The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-22
WILLIE DICKINSON'S FATE.
THE WISCONSIN, MYSTERY Hr
UP BY 4 TUCSoN DESPATCH.

a Case that Resembied the Abduction OF
Charley Ross and Excited the west
The boy believed TO Have Been stolen
for Revenge Heroiaa shown ny tho
Boys Mother In tho Long Search.
y despatch from Tucson. Ariz., last week.
said that n young man IN that town claimed to
lie Willie Dickinson. who was stolen from his
parents in Commonwealth. Wis, fifteen years
ogo. This brings to mind II story as remark.
able IN many ways ns that of the abduction Of
Charley Ross. The disappearance OF tho boy
aud the long search for him excited great In.
torest in the West. not only on account Of the
story Itself. but also because Of the untiring
hcroisin Of the mother, who for years never
gave up the hope that some day she would find
her son. and In the face Of the greatest obsta.
cles went from one end OF the country 10 the
other, and penetrated into the worst slums Of
Chicago and this city In pursuit of clues that
came to nothing.
Willie Dickinson was the eldest son of Capt.
William Dickinson, superintendent Of the
Commonwealth iron mine. On the afternoon
OF Nov. IL, 1881, he WIS abducted by men. who,
II IL supposed, were members of n gang that had
plotted to steal the pay money of the mine
which had come by express from Chicago three
days before, and had been fuilcd by the vigil.
ance of the mine officials. 1t is supposed that
the motive for stealing the child was revenge.
lie was seized about half n mile from his
home on the road that leads TO the village from
the mine, and from that day to this nothing
has been learned OF his fate. His parents
think that he is dead. killed by his captors
not long after HIS abduction. and for the last
ten years they have about abandoned the
search, although not u month passes that
news Is not brought to them Of some one who
answers the description Of the lost boy.
The year 1881 marked the highest Doint Of
the boom on the Menomine Range. Az a con-
sequence there were on the range Il good many
hard characters attracted by the money of the
miners, and although no town on the range
ever attained the evil prominence Of Hurley
on the Gogebic, there were pretty lively times
In some OF the settlements, such as Quinnesec,
Iron Mountain. Florence, and Crystal Falls.
Commonwealth, itself. was but n village Of tho
branch Of the Chicago and ~Northwestcrn road,
~ of the station, n dozen groggeries, the school
house. and thirty. or forty houses Of miners.
location. where were the mine, shops, company
store, and homes Of the mine officials and Of
the mine ran, through the woods, and from the
town to the l%ocation not a single house was TO
S pe seed edv ,he t CS@i. and m,r Grqsh TrT Iiya5 III up to I H., he
frame house. the biggest in the county. up Mt
the legation. His family consisted of his wife
and the eldest son. Willie was about . years
old. That fall he was sent e. the school in the
village with. his next older sister. Christine.
and were called for every afternoon. They
were never allowed to go alone. not for fear
that any one would modest them, but rather to
guard against their wandering into the woods.
Pay day at the mine was the fifteenth of each
month. The money was sent from Chicago by
express and always arrived on the afternoon
mine. shortly before the i4th of that N % Ino
her Capt; Dickinson was warned that n gang
wAy from the tntinD with thn ppnpav
He rather laughed at the idea. but decided
to take precautions against any such attempt.
and when the time came to get the money,
which that month amounted to some SI5. 900,
he sent in the blackboard with the cashier two
chestrrs and revolvers. That morning two
or three, strange men had been seen loafing
tioning the men in the town about pay day ut
the mine ~ was generally known about
men Disappeared during the day they probably
learned of the extra preparations to guard tho
go attempt was "a maize 1%ts to get eft the ren money s ANY and the the
whole thing was REGARDED as q false alarm. Tho
ns srns5 night, on hGwe We as 1t was vas a, afteTward
sons, q stockade house between Commonwealth
and Florence. and. becoming very, drunk,
even with Dickinson, who had spoiled a good
on Nov. II the two children were taken to
school as usual, At noon Christine was taken
home. hut Willie stayed for tine afternoon Sos.
no one came for the child. and he started for
home alone. he was seen several times. 4
half way home his Oldest sister, Charlotte. who
was out riding. met hin, and told him to hurry
home. When she saw HIM he was trying the
eficCt OF a mud puddle on Il pair of new rubber
boots. He started homewarl. his sister wait
ing until he had disappeared around Il turn OF
the road. That was the last ever seen of him.
A teamster who came along the road on his
way home fifteen minutes later did not see him.
were drawn; which was being driven rapid
y toward Florence. In it were two men whom
the description Of the men who had been at
Morris,n's They had the rubber fly of the
as II was not raining. and he could not see
whether a child, was in the buggy, even If he
As night came on, and it comes very quickly
IN Noyein 2er In northern Wisconsin. the fail
f pisk IN @il'' At to ar return she 0s fSont to ~S Se m M5s;
h "a stayed in the village playing with the
came alarm; Messengers were sent to ali the
to any OF K Not a a soul had e seem saa EiIm.
Then word was sent out that Willie Dickin-
, i6%t h he had strnysd; intP re woods and had
and By : "oSSiock searching parties sSS were beat,
Any one who knows the north woods real
much more II little child who has straycd into
wealth re than" and the nine ti2rsI there n We're at hat Glni ttmo
no clearings save here and there whore there
was n test pit. For miles and miles on either
side of the rJad extended an unbroken forest
in which: as in all hardwood forests. was a
growth of underbrush, so thick that one could
see but a few feet ahead. On one side Of the
road extended Tor nearly a half a mile an al.
most impenetrable cedar swamp. and save for
the long grass, as thick and blind In wiutrr as
in summer. Add TO this the darkness OF a
night. and the task before the search
ers. was well nigh hopeless. A child, panic
stricken. could have wandered three or four
miles in four hours. lie might have fallen
into a test pit. he might have gone TO sleep in
the brush and be passed time and again by the
searchers, or he might have fallen prey to tho
fierce timber wolves that the woods we're fun
of. NeNerthel 81. the seRrChCrs started out
hope that the hoy would he found in IA
short time. ON the first night about 100 men
went out. divided into parties Of four or tiVe,
ench PARTY headed by an Experienced woods.
man, and all carrying lanterns, They started
down the woods on the left side Of the road In
n long line, all the men within hailing dis
lance OF each other. and ahead Of them went
the French woodchoppers and the halfbrrcds.