The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-18
ETA PROVES TO BE- A BOY.
He Says He Was Brought Up By His
Parents as a Girl.

" a4A III his 0aNu
From the New York Sun
Mrs. Skinner OF 1O7 Hicks street,
Brooklyn, went to police headquarters on
Wednesday evening and told the sergeant
on duty that she had a girl in her en-
ployment who threatened TO commit
suicide, and that when she left her house
TO come to headquarters the girl was
running around with big bowie knife
in her hand. Mrs. Skinner was too ex-
cited to tell anything more, and before
any one could stop her to ask more ques-
! tions she had gone away, so there was
nothing to do but to send down to l07
Hicks street as soon as possible. a police
man was despatched on the case at once.
When he arrived at Mrs. SINNERS
everything was quiet He rang the door
bell, and it was opened by what appeared
TO be tall, MISUNDERSTANDING girl, who
was evidently a servant in the house.
She was very shy and appeared to be
frightened very much by the policeman's
uniform, The policeman asked Tor Mrs.
Skinner, and the girl, without saying
word to him, ran upstairs and left the
officer standing in the hall. In a few
minutes Mrs Skinner came down and
told the policeman that the girl VINO had
Z
ened suicide. Then Mrs. Skinner called
up the stairs in a loud voice for Eta.
| The door opener came down in a bashful,
timid way, and when she had neared the
SPOT where the policeman stood, Mrs.
| Skinner said in loud voice:
| Yes, this is the girl who wants to die,
officer"
"Oh, no. I don't, MIR. Policeman" cried
Eta in a frightened voice, and she i'm
mediately began weeping. Mrs. Skinner
insisted that she did, ana called up her
| colOred cook to sustain her. The cook
| said that Eta had been threa tening
! suicide for the last two weeks or more,
and that time and again she would pull
| out the big bowie knife she al
ways carried and drew it across
! her neck. The policeman began ques-
! tioning Eta about this, but the girl
refused to answer and became hysterical.
| He could see the handle of the knife stick
! ing from her dress pocket, and, as he
! thought, she looked like a woman who
might kill herself, he decided to take her
around to the station house. He told her
! TO go up stairs and get on her things.
/ While she was 10 stairs Mrs Skinner
told the policeman what she knew about
| Eta. She said:
Eta came to me about a month ago
and asked for work of any kind. AS l
needed a strong girl to do general work
| around the house Just then, Eta was en-
| gagged al a salary of IS a month"; with
! board and lodging. AS there was no
vacant room in the house Just then, Eta
was told She had TO sleep with the colored
I cook. She made no objection TO this, and
has been sleeping there ever since. She
! IS the best worker l have ever had. She
never went out at night, and have never
seen such modest girl in all my life.
At the same time, she's SO queer some
times that am afraid to keep her"
At this point Eta reappeared, decked
out in street costume. She was composed
and walked quietly alongside of the po-
liceman. When the station house was
reached she described herself as Eta
| Graemes, IL years old. When asked if
| she had any other home besides Mrs
SINNERS house, she said she hadn't. AS
| she was too young to be locked up in the
station house, the sergeant decided to
send her to the Society Tor the Prevention
OF Cruelty to Children, on Schermerhorn
street. While being led over to the So
cietY's headquarters she became hyster-
! zeal again. When she was ushered into
| Supt Wilkins Office Mr. Wilkins spoke
/ kindly to her, and she seemed to be a /
I ease in his presence.
Il is the rule in the society to get a
much of the past history of any one
| brought to it as possible. BY adroit ques-
! tiOning the superintendent drew from
Eta what she gave as the story Of her
! life. 1t was sad QUE and as she told it
! tears frequently came to her eyes.
81 was born in a little town in Germany
| near Berlin she said. II never had any
| brothers, but had one sister. Mamma
and papa and we two girls lived nicely to-
! gethEr, but about four years ago papa
! said he could make fortune in America
| So we came to this country and went to
| live in Williamburgh. | used to sing in
Father Hauptmann's church. You know
l lived on MontrOse avenue, near the
church, and l used to have a good time. |
was happy then. 1t was last summer
| when my father fell from a scafTold and
was killed. Then, just a week after that.
mother took dose Of poison and it killed
| her. Sister and / had a hard time to-
gether, but we loved each other, and we
got along pretty well. All winter we
were together and began to cheer up from
mammals and papa's death. Then this
spring sisters health began to get bad,
so, as we had saved a little money to-
gSther. we went up to the Catskills We
spent all our money up there, and could
not get home so we had to go to work.
Sister got a place in Catskil village,
while got place at the O'Hara house
in Hunter, EverythinT was going along
smoothly until about five weeks ago.
Then sister poisoned herself, and l came
Oack mere 10 brooklyn.
Il did not have any place to go to, so l
was wandering around the streets when l
, happened TO run across a girl l used to
know when l lived on Montrose avenue
Her name is Clara. / can't remember her
other name. Well Clara and myself got
talking together, and | told her only had
a few dollars to my name, and that when
they were gone l would have nothing 10
live on. Clara pulled me aside and began
10 tell me what fine plan it would be for
US TO 90 and dress up in mems clothing
and how we could make so and so a
week did not care what / did, so we
went around to a pawnDroker's shop on
Graham avenue ana bought boys clothes.
We threw away our dresses after putting
them on. and went down in front of the
bridge to sell newspapers and try and get
100 On the bridge cars. | got tired of
this and went walking around the streets
in my mems clothes, asking every one Tor
a Job.
AT last I went to 1914 Hicks street,
which is a big boarding house, and they
hired me there as a waiLer, and my name
was to be Henry For the first two or
three days no one seemed to think ] was
a girl, but then one day did some iron
ing for the cook and she stood by and
watched me Then she said that no boy
could do ironing like that, and that she
did not believe l was boy because / hau
acted queer every since ] came there. She
/ caid / didn't act or xvallF 1iKa oun and