Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-09-07
81. LOUIS $ EN ALTON.


n VI sT. ITO UIs' 8 EMS TION.
Tbs Myatsrisns Disappearance Of Mary
|. Find Hsr--G General Gossip About Matters
" and Thinss in the Mi.souri Metropolis
sE LOUIS Special Correspondence aug. 90
The city was given . sensation last Sunday
which ID vibrating de strongly now o when the
news was first made public It is in the shape
i Of the mysterious disappearance Of young
lady named Mary Churchill. the seventeen
yesr-old daughter Of Col Churchill well-to-
do and we'll known citizen, who resides at
2737 Morgan street Up to the present
writing the case has worn cloak of mystery
which not even the most astute detectives have
been able to- tear aside. Col and Mrs.
Ohurchillleft their house for drive Sunday
afternoon, and returned about o'clock in the
evening. Shortly after their return they missed
Mary. and made Inquiries for her. The rest
Of the family, two young children, could tell
nothing Of her whereabouts, and supposiug
the girl had gone to visit friend, they felt
no further unneasiness until 10 O'Clock, when,
Mary not returning, they grew alarmed, and
visiting first one neighbor and another, did all
they could to find her The search was
frultless. and at late hour, hoping
she had gone to stay all night with
friend, they retired in the hope of seeing her
IN the morning. When morning came and the
hours advanced with no appearance Of Mary,
Col. and Mrs. Churchill became greatly
alarmed and drove about to see every friend
with whom it would be likely Mary would stay
After the last possible place had been visited
and no news had been heard, the awful fear of
foul play entered the parents heads, and a
most careful cross-examnation Of people who
were in the vicinity Sunday evening was
prosecuted. It was thus learned that
about z o'clock, at dusk, Mary left
the house by way of the alley
at the rear, walked up the half square to
Twentyeighth street. aud south on Twenty
eighth street to Lucas avenue. She was seen
by several people on the way, who also saw
her return to the alley and then go iuto the
house. Afterward she again walked over to
Lucas avenue, since which time none of her
friends have seen her. She was bareheaded,
wore an excited look, and was attired in lawn
dress with pin-head dots. Such are the facts
in the case, as given to the public. These nat
urally lead to the conclusion that the girl was
run away with; that her disappearance is the
result OF an ill-adyised love match.
But what gives an air of mystery to the case
IS the fact that the young lady was not gay or
lively girl; that she WITS not fond Of beaux,
and was of a quiet and very modest appear
ance Her photograph, as we'll as her personal
description shows that she was an exceedingly
pretty girl. She is described as being FIVE feet
three inches in height, ll5 pounds in weight.
blonde, and Of plump, round, graceful form.
She is an accomplished pianist, but as she
could not sing aud was not an elocutionist, the
theory that she ran away to 60 on the stage has
only few advocates. The case was given into
the hands of the police Monday night by the
girls parents, and they have been working at
it with no result ever since. All the friends Of
the family are at work in the hope of finding
the lost girl, and the whloe city is interested ia
the matter. The minutest inquiry has failed
to bring out the slightest suspicion against the
character Of Miss Churchill, as every one who
in conversation she was all that q pure, inno-
cont girl would be. Her company was al
ways chosen for her by her mother,
who has been unusually Jealous about
the training of the girl The only plausible
theory besides foul play-for no one suspects
that she committed suicide, as she had a inc
mind and was always healthy-is that she has
eloped with some unknown man, who was
probably DESTROYS of winning the girl but who
had no social standing. The fact that Mrs.
Churchill always pronounced against early
marriages is favorable to this theory A num-
Der Of clews have been given those engaged in
the search, but one by one they have failed to
bring about any information as to the where
abouts Of tbs girl.
SIMILAR ST LOUIS CASES.
The interest in the case is great, probably
because it belongs to a class of mysterious dis
appearances which has been most prolific of
sensation. About two years ago similar case
was reported to the police in the disappearance
of young girl from Colorado who was visiting
relatives here. The girls name was Zou Wat
kins. After: futile search Of ten days, one of
the fishers for human bodies. who earn liv-
ing on the Misslssippiriver, dragged the body Of
a girl from the stream, and on investigation 1t
was found that it was all that remained of Mis-
souri, Watkins. A toroners inquest revealed
the fact that the body ha no marks of vo-
lence upon it, that the clothes had been undis-
turbed, and that she did not come to
come to her RI, no one ever found out, as
the theory Of suicide was negatived by the
fact that she had no means to take her own
life. and that she was sound Of mind. The
disappearance Of Miss z5relda Garrison--an
eighteen -year-old daughter Of one of the first
families in the coun1ry-caused a great sensa-
ton in st. Louis last January. After two
days. search she was found No satisfactory
reason was given the public as to why she re-
ma .d in a1or room IN a bad locality for
kept a prisoner there, was not taken
for the truth, as she had been seen several
times upon the street in company with men of
low character Fanny Kirchhofer, a German
girl, disappeared last spring, and nothing was
heard Of her till July when a detective found
she had been all tho time. These cases give
bad color to the one now before our public
but Miss Churchills splendid reputation causes
all suspicious to tall to the ground. 1t is the
general hope that she will be restored to her
parents within the next few days.
GENERAL GOSSIP
The Churchill case is about the only topic of
interest in the city. The municipal middle,
consequent upon an attempt by seven mem
pointments, has been Strengthened out by the
departure for California with the Knights
Templar party Of two Of the seven. Appoint
ments are now gong to the council slowly, and
are as slowly being confirmed. The Downing
closing Of saloons on Sundays, has been
pretty generally disregarded by the soloon
Keepers. Out Of a total Of 100 saloons,
about 900 are kept open every Sunday. They
have all been reported by the police, and now
is the laws delay: Test cases have been made,
and it is the general opinion that the saloon
men will lose There is steady eflux to st.
Paul every week. The Gem City appears to
be the favorite boat and her register
bears the names Of fifty or more st.
1 i%sts'' for the North. Returning. her her
decks are frequently blocked with tourists
who have spent their vacation in Minnesota
The lady or gentleman here who has not spent
summer at st. Paul or Minnetonka is gener-
ally regarded as person who needs the great
EST amount of pity About the only society
event which has occurred during the month
that is worth mentioning is the Marvin camp
meeting Every year the members of the
Southern Methodist churches in St. Louis, or
rather the wealthy members, 60 into
camp At grove named 10 respect to