Omaha daily bee., 1889-04-28
A MOTHER CRUELTY MOCKED
She Receives aiSkeleton Dressed in
Her Lost Boys Clothes.
TURNING GRAY BEFORE HER TIME
A Nebraska woman's Pathetic Letter
TO a Wyoming shcrin-still Hopes
Alter Searching Vainiy
Five Long Years.
Sent Her a Box of Bones.

otut htr ~ OI bOneS.
Sheriff Martin, says the Cheyenne |
Leader, has received this remarkable |
letter:
CRAWFORD. Neb.-Sir: take the |
liberty of addressing you this letter for |
information about matter that con-
Germs me very much. About five years
ago L separated from my husband and
went to Sidney, Neb. While enroute
there my boy was lost or stolen. | have
every reason to believe that the latter
was the case, as / have lately heard that
he was in Cheyenne and going to school
there.
"Soon after my boys disappearance |
received n skeleton represented to be
his remains, 1t was accompanied by
an unsigned communication which set
forth that the body was that of my son,
and had been found on the prairie near
Cheyenne.
The skeleton was clothed with the
suit worn by my boy when he was
stolen from me, but the bones were
much larger than could have been
those of my son, who was but seven
years old. Here is description of the
boy:
"Age, twelve, complexion, fair; eyes,
brown; hair dark; had scar on the
forehead almost exactly between the
eyes and extending downward toward
the nose. His name is Albert Comfy.
Il sincerely hope that you will do all
you can to discover whether he is in
Cheyenne or not and thereby assist a
mother in learning the fate of lost
child. The anxiety and worry is nearly
killing me and am becoming old and
gray before my time. [ will answer all
questions and give you all the informa-
tion you desire if you will write me. L
| am. sir, yours very respectfully and in
| hope. Mrs. LIZZIE Comfy"
There is a tale Of ghastly romance and
| intense human interest for you. Family
| jars, separation, abduction, grave rob-
| bing and continued silent deceit to the
| misery of an unprotected woman all
| enter into this strange story. Woven
into crude letter by a loving and heart
| sick but uneducated mother, these in
| gradients make a wierd novel, rivaling
| line from master pens. Who can imag-
inc the agony of this distressed woman,
robbed of the light of her life. Who
| can devise punishment sufficiently Sc
we're for the cruel author of her misery
"a hardened wretch who robs a grave
to add to the cup of bitterness of her
whom he has estranged by violation OF
the holiestsof contracts.
| Sheriff Martin has acted nobly in the
| matter. He has searched high and low
for the missing boy, and has made ex
| tensive inquiries for the inhuman hu s.
| band, but has gained no trace of either.
No reply has been received to an Off
cial letter of inquiry, but the failure to
answer is readily explained by the MN
uscript printed above. The penman
ship of the body of the narrative is
poor mother is simply an awkward
scrawl. She could not write the letter,
but managed to sign it after a fashion,
The letter is exceedingly ambiguous
and a finished plot must include
matter between the lines. To form a
connected story it is necessary to sur
mise. Here is vast field for specula-
ton. The people quarrelled-presum-
ably at Crawford. Mrs. Comfy took her
knew she loved the child. He also had
a fondness for the boy and determined
to recover him. To board the train,
secure the child and leave at
some station was not diff
cult. The mother would be frantic, but
she must be punished for leaving him.
In her great affection for her boy the
mother would search for him. She re-
turns to Crawford, where she has ac-
guaintances. Now the cruel cunning
OF the wicked and revengeful father
comes into play. He resolves to con-
vince his wife that their son was dead.
He will forcibly impress the fact upon
her mind, and she will cease searching.
A fiendish scheme is hatched. A skel-
eton dressed in the boys clothing shall
be sent with the information that the
remains were found on the prairie near
Cheyenne. Walks are taken to the
cemetery in the day time and the rest
ing place of some mothers darling Sc
lected. AT night the grave yard is
stealthily approached. A desperate
companion has been enlisted and the
pair nervously dig, each blow seeming
many times louder than necessary.
The pick strikes a box. A few
thrown out, the outside case removed,
coffin opened and body thrust into a
sack. This is carried to some vacant
house or RENDEZVOUS selected for the oc-
casion. A receptacle as much unlike a
coffin as possible has been secured. The
skeleton was thrust into the clothes of
the living boy, the box sealed and the
terrible nights work completed. Next
day the box was bodily carried to the
express Office and billed to the anxious
mother.
Mrs. Conly's unimpassioned recital is
revelation of womaa's character. How
she must have started back in horror
after seeing the contents of the mys-
teriOus box. Then she wept hysterlcally
and refused to be comforted. Recover
ing composure her mother instinct told
her that the skeleton was not that OF her
i