News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-12-11
LURED TO THEIR LAIR.
ROY BRIGANDS OF BOSTON INIMURE
ACAPTIYE IN A TOMB.
Cut of from Escape and Left Alone with
Ghosts, skulls and skeletons for Com.
uanious-Cries for Help from n Deserted
Erayeyard-A Night of Terror,

Cut OFF from Escape and Left Alone with
Ghosts, skulls and skeletons Tor Com.
paniOns-Cries for Help from n Deserted
Eraveyard-A Night of Terror,
A Boston correspondent of the N. Y.
World writes as follows: At the extreme
end of the Roxbury District, mile from
any human habitation, there is on Wal
ter street small cemetery which for
many years has been closed up. Most
of the people buried there were Inferred
during the latter part OF the last century
and since then there has been an album
dant growth of vegetation over the whole
place, so that it is difficult for stranger
in the neighborhood to find the ancient
city of the dead even after its location
has been learned. The shrubs and trees
hide from view the few old headstones
that are left there, and person might
even wander through the deserted spot
without knowing that it was cemetery.
There are two large vaults made of
brick, the walls being three bricks deep
and covered over with earth. There is
nothing about them that will show who
was laid at rest there or when, but
probably the doors have not been
opened at any time since 1900. Seclud-
ed and lonesome as the spot is, some
boys who are believed to be residents of
the north end of the city appear to have
pretty well explored it and one of the
vaults has been for them a favorite re-
sort. An officer of the Jamaica Plain
station, in following up lot of Juvenile
law breakers early in the day came
across the vault. On one side of 1t the
earth and shrubs had been torn away
and the old masonry had been picked
out so that hole about three feet across
had been made in the wall about six feet
up from the bottom. It was so well
concealed by the brush that it would
not have been noticed had the officer
not observed trail which led him to it.
He did not examine the vault very closely
for as soon as he put his head in the
hole he kept out SO much light that
scarcely anything was visible. The mat
ter was reported to the Board of Health
and Inspector Hicks went out to inves-
tigate. He had q good deal of trouble
in finding the place, and after he got
into the cemetery he heard faint cries
that seemed to come from the ground
| about two hundred yards off. He traced
them, and as he came nearer the cries
were stronger and more pitiful. At
length he reached the vault he had been
in search of, and in it was boy about
ten years of age. As he climbed up to
the opening the little fellow ceased his
cries and crouchcd down into corner
| of the tomb in abject terror. The officer
called to him in reassuring tone and
the boy then crept along the floor of the
vault until he got directly under the
opening. His condition was pitiful in
deed to behold and the officer hardly
knew whether to regard him as insane
or as some kind of wild animal. He
would not speak an intelligent sentence
but let forth the most dreadful howls,
now and then stopping to gasp as though
| about to expire. Hicks was afraid to go
down into the tomb for fear he could not
get out again, but after talking to the
youngster through the hole for while
he succeeded in pacifying him until he
| got broken limb of tree and this he
put in for the lad to climb up on. He
seemed too weak to be equal to the
emergency, but at length he summoned
up all his strength and made success
full effort. After resting and looking
| about him for a while he talked little
and finally told his rescuer his remarka-
BILE story.
He said he had no home and lived
mostly in the Working Boys Lodge. The
previous afternoon he had met number
of North End street Arabs, like himself,
and they told him they were going to
| give up backing boots and selling pa
pers to become bandits. They related
| to him some blood and thunder stories
and told him they had cave of their
own and would soon terrorize the whole
country. They urged him to join them
and become famous. He agreed to do
so and they led him to the vault de-
scribed. One went off and brought an
old ladder and they all descended into
the tomb by it, When the victim got
down and saw pieces of cotfins on the
/ shelves and about the floor with skulls
and bones he was nearly frightened to
| death. His companions humored him
| for while and offered him drink out of
a flask. He refused it and they forced it
down his throat, then they knocked him
from one end of the vault to the other.
| In spite of this treatment he soon began
to feel sleepy and crept away in corner
and laid down. He remembered nothing
more till he heard, or thought he heard
a voice, saying:
"Let him starve. It's kids like him
that's running us"
A voice outside said ''Cheese it ! and
| then all was quiet.
He rubbed his eyes and listened, but
only the cracking of brush some dis
lance off could be heard. It was dusk
and he made his way to the opening, but
there was no ladder, and when he real
lied his position he rent the air with
| agonizing cries for "Help I" He thought
the skeletons were clustering around
him and grasping for his hair with their
bony bonds. 1t became pitchy dark,
but every horrible thing he saw when he
entered was more plainly visible to him
| in the darkness. Bats or insects occa-
sionally made noise and he would start
and yell "Murder !" till his voice gave
out. He rolled on the floor in his agony,
and the perspiration grew cold on his
body. He hoped then he was dying but
there was no such good luck. He would
have attempted to kill himself but the
skeletons made him afraid to try it.
Thus his suffering continued till his
cries brought the Inspector to his res
cue.
The officer believed that he was crazy
| ct first but soon recovered. After get
ting out he accompanied him to the road,
and when the lad saw it he bounded off
like deer in the direction of the city
and never turned to look back all the
while he was in view. The Inspector
| found broken bottles, some torn cards
and pages of dime novel literature
| among the bones and broken collins
which strewed the floor of the vault, and
it looked as if the recent occupants had
been on grand spree. He at once en-
ployed mason to brick the wall up Sc
cureIy so that it will not be opened again
by the vandals. The gang of young
desperadoes was doubtless unaware of
the first officers discovery and but for it
the lad would most likely have starved
to death.