Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-15
NEARLY FROZEN TO DEATH.
TERRIBLE sUFFERINGs OF LITTLE
e-YEAR-oLD wAIF.

Both Her Feet and Hands Are Frozen
She Is Now Suffering From Pneumonia
md In Not Likely to Recover-Her Tale
of Cruelty.
A 9-year-old child named Emma Abbey
was found under a porch nearly dead in
Spring Garden borough yesterday morning.
1t was about o'clock when the daughter of
Burgess. Mutsig, of the borough, while
seated at window, was startled by pitiful
moan coming apparently from under the
house. She spoke to her mother of it, but
while they listened for repetition all was
still. A few minutes later the daugh-
ter again heard it and notified
her mother and the two began an investiga-
tion, thinking it was only dog or a cat
that had crowded under the porch. The
little daughter got down on her knees and
peered in the lattice work beneath the
porch when she was Mortified to find a little
child curled up there and apparently
asleep.
Mrs. Mutsig and her daughter tore away
the porch steps and with some difficulty got
the child out and into the house. She re-
manned unconscious for an hour and ply
sician was sent for. On examination it was
found her feet had been frozen, her hands
partly so and besides she had
contracted pneumonia from exposure.
When she was finally revived she said her
name was Emma Abbey, and that she had
made her home with an oil driller named
John Dean, who lived some distance up the
run beyond the borough She also said she
had run away from him on last Wednesday
and since that time has wandered about
without food until Friday, when she
ad he ,,orcb and had rone To
sleep at once and did not waken until she
found herself in Mrs. Mutsig's care.
Burgess Mutsig at once sent word of it to
Secretary Dorente, of the Anti Cruelty
Society, who had her removed to the Allie
ghenv General Hospital Her condition
is really alarming and but little hope is
entertained of her life being saved. She
has pneumonia in its worst form and be-
sides is nearly starved, having partaken of
no nourishment for probably three days.
In any event the child's feet will have to
be amputated because of their frozen con-
dition.
What makes the case even sadder is that
but little is at present known of the child
or her parents. The whole village was agog
over the matter, and the news finally
reached the ears of Mr. Dean himself.
Secretary Dorente hunted the latter up,
and was surprised to recognize in him a
man that had appealed to him
several times for child whom he desired
to adopt. Mrs. Dean, his wife, had also
made similar request at the society's Of
fee, and she, too, was recognized at their
house. 1t appears that mickey" Dean,
the former agent of the society, had also
been asked by the couple to get them lit
tie girl, and about year and a half ago he
got the child found yesterday and took her
to them. But he tailed to make a record
of the matter at the Office of the society and
the necessary information as to the child's
parents, friends or home was therefore not
known to the society.
Some two months ago complaint was
made to the Secretary of the alleged cruelty
practiced by Mr.. Dean on his adopted
daughter, but after an investigation show
ing there was no just ground for the charge
the matter was dropped. But even then it
was not known the child had been given to
Dean by one of the society's agents. 1t was
shown, however, that the girl was bad, told
lies and was generally incorrigible and fire.
quently ran away When found yesterday
she stubbornly refused to tell why she ran
away, and Secretary Dorente intends to
prosecute Mr.. Dean for his apparent
neglect of her, and hopes to unravel all the
mystery connected with the child's actions
in the past two years, as well as to find who
her parents are.