upon hi
pallet he watched the old lad,
moving about, and noticed particu
larry the color of her skin and hair
The result Of the scrutiny convin