The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-02
HER LIFE ENDANGERED BY CHASE
OF TROOPS IN BULGARIA,s
HILLS
WEARY DAYS WITH BRIGANDS
Captors Hs Kind as Possible, but
Driven to Serious Straits Them
selves in an Inhospit-
able Country
VICTIMS NOW AT LEGATION

CONSTANTINOPLE, March Miss
Ellen NJ. Stone, the American missionary,
until recently held captive by brigands.
arrived here today from Salonica. and
proceeded to the United States legation.
A. a. Gargiuio, the first dragoman of
the United States legation, also returned
here today. He says Miss Stone and
Nine. \Tsilka are in excellent health
Miss Stone christened Nine Tsilka's
baby Kismetcha, or lucky child" say
ing she brought them luck.
CaDtives Endangered by Troops.
The following account of the captivity
OF Miss Stone has been obtained by tho
Associated Press from reliable sources.
some Of the information having been Sc
cured from acCOmplices OF the Drigands
After the capture Of the missionaries
near Bansko, Sept. 9 last. the brigands
hastened across the boundary and es-
tabtshed themselves on the mountain of
Gueltepe in the ElieGere district, Bulgaria.
where the whole population were in sym
pathy with the enterprise, tnis fact
enabling the band to live comfortably
and safely and to keep in toucI with
the outside world. Whine awaiting the
result of their efforts to secure the
ransom, the brigands drew their supplies
from the adjacent village of Ledjuma.
the band used to show themselves openly
In Kamenica and neighborng villages
until they We're war; ed by their local ad-
herentS to be more careful The prison.
ers, however, We're jealously secluded.
When c. NJ. Dickinson, United States
consul general at Constantinople, arrived
early in October last and disclosed TO the
authorities the whereabouts Of Miss
Stones captors, the result was nearly
disastrous to the prisoners. The Bul-
garian government ill-adYisedly pushed
troops to the vicinity Of Gueltepe, fore
ing the brigands to break o.. negOtia-
tions, and the band changed its quarters
to Kilo The cold weather made travel
in the mountains a dreadful ordeal for
Miss Stone and Nine. Tsilka, encumbered
as they were with the latter's infant
Every change of camp occurred a night
The mountain roads were frequently al
most impossible, being often deep In
snow.
BrIgands Kind as Possible.
The Drigands treated their captives as
kindly as the circumstances permitteu,
but the food supply was necessarily pre-
carious though the ladies were given the
best the inhospitable region afforded
The strain and suspense equalled the
physical hardships The captives at no
time knew their whereabouts the
brigands always telling them that they
were not in Bulgaria, and they were In
constant fear Of an attack by the troops,
whom the friendship Of the natives was
not always able TO prevent coming close
upon the trail Of the band. An equal
cause of anxiety was the baby, which 1t
was frequently feared would die from ex-
pOsure.
Not until Nov dfd the American ennis
saries come in touch with the band,
which was then established in a cave
near DubnitZa; but fear of the troops
forced the brigands to another fight.
This was made in a binding snow storm
which covered the tracks Of the outlaws,
but caused bitter sufferings to the cap
tives After this the brigands succeed
ed in completely eluding the authorities
and toward the end of November by a
long circuit they succeeded I'm returning
to their old baunts in the Elledere dis
trict. They then caused to be circulated
report that the captivcs We're dead and
from that time managed to keep Miss
Stone and Nine. Tsilka safely under
cover until the actual release Of the cap
tives took place.