The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-03-18
QUEER LITTLE VAIF
A Boy Of Five Found Friend
less On a WeehaWken
Highway.
WILL ANSWER NOLANGUAGE
He Has a Can and Ten Cents, But
There Is No Clue as to
Where He Came
From.


saw little child. between four and ave
years old, wandering aimlessly about.
carrying can. The peonle in the neigh
borhood told Besse that he had been
straying about the neigborhood for some
time. Nobody knew him. Nobody could
tell how he got there or what he was
doing. There he was, he looked cold,
hungry and tired. He had no one to care
for him, and that was all they knew.
The great big roupdsman squatted on
his heels in the road and spoke to the
little chap The boy stared at him with his
soft brown eyes, but did not show the
slightest sign of emotion. He did not
cry, he did not seemed scared, and he did
not utter single word. He had little
tin can in one hand and silver ten cents
in the other. He clutched them tightly,
stared and made no answer.
Besse then lifted him in his arms. He
made no struggle, for he was very tired,
and he almost fell asleep while the
Roundsman carried him to the Wee
hawken Pole Station. There he was
given some food and warmed up by the
big stove. AS the heat permeated his
little frame he frightened mp visibly. but
all efforts to get him to talk were unavail-
able.
The little fellow is dressed in gray
| coat, blue plaid jacket and gray shirt. A
| cheap fur cap sits rather uncertainty on q
| shock OF brown hair. and rather worn
shoes cover his diminutive feet. When
| he thawed beside the stove, the kind
| hearted janitor and the policeman in
turn asked him what was his name. But
| he made no answer and stared at the
| men unabashed.
| A CONVERSATIONAL FAILURE.
| All sorts OF questions were asked, but
he never spoke word. He Just looked
| at his admirers wonderinply and grasped
more firmly his little tin pail. at the bet
tom of which was the ten cent piece.
| After awhile it occurred to one Of the
men that the child was of foreign parent
age and ignorant of English tongue.
Then one Of the accomplished linguists
| of Weehawken said:--
"Bist du Deutch, kleines Kind?"
| But the child still kept SILENT
| "Est-ce que tu es francais, mon 80.
vieuxp
| 'Sei tu ItalianoT'
| "SEstss Espanol. muchacho mioW
AT this point the hnguist's supply of
dialects gave out, and he retired with the
remark that "De little blokey must be
deaf and dumb" for the boy made no ac-
acknowledgement Of any word said to him.
He held on to his can and yelled when any,
| one tried to take 1t from him.
| Ali afternoon he sat on one of the
benches, but took no part in the political
| discussion carried on about him.
| A WEARY NIGHT.
| When the time arrived for all good
boys to be in bed and the janitor carried
| him upstairs he was peaceable until
| they attempted to take his can. and then
| he set up bowling and kicking which
\ would have terrified a professional nurse
| or school teacher. He refused to be put
| to bed, and once when he dozed of
| in chair and Charlie. the favor
| lite, lifted him and put him
on pillow, he awoKe and sought his
| chair, aud there he staid. He did not re-
| lease his can all night, but WAS very
| quiet unless molested, when he would
| melt the most brutal heart.
| WHO is HE?
Telephone messages were sent all over
| the county. but no trace of his people has
| yet been discovered. All this morning
| he sat near the window, both little hands
on the handle of the can, and looking at
| the snow in the street. Some of the
| policemen believe he belongs to one Of
| the Bohemian or.Armenian families in
| West Hoboken, but there has been no In
formation received at the West Hoboken
| Police Station of boy lost.
| King Simon Kelly will use every means
| to discover the wanderers Aome ard re-
| store him to his people, who are probably
| too unacquainted with the customs of the
country to inform tho police authrities Of
| their loss.