The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1894-03-13
A LOST CHILD.

40 years ago. 1t was the only case OF
the kind with which | ever had any
thing to do. Children are often lost in
large towns and cities, to the alarm
and grief of their parents, but the stray
ing of child in a place thronged with
people is not so serious a matter as is
the wandering away of little one into
the boundess wilds of an unsettled coun-
try. The police are notified, advertise
ments inserted in the daily papers, and
as some one is pretty sure to have found
and taken care of the little waif it is
soon restored TO the arms of its parents,
except in the rare cases of kidnapping.
In wild regions, however, when a child
is known to be lost, it is necessary to
at once organize searching parties and
scour the country for miles in all direc-
lions. Nothing more quickly arouses
the people of a settlement in one of our
western wilds than the news that child
has been lost. The sympathy of even
the most stolid in the community is
awakened. In isolated settlements all
are drawn together as sort of class or
large family, each member of which is
familiarly acquainted with every other
member, both great and small. This
being the case, when child is lost by
one of the families of such communi
ty, it is only necessary to mention its
name to bring its image to the mind
eye of every one. Besides, there will
be scores of persons who have fondled
and handled the missing little one, look
ed into its innocent eyes and listened
to its pretty prattle.
Ny experience in hunting for a lost
child was had in Iowa in 1851. 1t was
in what was known as the Wapse-noe-
mock white Earth Creek settlement,
half way between Muscatine and Iowa
City. To the southwark was a heavy
body of timber, mile or two in width
and extending for 80 miles along the
creek-the Wapse-noe-nock-while to
the west and north lay the wild and
boundless prairie.
One night, late in October, l was
aroused by a cry of: Hello, hello! The
housed"
1t was about 10 o'clock at night.
Springing out of bed, raised window
and sang out, "Hello!'
"A child is William Hender
sons little Lizzie. They missed her
about shutdown, and since then we have
been searching everywhere. Come and
bring all the help you can. 1 am going
to carry the news to the other neigh
bors in this direction, - and the man,
neighbor, whose voice l at once recog-
nized, galloped on.
The farm of William Henderson was
two miles away, on the edge OF the
boundless prairie lying to the north
ward My brothers and every man
about the house turned out and began
dressing, for all had heard the alarming
news and all knew the lost child-a lit
tie 4-year-old. Without waiting to go
out upon the prairie to catch up horses,
we all struck out on foot for the Hen
derson farm. When we arrived at Hen
derson s house, we found it filled with
women. Mrs. Henderson was wild.
She was determined to rush forth into
the prairie. despite the darkness of the
night. 1.-THE wolvesl the wolves!' was
her constant cry. 1.-THE wolves will kill
my poor child" Twenty women were
present and all nearly as frantic as the
mother. The house was a perfect bed
lam.
1t was not without reason that the
mind of the mother was filled with fear
of wolves. At that time the prairies
were full of coyotes, bands of which
nightly prowled about the outlying
farms, ready to slip in and carry off
lambs or fowls. When intent upon such
thieving, they are quiet enough, but if
baked by the flashing of lights or an
unusual commotion, they stand off at
a distance and yelp out their disappoint-
ment and anger This evening the hum
CRY brutes, owing to the stir about the
farm, had been particularly noisy and
indignant. The bowls and yelps were
torture to the poor mother. Some boys
had two or three times gone out into
the prairie back of the fields with dogs,
but the wolves were in such force that
they each time turned and followed the
dogs in as soon as the boys turned about.
Whenever the wolves began yelping,
the poor mother would make a rush for
the door, but four or five women, who
had resolved themselves into sort of
bodyguard, always piled upon her and
dragged her back. AS the mother was
an unusually large and strong woman,
these struggles were so fierce as to fright
en- the Is or 30 youngsters collected at
the house and set them all to screechlng
at the top of their voices.
After witnessing skirmish or two
of the kind mentioned, and being una
BILE to obtain any useful information at
the house, we beat retreat. The men
were all out in a stretch of prairie that
lay east of the farm. Toward them we
fastened Before us was a beautiful
sight. Not only all the farmers, but all
the residents of the little village of
West Liberty, had taken the field.
About 60 men on horseback, each with
a huge torch, were seen moving slowly
in line across the prairie. The horse
men were about so feet apart, and be-
tween each pair was footman. They
swept over a wide swath, and when out
mile from the fields would turn, form
again and move back again over new
ground. In order not to trample the
child under the feet of their horses they
did not move out of walk. At the
fields number of old men were split
ting up fencerails and making torches.
Thus they were going over the prairie
al, NV foot
This unusual sight stirred up the imp
ish coyotes, and they could be frequent
ly heard yelping on the prairie TO the
northward of the farm, quite needless
of the gun and pistol shots when they
raised their Internal howl.
The father of the lost child was
among the mounted men. He was calm,
but his face looked like that Of dead
man in the glare of his torch. We had
failed to obtain any useful information
at the house, and when the father came
| to the fence where the torches were re-
newed a cousin who was with me APP
preached him. Mr. Henderson. he
said, keep up your courage. Your
child will be found, if not tonight, then
surely very soon after daylight. What
kind of shoes did she have on?"
"a pair of little buckskin mecca
sins, " said the father.
"That is all wanted to learn, " said
my cousin. "Take courage, Mr.. Hen
derson.
My cousin then went to man from
the village who had bullseye lantern,
and borrowing it started off alone in
the direction OF the house. This cousin
Milton Moore by name-had recently
returned from the pineries of Wfscon-
sin, where for three years he had been
numbering on the Chippewa river. He
was a great hunter and had been much
among the Chippewa and the Winneba-
go Indians. In his hunting expeditions
among the Indians and with their young
braves he had become an expert in the
art of trailing l think few Indian: