Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-07-27
THE LOST FOUND.
"THE BOHEMIAN GIRL NUMBER
TWO

Kidnapped at the Age of Eleven, Brought
Home at Twenty.Six-A st. Paul Girl
Whose History Reads Like Romance
While There Is Life There IL Hopen-
The Family Reunion Yesterday-Frsnh
Kohout Surprised by a Married Daueh.
ter and Two Grandchildren-A Movfne
Tales
fHteen years ago, when st. Paul was
much smaller place than it is now. an
honest, hard-working Bohemian, named
Frank Kohout, came here to
i've. He was accompanied
by his wife and seven small children. two
OF them being boys and the rest gills, the
Oldest of the girls, Antonio, being eleven
years old. The children were ali pretty
and Antonio gave promise of DEVELOPING
INTO perfect modellof feminine beauty.
Kohout was devoted to his family, and,
not wishing to see them in want, took the
1rst work he could find
which was in the capacity
of deck-hand on steamboat. The name
OF the mate under whom he shipped was
shelton. Shelton had wife and family
IN Rock Island. By chance the eve Of
Shelton fell upon the beautiful Bohem-
ian girl, Antonio, and he resolved to kids
nap her. 1t amounted to moth
ing else, as this history shows
and deserves no better name, for it was
through the work of Shelton that An
tonla was lost to her family for fifteen
years, and finally given up as dead.
Skelton took advantage of Frank Ko-
hout's ignorance of the English language,
and through an interpreter induced him
to part with Antonio, under a promise
to procure her comfortable home
with family In Rock Island, who
would rear her as one of their own, and
give her the benefit of good education.
In the simplicity of his heart, Kohont
entrusted his little girl to the mate, who
took her to Rock Island and placed her
IN charge of female music teacher, of
most ungovernable temper. The music
teacher had daughter of her own, whom
she treated well enough, but it was not
SO with Antonio. The child was sent to
school portion of the week merely to
make her forget her native tongue; but
after school hours, when other children
were taking recreation, she would be
compelled to do mental work, and would
receive harsh treatment, no matter how
faithfully she might perform the arduous
tasks assigned her
Antonio grew homesick and
whenever Skeletons boat. came in she
would search him out and plead with
him to take her home. Meanwhile An
tomas father was missed from the boats
crew. The mate seemed, all at once, to
get into a dilemma regarding the be-
trayed little girl, and after making and
breaking repeated promises to lake her
home, he disappeared from Rock Island
and his family with him.
The child was at loss what to do.
She urged her cruel mistress to write
home for her, and received lying assur-
ances that her request had been complied
with. Bogus letters, purporting to have
come from her parents were read to An
tonia, and bogus promises made to send
her home. One day her mistress struck
her in the face. This was little too
much for the sensitive creature, and when
night came on Antonio slipped away
in the darkness and obtained employment
in the family of jeweler. She still
sighed for home, and wrote three letters
to st. Paul, but they all came back to
her from the dead letter Office, and this
led her to believe that her parents had
given her up and gone back to Europe.
She knew they were poor, unacquainted
with the English language, and in
every way untitled to institute system
attic search for her. AS for her, it had
been years since her own language had
been spoken in her hearing and she had
entirely forgotten it. An arbitrary rule
of the Bohemian tongue changes the
spelling Of names when borne by female
members of family, by adding an extra
syllable. Thus the name of
Kohout, when signed by any
female of the house is spelled
Kohoutova. With this peculiarly of
Bohemian grammar Antonio had never
been made acquainted, and it was natural
that she should follow the English idea
and address her father by her own name,
which was the only fragment of Bohe-
milan that she could remember, and that
imperfectly. Hence she left vowel out
of her name, and in every attempt to
discover the whereabouts of her father
addressed him as Kohotova. This was
her own name, spelled Theoretically from
memory, but it was not the name of her
TO enlighten her, and the hope of finding
her relatives burned low in her heart.
But it did not entirely die out, though
her family continued to live in St. Paul
all the while, without the means
of communicating with her.
Antonio left the jewelers. family aud
lived with an Irish Catholic priest,
Father Roles by name, for two or three
Tho nnn6
to take an interest in her,
and had her educated by the
Sisters of Mercy. She next lived with
the family of MIR. Peck, a railroad
man, where she met MIR. W. w. Smith,
of the Rock Island railroad, who
took a great fancy to her,
her seven years ago. The
union was blessed with two children, Ira
and Katie, aged respectively five and six
years, with difference of fifteen months
between their ages.
hope of success, Mr.. Smith came to st.
city directory, of course, could not
had he failed. Luckily he ran across
police officer who knew Mat. Jellnek
and 10. Kricek. These men were ac-
quainted with Frank Kohout's son-in-
law. Frank Kriha, who works at Nc
Carthy & Verplanck's candy factory.
Frank was visited, notes were compared,
and the whole party then repaired to
Charlie Smiths collar-making establish
ment where the old man is employed.
When informed that his daugh.
ter still lived Frank Kohout,
was wellnigh overcome by his emotions.
1t was long before he could be induced to
credit his own senses.