El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-28
''AFTER MANY YEARS.
A Girl Stolen Forty Years Ago Re
stored to Her Mother.

A Washingt ton dispatch says: In a
pretty cottage, just beyond George
town lives ORLANDO w. Bradt, wealthy
contractor of this city, with his hand
some wife and seven children. Mr..
| Bradt knew little of her early history
| except that she had been torn from her
mothers arms by Indians when but
months old. During all the forty year.
siace then she had not heard of the
mother. In this same pretty Gotta ge
the mother and daughter are now cd
10, a long-deferred reunion. Each
hid thought the other dead.
In 1857 the troops stationed at Fort
Randall. Neb., were attacked by In
dams. Among he cap'ives taken wa.
baby girl, whose father, George
| Henderson, was mus clan in the Sec
ond United States infantry. Shortly
afterwards HendersOn's regiment was
sent to Font Rioeeley. In an ambu-
| lance H. nderson's wife lay i'll. 1t WIS
not until after days of forced march 8
| she learned that her child had been
| taken prisoner.
'her abandoned all hope Of recovering
her daughter. A year later the infan-
try companies at Fort Randall raided
the neigh boring Indians Among the
| captives was the little child. whose
fate had be en- matter of uncerta; u
ty.
Almost Immediately the regiment
was ordered to fo-t LARAMIE. A foster
mother was secured f r the baby in the
wife of Private Murphy, of the Sec
Ond. Mrs. Murphy adopted the girl
as her own. She sought to ascertain
he Whereabouts of the real mother,
but owing to the fortunes of the To-
d ian war and the breaking out of the
rebellion soon after, no direct inform
alton as to the location of the various
companies could be obtained.
The child grew to girlhood, to wo-
manhood, and to become the wife of
ORLANDO Bradt. They settle down in
the district. Be- fore leaving the shelf
er of her adopted parents home Mrs.
Bradt was made acquainted with the
facts of her history.
Determined to discover if her
parents still lived, Mrs. Bradt made
inquiries of the commissioner of pen
sions. This was in 1893. No definite
information could be OBJ aimed because
of a conflict in numbers between the
Or ginai records of pensions secured by
the soldier and drawn by the widow.
Early last year Mrs. Bradt m ade an
other application for Information
through the adjutsnt generals Office.
The me tier officially came to the at
tention of Rudolph Ulmer, clerk in
the department Mr.. Ulmer was him.
self member of the Sec nd Infantry,
a comrade of George Henderson and
one of the defending party when the
child was stolen. He secured the in
forms tion desir ed from the death list,
where the name of George Henderson.
musician, Second United States Infan-
try, was found with the name of his
idow, Hannah Henderson, resident
of Brooklyn, N. Y.
This fact 81 tisfsctorily settlt d, it
was necessary to discover whether the
Mr.. Hannah Henderson drawing the
pension as the mother of Mrs. Bradt,
or second wife. The department
deputiz-d Mr.. Ulmer to communicate
directly with the widow, and in this
way the identity of the pensioner was
established as the true mother.
In a few hours the mother and
daughter were made happy by the
knowledge of each others existence
A letter was received by Mrs. Brsdt
from her mother announcing her
determination to come Immediately to
Washington and see the little one
stolen from her arms, aud now re-
stored as from the grave. Great was
the rejoicing when the mother and
daughter met. Mrs. Henderson owns
comfortable property in Brooklyn
and has two other children.