News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-11-22
KIDNAPPED WHEN A CHILD
LAD WHO BELIEVES HIMSELF THE
LONi;-LOST CHARLEY ROSS.
Declaring that he was stolen by JcSse
James and Taken i'll PirHiicnI IA IL
I'm Soutucrn Port and Thence TO Brazil.

Declaring that he was stolen by Jcsse
james and Taken i'll PirHticnl Craft
TO IL southern Port and Thence 10 BRAIN
Charles Augustus Pinkham, Of Port
land, Me-, who believes himself to be
the Ioug-lost Charley Ross, tells TINS
remarkable story:
Il was picked up in the street in Phil
adelphia, put on board a steamboat,
taken to Boston, thence by rail to Port
land and Winterport. I was kept III a
large house in which there seemed to be
great many children, but l did not see
any of them for very long time, and l
did not see a woman all the time i was
there. After about two years they let a
Girl come into my room to play with me
once in a while. and sometimes letuS go
out into the yard to play. 1t was a large
ward, with high boards all around 1t.
sThe girls name was Fanny PreScaIl,
and she said that man named Jesse
James stole her from Brazil From the
oirl I afterward learned that the men
who stole me were jesse James, Pink
ham. and two men named Davidson.
Pmkham was a very tall man, the tallest
man | ever saw. Jesse James was not
so tall. but was gOOd-slHed man. James
was of dark complexion. One OF the
Davidsons wore a black moustache, and
the other side-whiskcrs. James was
commonly called Jesse by the rest. Jesse
went with me when l was first taken,
but did not stop long. After a long
time the girl Fanny and 7 were taken on
board of vessel rugged like n bark, and
-,
might have been to Texas, but anyway ii
was where it was warm. Here Jesse
James and the others came on board and
brought their horses with them. The
horses would come when called, and
would act Ike circus horses do.
"There were stalls for the horses on
each side. and a section of the broad
side of the bark was so fixed that il
could be moved. and when We made q
port thew would rUu ont platform, take
their horses and ride of. jesse and the
rest seemed to own the bark, and man.
aged it rs they pleased, and when they
went on shore would leave large man
in charge, who was kinder to us children
than the rest. The bark was nothing
more than a pirate, and once we were
chased by a cutter, but escaped. The
bark was loaded with lots of things, and
had many guns on board. By guns !
mean rifles. At last we made a small
port in Brazil, and the large man was
left alone on board. He had been drink
ing, I suppose, for he opened the door
of our room and said: Here, you chill
dren. come ont, and then he told US tC
go. The girl took me, and we went
ashore and wandered around for awhile,
and at last went to 4 Spanish hotel and
stayed there three days until the bark
sailed.
FINALLY We got passage to New
York. That was about five years ago.
After we got on shore the GIL told me
that my name was Charley Ross, and she
told me always TO remember 1t. 1t
seemed to bring things back to me when
she called ne Charley Ross, and [ re-
membered things l had forgotten. I
learned to cook and shipped on the bark
Ada Carter from Boston to Brazil, and
Fanny went with me. She wanted to
find cut about her people, and learned
that her father and mother were both
dead. When we got back she went to
live at Lynn, and was ut work in shoe
shop. From Lynn she went to Law
renee, where she was ut work in one of
the shoe shops in the finishing room
when [ heard from her last. [ saw her
last about two years ago. / then shipped
in the j. d. Brayton, bound from Fall
River to South America, and on the way
I was very sick with Il fever. My hair
came off. and when it came out again it
was darker than it had been.
while ] was sick things seemed to
come back to me some way, and knew
that | was Charley Ross, but [ did not
know who Charley Ross was. [ never
read a book about Charley Ross, and [
never heard of Charley Ross except what
Fanny said, until about two years ago.
I can read little, aud make letters,
but don't know how to put them to-
gether. While ON board the bark with
IGTs2 "nd tie F@t ct; or GT7nmrf@d TO o
Wen kill him.. They didn't give me
enough to eat sometimes, aud then
they'd whip me. This year
| was i'll the schooner Lizzie II. Stewart,
and We landed at a place called Winter
port, and [ went ashore with the cap
tain. While there I saw large build
ing and a lot Of rocks and things near
the house that looked natural to me.
Still 1t might not have been the place. [
don't know who / am. OF course, hut [
think l am Charley Ross ] think Mr..
Ross must be my father, aud [ want to
see him"
Pinkham is very ignorant and is IN
able to recall names, except 10y great
effort, and is rather confused about or
binary matters. but he appears to be
very honorable IN MS frsIil.Cr1 and tC