The San Francisco call., 1903-09-03
NEWS GRATIFYING
To GRANDFATHER
WhitWell's Relative in
This City Sends Him
Telegram.

The discovery of the whereabouts Of W.
S. Whitwell. the long missing Harvard
University student, who is now enjoying
the dubious luxury Of cowpunching on
Texas ranch, as was reported by tele-
graph from Austin, Tex, in The Call yes
terday, has virtually brought to a plea
surable end the tireless and exasperating-
" Intellectual search made by the boys
mother and his other relatives since last
February.
Mrs. Whitwell, the mother, who resides
in New York, and l.. H. Bonestell of this
city, the grandfather Of the truant col
legian, had encountered so many OBJ
stacles and been disappointed so frequent
ly in their efforts to trace the young man,
that there seemed not the remotest
chance of success. Friends of the family
in the Southwest rendered them every
possible assistance and-a few had even
seen 'Scolly' Whitwell in Texas some
months ago, but beyond the accumulation
of interesting but useless scraps Of infor-
nation, their work was profitless.
When .he news of the location of Whit
we'll on a ranch thirty miles from San
Antonio appeared yesterday, Mr. Bone
steIl Immediately made arrangements to
place himself in communication with his
grandson. kilograms were sent TO Aus
tin and doubtless a courier is now on his
way to the place where WhitWell Is en-
ployed a cowboy
This is the first satisfactory news we
have had in seven months" said Mr..
Bonestell yesterday. Since February rs
we have searched over half the continent
for the boy. He disappeared from Cam
bridge on that date and we have not had
a word from him since. Some time pre-
viously he had spent year in Germany
and he said he would make that time up
at Harvard by hard study. l am con-
vinced that he studied too hard and the
impulse seized him to get away from the
worry of his school work
''One of his classmates saw him in New
York a few days after he left college, and
said he thought the boy might go TO
Texas. The story of his disappearance
was later read by Thomas Blodgett at
Waco and ne wrote to Mrs. Whitwen,
telling her that he believed he had seen
my grandson there.
"I was in New York at the time and
on my way out here 1 stopped at Waco
and heard that the boy was on the Co
| burn ranch near San Antonio. 1 could
not locate him there, however, and was
told afterward that he had come to Cali
fornia. This Call dispatch would seem TO
substantiate that statement, for 1t says
| that three weeks ago he returned to
Texas.
'The young man is p years old and a
giant for his age. He was a member Of
the varsity crew at Harvard and was
prominent in all athletics. One Of the
very sad features of the case is that his
| father died in New York only two weeks
| after his disappearance.
II to-day received kilograms from Mrs
| WhitwelI, who had been informed of the
/ Austin story, and 1 will cooperate with
| her at once to send word to her son. She
! has been greatly distressed over his mys-
terious absence and is delighted to feel
that he is safe and may soon return to
her"
/ Young Whitwen is member Of a
wealthy family in New York, and no ex-
pense was spared to make his life agree
/ able at college. Mr.. Bonestell, the grand
! father, is one of the partners in the firm
! Of Bonestell. Richardson & Co.