Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-09-12


customs assay office, recently
went to spend the summer months wis.,
iting friends who own a large ranch
about seventeen miles above Albu-
querque. The family consists Of the
mother, two sons and daughter. Last
Saturday the children asked permis-
sion Of their mother to go to a corral
and on the other side of knoll that
obscured 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 elder brother proposed
that they take her to the house. To
this the younger brother, Emerson,
who was only six 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 corral. 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
little footprints. showing that the child
had taken n direction the opposite to
what he should have taken, and the
harassed mother became more and
more alarmed as the fact that her
child had strayel and was in all prob
ability 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 md alarmed the household. In
mediately a search party was organ
ized and despite the oncoming 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
five Indians We're impressed, and all
that long and trying day the search
went on, and yet no clue to the wan
derer The grief and agony of the
poor afflicted mother were beyond con-
ISOLATION. The continued discouraging
reports that were from time to time
brought her only added to accenutate
her suffering. The tracks could be
followed for distance of twelve miles
and then seemed to double upon them
selves and finally became lost. With
out rest the searchers continued in
what seemed their hopeless quest.
The thought of the poor little tot being
out upon the dreary plains alone, with
| out shelter or food wandering on with
the helpl2ssness of the lost, crying pos
sibly with fright, tormented by the
pangs of hunger and thirst, was SIM
! ply maddening to the poor mother and
friends seeming so helpless to termi-
nate 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 un-
| til Wednesday morning. 1t was then
/ found by Mexican, who carried the
exhausted little form to his cabin,
where the child fingered for three
hours and then passed away. The Or
deal had been beyond the little ones
endurance. The remains were taken
back to the ranch and next day Were
Inferred in the cemetery of the neigh
boring village.-El Paso Texas) Times.