Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-06-17
LOST IN THE DESERT.
PITIFUL FATE OF A LITTLE BOY
WHO WANDERED AWAY.
Six-Year-OId Lad Starts I'm Wrong
Direction and, After Searching Par
ties Had Sought Him for Four Days,
La Found at the Point of Death.

The family of Godfrey Hughes, a
member ofthe firm of assayers owning
the Customs Assay Office, recently went
to spend the summer months visiting
friends who own a large ranch about
seventeen miles above Albuquerque.
The family consists Of the mother, two
sons and a daughter. One Saturday
the children asked permission TO go to
a corral some 300 yards away from the
house and on the other side of knoll
that obstructed the corral from view
to play Permission was granted, and
the youngsters bounded away for their
afternoon frolic. Soon the little sister
wearied and the older brother proposed
that they take her to the house. To
this the younger brother, Emerson, who
was only 6 years old, demurred, as he
wished to play more. So the older
brother took his sister to the house.
Upon arrival there the mother asked,
Where is brother?" I'VE left him
playing at the corral" said the boy.
The mother then sent him back for
the little truant. Shortly the messen-
ger came back painting from his hur-
ried running. and exclaimed that his
brother was nowhere to be found; that
he was not at the corrol. The fright
ened mother hurried over to the corral
and there found the report of her boy
to be true. She searched and searched,
but could find no trace of the missing
child. At last she came upon some lit
tie footprints, showing that the child
had taken a direction opposite to what
he should have taken, and the harassed
mother became more and more alarmed
as the fact that her child had strayed
and was in all probability lost became
apparent. She followed the footprints
for three miles and only ceased because
darkness was approaching and she was
powerless and had to call for aid. AS
rapidly as her nervous and exhausted
state would permit she retraced her
steps to the house and alarmed the
household. Immediately a search party
was organized, and, despite the oncom-
Ing of night started out in quest of the
helpless child
Through that disheartening night the
weary search continued. And the next
day the trained services of seventy-tive
Indians were impressed, and all that
long and trying day the search went
on, and yet no clew to the wanderer
The grief and agony of the poor affiict-
ed mother were beyond consolation.
The continued discouraging reports
that were from time to time brought
her only added to accentuate her suf-
ferings. The tracks could be followed
for q distance of twelve miles and then
seemed to double upon themselves and
finally became lost. Without rest the
searchers continued in what seemed
their hopeless quest. The thought of
the poor little tot being out upon the
dreary plains alone, without shelter or
food, wandering on with the helpless
ness Of the lost, crying possibly with
fright, tormented by the pangs Of hun
ger and thirst, was simply maddening
ing 50 helpless to terminate the trying
situation.
All Of Sunday night the search con-
tinued. and early Monday morning the
father, who had been ignorant of the
tragedy. was wired. He arrived that
day and added his untiring efforts to
those of the large party already out.
To think Of the dreadful pathos of it
all. The poor child was not found until
morning. 1t was then found
by a Mexican, who carried the exhaust
ed little form to his cabin, where the
child fingered for three hours and then
passed away. The ordeal had been
beyond the little ones endurance. The
remains were taken back to the ranch
and next day were inferred in the cem-
etery of the neighboring village.-El
Paso Times.