River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-02-10
The binding of Little Charlie Ross.

| The binding OF Little Charlie Ross.
There is no subject more interesting
to every family than that of the abduc-
| ton of Charlie Ross. Old as the story
is, it is always new to the mother vino
trembles with alarm at the thought of
similar loss; to the father who per-
plexes himself with reflections as to
what conrse he would pursue should
one of his dear ones be stolen; as to
| the children themselves, who listen
| open-eyed to the terrible tale of the
little boy who was taken away by wick
ed men and has never been heard of
since,
! All this romance comes up again
upon the release from the Philadelphia
penitentiary OF Westervelt, who was
sentenced in 1875 for conspiracy in
| the abduction of Charlie Ross. Out
of prison and interviewed by the re-
porters, Westervelt declares his own
innocence, but thinks he has clew
which may ultimately lead to the find
ing of Charlie Ross. He argues that
the boy cannot be dead, since nobody
has ever heard of his death; he believes
that the secret which seemed to die
when Mosher and Douglas were killed
during their burglarious expedition,
was intrusted to n third party, and he
has his suspicious who this third party
is. What he says must be taken for
what it is worth, and there are already
rewards enough offered to richly re-
pay him for the recovery of Charlie
Ross if there be any truth in his state
ment.
Little Charlie Ross was about five
| years old when he was kidnapped, six
years ago, and must consequently be
about eleven years old now if alive.
With the changes which time and the
mode of life to which he has probably
| been subjected will have made in him,
it is doubtful whether his father or
mother could recognize him, or he
them, if they We're brought face to face.
| All the precautions and examinations
which have exposed so many boys who
pretended to be Charlie Ross will have
to be strictly applied to the genuine
child, if Westervelt shall succeed in
hunting him up. But all over the
country great shout of thanksgiving
from every household would hail the
discovery of the real long-lost Charlie,
and every father and mother would
feel safer if it could be demonstrated
that, in q civized country, the utter and
complete loss of little child by alb
duction is impossible.
There are several points about the
kidnapping of Charlie Ross which have
never been satisfactorily explained, and
which have complicated the investiga-
tons and the romance. We know that
the child was taken up by two men in
a wagon; that he was driven from Phil
adelphia to Newark, where the horse
and wagon were disposed of, and that
he was then probably taken to Mosher's
house on the outskirts of Brooklyn.
Mrs. Mosher, however, survives her
husband and denies all knowledge of
the boy. When taken to see the play
of =" Pique," in the hope that the coin
cidences of the story would touch
her heart, she sat through the piece to-
tally unmoved, and evidently saw no
such condolences. But why was that
particular boy stolen at all? His pa
rents were not rich, nor was he espe-
cially beautiful or attractive. Had he
been the child of a Vanderbilt, an As
tor, Stewart or Gould, it might be
presumed that he was stolen in order
to be ransomed by his wealthy relatives,
or had he been cherubic child, or a
precocious genius, it might be suppos-
ed that he was stolen by those who in
tended to speculate upon his beauty or
his gifts. Rut Charlie Ross was an or
binary child of ordinary parents, in or
binary circumstances, and no theory
has ever suggested any reason why he,
out of all the children in the country,
should have been selected for the kid
mapping.
Another of the unexplained points is
the apparent Indifference with which
the abduction was at first regarded by
the parents of the child One would
suppose that with their little boy thus
stolen away, the coolest father and
mother would have been wild with
grief and anxiety. But, until the pub
lie took up the hue and cry, the pa
rents did not seem to be particularly
distressed or agitated; and instead of
Mr.. Ross arousing public sentiment to
fury of Indignation over his lost child,
it was public sentiment which aroused
Mr.. Ross to make some active exer-
tons for the recovery of his boy. Those
whu have been concerned in the invest
igations have repeatedly reported that
the GOODNESS, not to say apathy, of the
parents was one of the most singular
characteristics of the case.
A very curious theory has been based
upon these and other inexplicable
points, and will gain new life from the
declarations of Westervelt. 1t is well
known that one of our shrewdest show
men buried a stone figure surrepti-
tiously in a field and waited patiently
for several years, until he thought that
the time was ripe to have the figure
accidentally discovered, dug up and
exhibited as the Cardiff giant THIS
same Snowman is credited by certain
theorists with the idea of abducting
Charlie Ross, with the knowledge and
consent of his parents, in order to re-
cover and exhibit him after the lapse
Using. Whether there was ever the
least foundation for this theory, or
whether the scheme was upset by some
unforeseen accident to the child or its
guardians, it is now impossible to de-
termine. Certainly, there is no dwarf
or giant, living skeleton or fat woman,
twO-headed nightingale or Aztec, what
is-it? or Albino, mermaid or woolly
| horse, that would draw so much money
to an exhibition as little Charlie Ross,
if he could be found and placed upon
a platform and made to tell his own
story in the greatest show on earth.
From the disposition which is made of
him, if Westervelt follows up his clue
successfully, the public will be able to
Judge of the truth or falsity of the ex-
hibition theory. But whether the boy
be handed over to his parents, or to q
Snowman. it is the earnest prayer of
many paternal and maternal heart
that, sooner or later, little Charlie Ross
may be found.-N. Y. Star.
Catching Tarter
1t was necessary on certain occa-
sion in court to compel a witness to
testify a. tn the WAY in which a Mr.