The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1884-09-04
THE STORY OF CHARLEY ROSS.

The Tragedy Of the Hearth and the aro
ken Hearts Around It. A Sensation O
Ten Years Ago Revived for The New
Generation.
Philadelphia letter to the Cincinnati ENQUIRER
stood for long time before picture yes
terday the life-size portrait of lovely laugh
ing child The face was that of boy OF !
Years, fair and dimplod, with little rosy
mouth just made for kissing, large clear
brown eyes, through which happy little soul
shone brightly, and soft fiaxen curls shad-
hg a broad white brow, and falling about a
round white neck.
"That is Charley, my little Charley" said tht
master Of the house sadly, and, looRing from
his careworn. nervous face to the cherub vision
on the wall, for the first time an understanding
ofthe tragedy Of Charley Ross dawned upor
me, and for the benefit of the new generation
and those to whom the tiny hero of mourn
tul tale has been but newspaper myth an
going to take up the freshest threads of we'll
known story, as related to me by Mr.. Ross il
view of the green lane where his little son was
stolen from him.
u
broad and beautiful place in Germantown
called East Washington lane. On both sides of
1t are handsome, substantial mansions of gray
granite, such as Pennsylvanians love, aud
built far back from the road In the midst of
spreading lawns, sprinkled with beds of gay
Howers. Moro peaceful and beautiful sur
roundings one could hardly find, and d
miniature farm of few acres. now dotted
with understanding hay-cocks, next to Mr..
Russ place, even suggested the country
The house Of MIR. Ross is spacious double
one, built of stone and surmounted bya cupola
lt stands on the summit of great slope, and
with Its broad piazza covered with climbing
houeysucklos and roses, its huge basket of
plants and ferns, and its friendly elms and
oaks, looks a secure and pleasant retreat from
noise and turmoil, the dust and confusion of
the world
Sitting on the front veranda, REMARKED how
thoroughly the great hedge of fir trees at the
foot of the lawn cut off the view of the street
Yes, said Mr.. Ross, ''Tco thoroughly, for 1t
helped the wretchCs who stole my children to
escape with them. Ten Years ago the LIST of
July" he continued. my little Charley, just
years Old and still in petticoats, was playing
N the road with his brother Walter, two wears
older than himself, While they were frolich-
ing about two men came along IN a wagon
drawn by one horse. 1t seems they had seen
the children before and given them candy
That day they invited the boys to get in for
little ride, promising them firecrackers and
candy. They, fearing nothing. complied and
were seen, as we found later, by some of the
neighbors
''When got home at 6 o'clock to tea, Mrs
Ross and my eldest daughter being at Atlantic
City for their health, the children had not re-
turned. The neigborhood was secured in vain,
and at clock, on my way TO the central office
to telegraph the police stations, we met Walter
returning home with Mr. Peacock, friend of
ynn had h h,ttA
on street corner in the northern part of Phila-
delphla, just seven miles from home
The boy was nearly paralyzed with fright,
but managed to relate how these men promised
to take them to Aunt Susie's to buy sweets and
hrecrackers; that they had lifted him out of
the wagon and sent him into shop to get the M
and when he came out hey had disappeared
with Charley. The police thought the men
on drunken frolic, and when sobered would
be alarmed at what they had done, and turn
Charley adrift
The theory proved false On the Sd of
July We advertised for HIM with reward. and
the next day we received an anonymous letter
In disguised writing, the first of a series OF
twenty three, which said the child was safe
but that no living power could discover him,
and his father would have TO pay big cent to
get him back. The next letter demanded ran
som of $40, 900. from which sum the kidnappers
never abated dot, with the alternative of put
ting the child to death"
1t Is impossible in letter to describe the
methods used for the recovery of the child and
the capture of his jailers, who demanded that
the money should be paid in advance OF the re-
turn of the boy. While negotiations were
pending rocco photographs of little Charley
were distributed throughout the land, and tons
of posters, handbllls and Autographs sown
broadcast The citizens of Philadelphia of
fered a reward of S2o000 for the kidnappers
of which reward the police volunteered to claim
no part, and other large sums were offered from
public and private sources, while the pressure
put on Mr.. Ross not to jeopardize the safety of
every child In the land by paying the ransom
was tremendous.
The police force and detective bureaus of the
whole country engaged in the search, and in
Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey every
river boat and saloon, every clubhouse, stable
and place of il-repute, every hotel and lodging
house, tramp quarters. burglars haunt, barn.
MILL ferry and deserted hut was searched and
every building, private and public, in Phila-
delphia gone through. The post Office and all
the letter-boxes were watched. detectives
watched every train that left or entered the
city. Human ingenuity wore itself threadbare
In attempts 10 recover the stolen boy.
Fraud too, found a festival in this new form
of domestic calamity, and Mr.. Ross received
thousands of letters from spiritualists, clair
voyants and mediums, and even from black
mailers of all sorts. including convicts in Jail
and murderers awaiting their doom, profess
ing knowledge OF the abductors.
linen came host of these vile creations
called anonymous letters, always the work, as
superintendent Wallng says, of creatures who
have all the willingness but not the courage of
murder" These letters were to the police,
suggesting that Mr.. Ross stole his own child:
that If his fine garden were dug up its bones
would be discovered; that the child was not
Mr. Ross, etc. One newspaper boldly printed
an article embedding these suggestions, was
sued for libel, severely reprimanded by the
court, and obliged to pay heavy damages.
The uproar the country was in over this
case, and the way man, woman and child
turned detective, thoroughly alarmed the
kIdnappers, and they deserted plan after
SO afraid were they of being intrappcd Ia
the history of civilization there has never been
crime like this, nor one that as thoroughly |
baffied detectives.
One plan proposed by the abductors, and
which involved almost fatal consequences to |
Mr. Ross, was that he should put the money
into valise, start from Philadelphia at night |
go on to New York and thence to ALBANY riding |
the entire distance on the platform of the rear
car, and the instant he saw torch held I'D by |
man waving handkerchief he was to throw
the valise on the track, with the warning that
If the train was stopped the child's throat
would be cut
Mr.. Ross went through this frightful ordeal
standing on his feet the entire distance, every
nerve on an intense strain, with the fear of
vain His own description of this heart rend-
ing journey is thrilling, but, coming after
months of mental agony and over-fat1gue, it
terminated in severe illness, which decided
his wife and family to run the risk of paying |
the ransom in advance, in the faint hope that |
the boy would be returned; but though ali
their directions were followed the child thieves
on whose track the police now were, failed to
appear, and a lull ensued for several weeks.
Then the public were electrified at hearing
that two burglars had been killed while rob- |
bling house in Bay Ridge; that one Mosher,
died instantly, and that his comrade, Douglass,
lived only long enough to confess the stealing
of Charley Ross, and to solemnly swear TINT
no one but the dead man knew his whereabouts.
and so it is to-day that the fate of that little
sunny faced, golden haired boy is still wrapped
in dark mystery.
The safety of millions of children has been
purchased, it seems too sadly true, by the life !
of one, though the parents of that one still
fondly cling to the hope that their4on will some
day appear among them.
''The hue and cry that rang this great Repub-
ic," said Mr.. Ross, 'strangled this species of
crime in it's birth. No one dreamed before
what hold child of 4 years had on the heart
of nation, and, though at the time my child