The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-09-19
A Boys VOYAGE.


Last Thursday morning, says st.
Louis paper, five miles below Chester,
on the Illinois shore of the Mississippi
river, and sixty miles below St, Louis, a
boy about seven years Of age was found
in the river, floating on the trunk OF a
huge cottonwood tree, and from the ev
idence attainable at present it appears
certain that the little fellow had been in
this position ive or six days without food.
Two farm hands, Henry Schultz and Joe
Maxey, who are employed on the farm
of John Kleinmater, were crossing the
river in a skiff, when they noticed the
trunk of tree floating in the water and
something lying on the top of it. Their
curiosity was excited and they pulled up
to the tree, which was about one hundred
feet long, and were astonished at finding
that the object was young boy. The
little fellow was lying in kind OF hollow
which had formed in the trunk, He was
unconscious and in high state of fever,
while his wasted form and emaciated ap'
pearance bespoke long abstinence from
food. The two men lifted him into the
skiff rowed ashore and carried him to
Kleinmater's farmhouse, and medical as
sistance was called in,
The boy remained for twenty four
hours in a comatose condition, but yes
terday he began to give signs of con-
sciousness. Stimulants were continually
giveu him, and he drank so greedlly of
beef tea that the physicians had to mod
crate the quantity. Slowly and gradual.
ly his pulse began to beat at renewed
vigor, and under the careful treatment
and nursing he rallied considerably last
evening, so that the doctors are now san
guine of his intimate recovery. He is
still unable to converse, so that it is not
known who he is or where he is from, or
how he came in such a perilous position.
The presumption is that the boy must
have drifted on the trunk from some
point near the mouth of the Missouririv'
err venturing upon the trunk while twas
lying close TO the banks and by some way
it became detached and was carried down
the stream by the current. The trunk
fortunately was admirably fitted for a
resting place, as it was gnarled and hol>
low centers were formed in it. Had it
not been so he must inevitably have met
with watery grave.
One of the St. Louis bridge watchmen
stated that on Wednesday night he saw
a dark object resembling a tree floating
down the river, that, as the nights are
now dark, he did not perceive the boy
curled up on the top, 1t is rather strange
that no steamboat pilot saw the boy.
This, however, can be accounted for by
the fact thar navigation on the Lower
Mississippi has almost ceased owing to
the yellow fever. The officers of John
B. Maude and the Belle of Memphis, the
fast boats which came up the river, ac>
count for their not seeing the object on
the theory that they probably passed it
during the night, and as there is now no
moon, floating objects are not likely to
be much noticed during the night hours;
besides, the river is so full Of floating
trees that little notice is taken of them.
The little fellow must at least have
been on the trunk for five or six days,
drifting 100 miles, during which time,
he, of course, had no sustenance. The
men who took him off the tree said that
in one place the bark appeared gnawed,
which would indicate that the lad, to ap-
pease the pangs of hunger, actually nibe
bled and gnawed at the tree.