The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-03-22
A LOST CHILD.

q 4 BAW IN u racing coast news
paper an account Of i lost child. II
brought freshly 10 my mind d search
for q lost child In which I participated
40 years ago. 1t was the only case Of
the kind with which ] = had any
thing to do. Children are often lost In
large towns ana cities, 10 She alarm.
end grief of their parents. but the stray
ing OF q child In a place thronsed with
people Is not so serious q matter 'as is
the wandering away OF q little one into
the boundless wilds Of an unsettled conn.
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 wait 1t lie
soon restored to the arms OF its parents,
except In the rare cases OF kidnapping.
I'm wild regions, however, whom d child
10 known TO be lost, IL il necessary to
at once organize searching parties and
scour the country for miles In ell direc-
tions. Nothing more quickly arouses
the people Of a settlement in one OF our
western wilds than the news that q child
has been lost. The sympathy OF even
the most stolid in the community is
awakened. In isolated settlements all
are drawn together as q sort Of class OF
large family, each member of which is
Familiarity acquainted with every other
member, both great and small. This
} being the case, when q child Il lost by
one of the families OF such . communi-
ty, 1t il only necessary TO mention its
name to bring its image TO the minds
} 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 it's pretty prattle.
, MY experience in hunting for a lost
child was had in Iowa in 1851. IL was
> in what was known as the Wapse-noe'
mock White Earth Creek) settlement.
, half way between Muscatine and lows
: City. To the southwark was q heav,
l body of timber, q mile or two in widtl
: and extending for 80 miles along thu
creek-the MISUNDERSTANDING Il
the west and north lay the wild and
boundiess p~rairis.
9 One night, late in October, i wa
aroused by a cry of: Hello, hello! TIL
house!' ~ y
Ii was about 10 o'clock at night
u Springing out Of bed, / raised . window
and a ont, "Hello!" b.
"A child is lost-William FENDER
sons little Lizzie. They missed he
about shutdown, and since then we hav
h been searching ~everywhere. Come AM
bring all the help you can. I am goin
to carry the news to the other neigh
2 bors i'm this direction, and the man,
a neighbor, whose voice ! at once recog
:, mixed, galloped on.
Il The farm Of William Henderson wa
two miles away, OF the edge ct til
4 boundless prairie lying to the nortf
ward. My brothers and every ma
z about the house turned out and bega
II dressing, for all had heard the aiaEmin
"a news and all knew the lost child-+a Iii
!. tie 4-year~old. Without waiting tot
ont upon the prairie 10 catch mp horse
IL veal struck ont ON foot fer the Hsl
derson farm. we arrived at He
derson' q house, We found ii hlled vii
women. Mrs.s Henderson was fB5l
H. She was Determined 10 rush forth'in
= the prairie, despite the darkness &C n
~ night. 1.-THE wolyesl the woises!i WI
I'd her constant cry - The wolves will III
Ia my poor child!n Twenty women We
present and all nearly as frantic est
mother. The house was q perfect be
IN lam. 8ss
I'd It was not without reason that q
:. mind OF the mother was flled with te
!" of wolves. At that time the praiFi
were fun Of coyotes, bands Of win.
nightly prowled about the 6utiyll
farms, ready to slip in and carry |
10 lambs or fowls. When intent upon su'
is thieving, they are quiet enough, but
baked by the flashing Of lights or
unusual commotion, they stand or
on a distance and yelp ont their disappear
ment and anger. This evening the hu
Cry brutes, owing to the stir about I
farm, had been particularly noisy y
al indignant. The bowls and yelps we
w. torture 10 the poor mother. Some DO
had two or three times gone out n
". the prairie back Of the fields with dol
he but the wolves were In such force I'll
they each time turned and followed I
dogs In as soon az the boys turned abol
,eS Whenever the wolves began yelpir
If the poor mother would make a rush
to the door. but four or 1--WE women. w
- had resolved themselves into a sort
bodyguard, always piled upon her q
dragged her back. As the mother v
nd an unusually large and strong woms
these struggles were 90 fierce as to frigl
~ en- the is or 90 youngsters collected
the house and set them all to screechi
9 at the top Of their voices.
After witnessing d skirmish or I
lge of the kind mentioned, and being ri
Bile TO obtain amy useful information
al the house, we beat q retreat. The n
were all out In d stretch Of prairie 4
lay east Of the farm. Toward them
FASTENED. Before MS was a beauti
= sight. Not only all the farmers, but
the residents of the little village
West Liberty, had taken the ne
About 90 men ON horseback, each "
d huge torch, were seen moving sloi
tItc IN line across the Drairie. The h01