The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-06-25

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For more than a week past there
has been an excitement in The vicini-
ty OF Essex Centre, Vermont, grow
ing out of the disappearance Of q
young girl named Emma Sands. who
parted with her sister on the night Of
the sth instant to go 10 q neighboring
house. A Freedman named La
Rock was suspected of having some
thing TO do with her disappearance,
as be proposed to go with her, but
she refused TO allow him. She was
last seen by Aida Cilley, young
girl, who walked with her to n rail-
road treslle and watched her going
over ii, and then returned home.
Aida states that she could see her
dimly on the other side, but all at
once she seemed as if she was trans
fixed with terror, and raised her arm,
facing the left Of the track. Aida,
whose courage was fast leaving her,
did not care to speak, but waved her
bat two OF three times to go along,
and then started on the run for Ho-
bart's. She turned around once, but
Emma seemed 10 stand ike q statue /;
she uttered no cry and made no gest-
ure for help. Some think a man was
secreted near the trestle and ordered
Emma 10 stop and make no noise,
which could have been done and
Aida not hear. The trestle that she
crossed is fifty feet high, and the
crossing is considered perilous even
in daylight. No possible motive can
be given for her voluntary flight, I'M
less an engagement to be married
was distssteful o her. She had been
engaged for some time to q young
man named Teril, and they were on
ly waiting to save some money be-
forehand The engagement had been
broken off once, but was renewed again
when Emma returned from Grand
Isle, where she had been teaching
school. 10 the investigation of this
mystery traces were discovered of a
young girl passing through Winooski
on the 9th, the day after Emma's
disappearance. She was next traced
10 Burlington. where she bought two
calico shirts, q pair Of brown overalls
AID a cheap satcbeL. She also had
her hair banged aud procured a straw
hat. The next trace is being seen
asleep In a passenger car in the Bur-
lington depot, dressed in boys cloth
ing she stated that she was going
to Boston. All trace of this mystery
was lost at Shelburn village. The
conductor Of the mail train thinks
such a person boarded the train at
Charlotte and went TO Rutland. All
the persons who saw this person pick
up the Sands girls photograph as the
one in boys clothes. There is no
doubt but it is q woman in boys
clothes, bat as to being the Sands
girl it is doubtful. If it is, she was
obliged to walk eighteen miles in
eight hours during the night over a
rough and billy road and pass her
own home. There is very little doubt
that this boy-girl is Emma Sands
and that she is insane, perhaps rem
dered so by ill-trestment.
La Rock, the ~Frenchman, is about
twenty years old and rather good
looking. He denies all knowledge of
Emma Sands, except that be passed
her on the road, aud asserts that be
had no intentions TO harm her. He
spoke to her in French, and she re-
piled that she did not understand in
broken French. He also says that
she was gong south towards Burling-
ton, and that she passed HObsrt's,
the house to which she said she was
going, with her shawl ~concealing her
face.