Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-02-24


How a F~rfendIess Boy Fared In
Southern Utah-Wandertng AbOui
Cold. Hungry and Homeless In
the Dead of winter.
A Salt Lake Tribune reporter called al
the Sisters Hospital on Monday evening
and interviewed the boy Christian Alison,
who, in January last, was turned out to
shift for himself in the dead of Winter
and wandered about for more than a
month in San Pete and Juab Counties un-
til his feet were frozen and amputation
rendered a necessity. The reporter found
him lying in bed with both feet amputated
just above the ankle. He had q thought
full, intelligent face, which was quite pale
and delicate. He gave every evidence OF
having been well reared. He was not
more than 10 years old, and talked quite
readily of his terrible hardships. 81
came from the old country when l was 9
years old. My mother is dead and my
father lives in England. John Doyens of
Ephraim brought me over and left me
with my sister, Mrs. Loyson at Park City.
I went to work for Charles Sway in Castle
Valley last Summer herding sheep. One
day he told his brother that he could
have me and I went off with him.
He said he would give me my board
and clothes and perhaps some day a
horse. / worked about a month herding
sheep. One day he said he did not need
me any longer" Here the boys utter
ance was choked. and the tears coursed
down his cheeks before he was able to
proceed. "He took me out n day On a
horse and when he had gone about a mile
and a half he told me to get down. l got
down off my horse and he left me. |
walked along until night, when 1 got to a
sheep camp, and stayed there three nights.
Then they said they had no work for me
and thought / had better go. One man
gave me some -four in a bag, and l started
out to hunt for work. l spent about q
week in the woods. | made fires out OF
the cedar brush and slept on the ground.
Then / got into San Pete and tried to get
work, but no one wanted me, and l begged
some more -four and started for the hills.
/ wandered about, / guess, about two
weeks more, / don't exactly know. 1t was
very cold all the while and stormy. My
flour gave out and / was nearly starved. l
called at two camps and asked for work,
but they said they did not need anybody,
so l kept on. l suppose l might have
stayed at some of the camps if / had told
them how l was fixed, but they looked
SO hard at me that I just walked
away further into the hills again.
Finally l quit the woods, and thought I
would make my way up to Park City,
where my sister was, but l didn't know
much about the direction to go. One
night about a month after / left Swaps
/ came to a log cabin. There was no one
there. / went in and tried to start q fire,
but couldn't. The logs had no bark on
them and there was no wood anywhere
around. / lay down ON the floor. 1t was
a ground floor and the night got colder
and colder. l had nothing to eat that
day. / was 50 tried that l went to sleep
soon after dark, and when I woke up there
was a pain in my feet. started out next
morning, but could hardly walk. Two
DAYS afterward q man named James Baker,
with a wood wagon, picked me up and
took me to his house. The cabin where l
froze was in a place called Wiggin Hollow
or some place like it. 1t is said that the
boy was turned out on the 18th of January
and was picked up by Baker on the
18th OF February. The authorities are
now moving in the matter and it is pro-
posed to bring Sway, who is q wealthy
sheep man, to justice. If criminal pro-
ceedings will not stick, he will be sued for
damages. and we learn enough money will
be recovered to provide his little victim
with artificial feet.