The Mineral argus., 1884-09-18
THE STORY OF CHARLEY Ross.
Ths Tragedy Of the Hearth and the Bro
kan Hearts Around -. 4 Sensation OF
Ten Years Ago Revived for The New

ken Hearts Around -. 4 Sensation OF
Ten Years Ago Revived for The New
Generation.
Philadelphia letter 70 the Cincinnati Enquirer
I stood for long time before picture yes
tsrlay. the lifs-sizs portrait Of a lovely laugh
ing child The face was that Of boy OF
sears. fair and dlmple1, with little rosy
mouth Just made for kissing, large, clear
brown eyes, through which happy little soul
shoae brightly and soft, hAxen curls shad-
ng broad, white brow. and falling about
round white neck
That is Charley my little Charley, said the
master OF the house sadly, and, looking from
his careworn, nervous face TO the cherub vision
on the wall. for the first time an understanding
ofthe tragedy of Charley Ross dawned upon
me, and for the benefit Of the new generation
and those to whom the tiny hero Of a mourn
full tale has been but a newspaper myth am
going to take up the freshest threads of we'll
known story, as related to me by Mr.. Ross in
view Of the green lane where his little son was
stolen from him
The house itself is situated at the end OF
broad and beautiful place in Germantown
called East Washington lane. On both sides OF
il are handsome substantial mansions of gray
granite, such as Pennsylvanians love, and
built far back from the road in the midst of
spreading lawns, sprinkled with beds OF gay
flowers More peaceful and beautiful sur
roundings one could hardly ind, and
miniature farm Of few acres, now dotted
with sweet-smelling hay-cOcks, next 70 Mr..
Ross place, even suggested the country
The house of Mr.. Ross is spacious double
one, built OF stone and surmounted by a cupOla.
II stands on the summit of a great slope, and,
with its broad piazza covered with climbing
hOneysuckles and roses, its huge basket OF
plants and ferns, and its friendly elms and
oaks looks q 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 mr. trees at the
foot of the lawn cut OF the view of the street
"feS, said Mr. Ross, Too thoroughly, for II
helped the wretches who stole my children to
escape with thecl Ten years ago the lst Of
July he continued, my little Charley, just
wears old, and still in petticOats, was playing
in the road with his brother Walter, two years
older than himself While they were frolck-
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 tirecrackers and
candy They fearing nothing, complied, and
were seen, as we found later, by some OF the
neighbOrs.
when l got homo at 8 O'Clock to tea, Mrs.
Ross and my eldest daughter being at Alantic
City for their health, the children had not re-
turned The neigbOrhoOd was secured in vain,
and at o'clock, on my way to the central Office
10 telegraph the police stations, we met Walter
returning home with Mr. Peacock, a friend of
the family who had found him crying bitterly
on a street corner in the northern part Of Phila
delphia. Just seven miles from home.
"The boy nearly paralyzed with fright,
but managed to relate how these Elen promised
TO take them to Aunt Susie's to buy, sweets and
a s.rrfn
the wagon and sent him into a shop TO get them
and when ne came out hey had disappeared
with Charley. The police thought the men
on a drunken frolic, and when sobered would
be alarmed at what they had done, and turn
The theory proved false On the Sd of
July we advertised for hum 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 wonld have to pay big cent to
get him back. The next letter demanded ran
som Of S2O, 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 10000 photographs of little Charley
were distributed throughout the land and tons
of posters, handbills and Autographs sown
broadcast The citizens of Philadelphia Of
fered a reward of $4,000 for the kidnappers,
of which reward the police volunteeredto to claim
no part and other large sums we're offered from
public and private sources, while the pressure
put on Mr.. Ross not to jeopardze 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 Outhouse stable
and place Of ill-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 Phlla;
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 to recover the stolen boy.
Fraud. too, found 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.
Then came q host of these vile creations
! called anonymous letters, always the work, as
Superintendent WallIng 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 I;
that il his fine garden we're dug up its bones
would be discovered; that the child was not
Mr. Ross, etc. One newspaper boldly printed
an article emboding 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
6dnappers, and they deserted plan after
| plan proposed to Mr.. Ross for the exchange,
| so afraid were they of being intrapped. In