St. Paul daily globe., 1892-04-24

only created great excitement. but
was certainly most remarkable II not
wonderful. 1t caused the people to cali
him the '.lost boy" by which appclla
ton he was known to thousands i'm this
part of the state, and he certainly had
the distinction, at that time. of being
the most widely known boy IN the
country. Tommy was then five years
old, bright boy aud the pet OF lis
parents, Mr. and Mrs Thomas O. Rourke.
of Glcndive, Mont. During the month
of September, 1890, the family PAID
visit to the boys uncle. John O'ROurke,
a farmer living near Foley small sta
ton fourteen miles east from St. Cloud,
on the llinckley branch Of the Great
Northern. Saturday. Sept 27, Mr.
O'Rourke, with his sons, VAS engaged
in haying a meadow mile and half
from his home.
Tommy wanted To Ride
along with them, and was allowed to 90.
At noon the stock Of hay was nearly
completed. One more load was neces-
sary, and, as the men drove away.
Tommy was left sitting OH an OyercOat
under AN oak tree playing with some
eight days. When the men retured in ten
minutes. the boy bad disappeared. A
search was immediately begun by the
O'Kourkes and their neighbOIS. The
fields and meadows. woods aud marshes
were explored for miles around, but no
trace of the boy. Night came ON, and
still the men continued to hunt through
the woods. Far into the next day they
searched. until. tired out and hungry
and discouraged. they returned home
for food and rest. But others took their
places. The boys father engaged men
10 look for his child. The news spread,
and volunteers came TO aid in the
search Small parties were formed here
and there among the FARMERS in the
vicinity and by the people Of Foley TO
undertake the task OF finding The boy,
but none found him. Day after day
passed, but no glad tidings for the par
ents. More than once during the long
week that followed two hundred and
more men and boys were engaged in
the hunt. Finally. at the end of
week, it was decided to make one more
attempt. 1t was to be made the next
day, the second Sunday after the boy
had been lost. under the leadership Of
Sheriff Quinn, who had been on the
ground all the time. At O'Clock that
cdDDdlu .HblullG, OCl. >,
4 special Train
with 200 volunteers from ST. Cloud and
Sauk Rapids left for Foley. Arriving
there the party proceeded at once TO the
meadow where the boy had been lost.
Here the men assembled around what
had been stack of hay but which had
been completely scattered, as it was
feared that the boy might have crawled
into the hay. The wagon with its hay
rack half empty still stood there. Even
the horses harness lay at the tongue
OF the wagon, where they had been
thrown eight days before. consulta-
ton was neld here and a halt of twenty
minutes followed while the party
waited for guides. Farmers and people
at Foley had now Joined in the search.
The volunteers were then divided into
squads. each headed by guide familiar
with the country. One by one the de-
tachments disappeared in the woods
as they received their assignments.
For hours the little parties of men
tramped through the rough country,
through the forest of tall oak. maple
and small brush; climbed over wind
falls and waded through marshes.
When they became hungry and tired
they sat down and ate their lunches,
with which all were provided. 1t was
shortly after l O'Clock when one of the
small parties, under the guidance of
Mike O'Rourke, cousin of the lost
boy, which had made a long detour,
struck
a Tamaraek swamp
a mile and half from where the boy