The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-23


Guseppi Wodenia, the five-year-old
Dunmore boy who disappeared last
Sunday morning and whom Andrew
Grage, an enemy Of the family was ac-
cused OF Kidnapping, was found on
the East mountain yesterday morning
by Hugh A. Howell, of Tenth street.
who went there berry picking. The
lad was almost famished and his hands
and feet were in a pitiable condition
from being torn by the brambles and
bruised by the stones.
Mr.. Howell, who is a carpenter by
trade, had an idle day yesterday and
went out for huckleberries. He left
his house about four o'clock in the
| morning and went out the new boule-
ward on the East mountain as far as
! the speedway, where he took to the
| woods, going In a southeasterly dir
eCton. He walked along looking for
! berry patches until about 7.30 o'clock,
when he found good patch and began
to fill his pail
When thus engaged he was startled
! to hear q. faint cry and going in the
direction where it came he found a lit
| tie boy reclining on his side in a little
clearing in the bushes. The child
could not speak, but from his rain
| drenched clothing and cut and bruised
| feet it was readily seen that he had
been there for some time.
ATE RAvENoUsLY.
Mr.. Howell had a well-stocked din
ner pail with him, in the top of which
was a quart of coffee. He gave the boy
the can to drink from and without
taking it from his head he drank the
whole quart of coffee. He then ate
| ravenously of the food in the can and
would have devoured it all had not Mr..
Howell thought it best not to let him
| eat too much.
Strapping his pals behind him, Mr..
| Howell picked up the boy and carried
| him to the city. Once on the way down
| while stopping for a rest a woman
who learned the story brought out
large sandwich made of warm beef
and this the starved child devoured
| like wild beast
The central station house was
reached at 2 o'clock and there the boy
was at once recognized by his blue
drilling overalls and the fact that he
was Italian, as the child whom Mi
chael Wadenia has been anxiously
searching for since Sunday night.
officer Dyer and Mr.. Howell took the
boy to Dunmore in a cab. A neighbor
who was met on the way was sent
ahead to the Wadenia home on Spen-
GERS hill to announce the gladstone
| tdings and to exact a promise from
| the parents that they would not caress
the child, it being feared that the faith
er and mother in their joy might for
get his weak condition and hurt him.
The father was not at home, being
out to the east of Dunmore securing
the woods for his loved little one. Mrs.
Wadenia, upon hearing that her lost
| child was restored, became fairly hys-
terical with Joy and rushed about kiss
ing her other little children and hug
| ging everybody about. Then suddenly
sighting the approaching cab she rush
ed to meet it and when the officer with
an injunction, Don't squeeze him."
| handed him over, the mother, with eX-
! cellent good sense, received him ten
| derby in her arms, satisfied herself with
one longing kiss and then hurried to
the house shouting to the neighbors
on each side of the street that her boy
had been found.
ARRIVAL OF FATHER.
The father arrived on run about
half an hour later and after he had
fairly smothered his boy with kisses
he sent out for all the neighbors in the
colony, and even before DR.. Murphy
who had been hastily summoned, ar
rived on the scene, there was a grand
celebration in progress, a nearby hotel
| t,,;lN h. l.
| bration.
| When Mr.. Howell saw that the Wa
denias have a family of seven children
and are very poor, he was satisfied to
accept $15 as full reward instead of the
$25 offered.
Dr. Murphy says the boy will pull
through all right with care and it may
be we'll believed he will not lack for
care.
q Up to last evening the boy only spoke
once and then he simply asked, Where
is Pasko?" who is his twin brother
Today he will likely have recovered
sufficiently to tell something OF how he
strayed into the woods and the expert
ences he went through.
Grage, the man arrested for llidnap-
ping the child, all along maintained his
| innocence and said the boy would re-
turn to clear him of the charge. He
is brother of the boys godfather and
liked him very much, despite the ILL
feeling existing between him and the
Wadenias. He was intoxicated Sun
day morning and went out for a walk,
taking the boy with him. Near Little
England he stopped to talk with an
other man and forgot all about the
BOY. When he looked around for him
he had disappeared and supposing he
had run home, went on, never think
ing anything more about the matter
until he heard about the boy being
lost. Gage is under $500 bail to an
swer for kidnapping, but Of course he
| will not be prosecuted.