, 1877-08-19
A STRANGE STORY.
a Child Stolen on the Sreets-Curiou
Conduct Of the Mother. +:
4 Baby ut the Foundl:Rss' Home iWaite
= ing Claimant.

What promised TO turn out genuine case Of
kidnapping has apparently lost the essentlsl
feature of child-stcaling, but gained an clemen.
OF mystery which makes it perhaps all the mora
interesting. 4 TRIBUNE reporter learned LIS:
evening that child belonging to 4 lady board
ing ut the Nevada House, on Wabash ayenus
near Madison street, had been stolen. Such
pieces OF news are happily rare in Chicage
the last case Of real, genuine child.
stealing having occurred some yeats
aeo. It was. therefore, with souis
f.gree OF interest that the Investigator set out
on his hunt for the particulars. At the hotel
be found out that the mother Of the child,
Mrs. c. R. Phipps, was out searching for her
lost offspring, and was obliged to take the story
second handed from the prop1;eto: OF the house.
From his tale, as 1t was told to him by A.s.
Phfpps herself, it appeared that she had taken
her child out riding in its baby-carriage Friday
evening; that they finally halted IN from. Of
a state Street candy-store, where Mrs. Phipp
left the baby-carringe on the sidewalk, went i'll
to buy some Of the candy-nlan's toothsome
wares, and, on coming out, found the baby-z.r
riage 11norcupied, aud
THE BABr NOWHERE TO BE FoCSD.
The mother instantly guve notice Of her loss,
aud, Us she told tue proprietor, reported it to
the detectives. The child was described as !.
yery ilne-looking, rather elaborately dressed, u
months Old bog. According to Mrs. P.ipps'
ettry. the detectives went to work at once,
but got no clew to the baby Friday night.
The mother Is reported to have paced the tltor
that night In her deep mental anguish, and to
have given away to oil the other usual manifes-
tntions Of grief. Between and o'clock
Yesterday morning she went out for the ostensi-
he purpose of going over On the West Slle to
sec some relatives. aud the iaea seems to
have her t,e that b,S% tss' u had & set,
.unaccountable UNI way, and were detaining /: u a
| ike. Sne came back from her quest unsuccess~
| ful, but during the day reported to the hotel
people that the detectives had gotten cler
aud hoped to restore the child to her between :
ard S in the evening: But they didn't come,
and Mrs Phipps went forth once more, osteasi-
bl; to sec the detectives and make further in
ouiries. The hotel proprietor also stxted
| that the woman he'd come 70 his house
last Monday, pail her bil Thqrs'2ay
AFTERNOON, however, she had her pocket picked
Of what little money it contained, some sl7.-
t and her Journey had soNew hat necessarily been
postponed. From what he had learned, be.
| husband was d conductor on some Western
railroad, and managed to come to Chicago o.
| casioually. That was all mine host had to H.
| late.
| Having got this much, Of course the repor1:
visited the Central Station. Not del ctiss
yas there, and perhaps not unnatural cuuciE
! sion was that some oi them we're out Will w
! forlorn mother in search OF the little one. !;
| frequent intervals the reporter dropped int
| the Nevada, but it was not until Saturday
| night was just becoming Sunday morning ttst
| 4Rs. PHIPPs DAWNED UPON THE SCESK-
The reporter told her what be did know y
| well as what he wanted to know, and MI
ruther surprised to hear her say in relr
that she had been assured her chA
would be returned to her this morning
4 relative had it; there was some joke about It;
in shott it wopld 6e ~ nSnt ano tne
The natural inference was, Of course, thss
| there was something back OF this very pretty
story, and the reporter ventured the REMARK
that such Z joke WIS Ut q very serious uatuEt,
and that thcv oughtn't to be allowed to hapKa
| very often. Wouldn't she please tell the W0ola
Stcrp1y she refused. It was personal mat-
l ter-a family matter-whieh it would be unEise
to olace before the world.
The reporters anxiety to bear the Whost
storv was rot at all relaxed, bat his patience
was worn out in endearoriug to yet i. AL
that Gould be gained VA; statement Ike rle
above repeated again and again! zen the lazy
walked over to the Office, left atslI 1or
O'Clock this morning, aud went to her room,
beckouing the clerk to follow. That individual
had been giver the wink ind understood II.
But til, w"uaxn was equally on the aleff,
| and refused to saT anything except tlias
she had not seen her child, that it was in the
hands OF relative, and tbas : = was going o'ls
| after it this morning. Flu -er tlI4n this sls
said nor because, as she said, the vas afraid the
| reporters would get after It.
| Mrs Phipps' rather n=hy story, taken In cor
nasction With orr.a ..cn
| about to be related, casts somewhat Of shadoH
| OF suspicion upon what she Thought to impress
! the reporter with as her s'o"er-true
| talc.'' About u o'clock Friday night
| police officer found On the sidewalk, In ront
Of No. 81 West Monroe street. certain coun-
tryfied-looking satchel, which, On closer lnspe:
ton, was found to contain q baby few months
old, rather claborately dressed, and goooly
sup ply Of babies' apparel. The intaot vas
taken to the West Madison Street statiou, aDa
thence to the Foundling's Home: Considering
that Mrs. Phipps was about pe4niiess after pay
ing her hotel bill and losing her hlonef,
mud that baby under such circumstances
| was rather OF an unnecessary luxury, ml"ht !.
| not have occurred to some women that 1t "ouo
be particularly fine scheme to drop It at some
body's residence aud hare TINT somebody tase
| it of their hands for gooi! At an5 fate, u
Mrs. Phipps doesn't TAKE that O'CLOCK TIP t tas
morning to sec the mysterious reiatVe' Ins
! TRIBUNE would suggest that, II sue Is Wy
auxous to find the missing Phipps, she 60 direcI
to the Found1ng's Home anti make 1nQu1s''1oH
| for the same. II it be there,
/