San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-10-13
A Baby's Endurance.

The following extract from New
Mexico paper shows the wonderful
endurance of q three year old child"
When Mrs. Hausdorf returned from
her sea rch after the cow she was sur
prised to find the little boy missing,
and mmediately went In search of
him. She spent many hours in fu.
tile search, and as the shades of night
fell her heart failed her. She went
t. consult her nearest neighbor, and
with sobs told her story. In her
fatigue she fell uncon scious to the
ground.
Soon a score of men were out In
search of the wanderer. For miles
around the neigh oors secured every
spot, but nowhere were signs of the
child visible. The searching parties
returned home, the darkness render.
ing further search impossible. The
mother was apprised of the result OF
the search and her grief was pltiable
morning nearly halt the male popu-
lation of Lancaster could be seen
gathered together discussing the
event and mapping out q method of
search. Plans were made TO scour
the country in all directions.
A party of ten men who had the
assignment to search the locality
north of the house, found imprints OF
the baby's feet q short while after
they had been out. Through the cac.
tus bushes and tangled masses OF
sagebrush the party followed the
trail of the diminutive feet, tiuged
here and there with what looked like
blood spots. Suddenly the trail be.
came oblitersted with lamentations
made by coyote feet. The child in it's
wanderings had passed coyote den,
and from that time on the tracks OF
the bahy's feet were followed with
some difficulty.
The party followed the coyote
tracks, stopping every now and then
to kill rattlesnake or destroy a tar.
aptula. The trace of coyotes led the
party to the edge of u dry lake, ten
miles north of the house of Mr.. Haus-
dorf. Here the coyotes trail became
indistinct, and the iInprints of the
childish feet more pronounced.
Standing on the edge of this waste
of kali marsh the beholder is pre-
scented with a wonderful mirage Of
water rolling in beautiful pillows to
the sandy mounds. The party came
to the conclusion that the child, see.
ing the mirage of water and being
consumed with thirst, toddled over on
the alkall. The alkali being q hard
ened crust and giving no impressions
of any kind it was determined to sep
arate, the Investigators keeping each
other in sight.
Four miles from the edge Of the
lake Walter Melick, the editor Of the
Lancaster Gazette, discovered the
body of the little child lying face
downward on the alkali. DR.. Wilson,
who was near him, came up and ex-
amined the body and discovered that
it had been dead only q few hours.
The little child had evidently
dropped from exhaustion and died.
carried back to the edge of the lake.
great that DIR. Wilson and Walter
Melick were obliged to put back TO
the edge of the lake for water and
rest. The body of the child was taken
to its mother, who was Frustrated by
the event. In it's waDderings the
little child walked fourteen mile 8
through cactus and sagebrush,
among venomous reptiles and vora-
cious coyotes. 1t is supposed that
after the child went in to the dry lake
the coyotes turned back.
The distance the child walked and
its numerous escapes from death by
coyotes and poisonous reptiles is
subject OF great mystery to people in
this locality. There were no bruises
on the child's body excepting the
scratches made by the cactus thorns.