Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-01-07
Two Plucky Boys---Their Remarkable
Journey.

aged fourteen, from Denver, COL, 10
New York city was more remarkable for
its Responsiveness than for its rapidity.
Their parents sold their little homestead
in Whitehall, N. Y, and went West to
seek their fortune when the boys were
very young. They settled near Ellsworth,
Kan, but were unsuccessful. Their lit
tie store of money gave out, and the
father was glad to get work on the Kan
sas Pacific Railroad. One day, while
coupling cars, he was killed and his wife
died few weeks later. The boys, now
eleven and thirteen years old respective
ly, left without dollar or friend, un-
able to get work in Ellsworth, made their
way to Denver and went to work for o
stock-raiser for $25 year and board and
clothing. They had hard task master,
who worked them like beasts Of burden
and half -starved them. After three years
of wretched bondage they resolved to
run away. They had once attempted to
do so, but had been caught and severely
punished. This time they were deter
mined not to be caught. One dark night,
| without cent of money, and with no
clothing but the rags on their backs, they
set out for New York.
The boys reached the Denver Railroad
station as the eastward bound train was
about to start, and, concealing them
selves in freight car, were carried to
Ellsworth, Kan, where they jumped out
to pick up such breakfast as they could
| find. Then they walked to Brookville,
over twenty miles distant, and arrived
there by nightfall. Worn out by hunger
and fatigue, they threw themselves upou
heap of hay and dry manure and slept
until morning, when they were awakened
| Inv "A ma aSi W. Thew hannaH a ride in
il and were taken as far as Salina, where
they earned their breakfast by saving
wood. They got on q train for Kansas
City and were carried nearly as far as
Wamego. Then Henry was discovered
by the brakeman, who scared him so that
he fell from the platform and sprained
his ankle severely. His brother carried
him 10 neigboring haystack and that
was his hospital for two days, Fred.
going out and foraging for food. On the
| third day 1t rained and the patient was
| taken into tumble down barn that in
| pioneer days had done service as hotel
| On the next day his foot was nearly well
again, and the boys jumped on North
ern Missouri Railroad train and reached
Kansas City. There cattle-driver gave
them good breakfast and induced the
conductor of train for Mobile to let
them ride to the terminus. In Mobile
they got on board stock train which
took them to ST. Louis, and from there
they rode to VIncennes, Ind, and thence
| to Cincinnati
In Cincinnati a member of the City
Council gave them temporary job. He
sent them with note to Mayor Johnson,
who got pass for them to Columbus,
where they were told that they would
ne hal. ri n,,t ~ G,,I
they resumed their journey eastward by
rail. Unluckily for them the engineer at
| Dresden Junction got off the train to
chat with the conductor and discovered
them. So they were left behind. 1t was
| Sunday morning-just week after their
| departure from Denver. They stayed
| in Dresden until Thursday night, doing
chance jobs for broken victuals or few
pennies, and then, seeing an outgoing
freight train loading, hid in the caboose
behind pile OF barrels and bales. They
were taken to Dennison. Fred. got
job here for two or three days carrying
mortar
Then the boys stole ride" to Pitts
burgb, where they stayed for three days
and suffered great hardships, but adhered
to the resolution that they had kept to
from the first, that they would not sleep
in any police station II they could help 1t.
From Pittsburgh they rode TO Altoona,
and thence To Harrisburg, where they
stayed few days They watched
freight train loading for Columbia, and
hid in one of the cars behind pile of
kerosene kegs. The smell was very
offensive, but the door was open and they
could bear it, Presently the train
stopped at way station, and a long box
containing a coffin was thrust into the
car, and II was followed by two mail bags.
The door was then shut with bang and
double-locked.
When the train reached Columbia the
boys, nearly suffocated, waited impa-
| tisptly for the Car TO be opened. They
| could feel that IL was being uncoupled
from the train and switched off on Il
side track; but they listened In vain for
the sound of key in the lock. No
body came near. They kicked at the
door and shouted themselves hoarse, but
| no one seemed TO hear them. Henry
tainted, and his brother, fearing that he
might die, with all his remaining strength
kicked at the door and cried for help.
| Fortunately about this time Waterman
at the depot, hearing the boys voice, sum
| moned the station agent, and he opened
| the door and took the boys out.
Henry recovered on being brought into
the open air. A crowd of little raga-
mullins had collected around the Living
stones as soon as their story was told,
and full Of curiosity to hear about the
| Indians and the buffalo and the plains
piled them with questions and rewarded
them with plentiful supply Of food.
The youthful travellers were the guests
of the little Arabs for three days and
then went to Philadelphia They reached
| New York last Monday night, and an
officer finding them wandering homeless
| in the streets took them to the Franklin
| Street Police Station. There they were
kept until morning. On leaving the sta
ton they got separated in crowd and
| lost each other.
Fred. wandered about the city all day
In search Of his little brother" rs he
calls him, and was inconsolable. At the
Grand Central Depot he told his story to
Policeman John ii. Kershaw, kind
hearted man, who not only went to the
Central Police Office to help him find his
brother, but at his own expense had the
| lad respectably clad from head TO foot