Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-10-21
MAN LOST SINCE SAT UROAY
LESTER j. STAFFORD OF GULL.
FORD CANNOT BE FOUND.
Is SO Years Old and Unsound Men.
tally-Was Last Seen About 8 o.
clock Saturday Afternoon Near the
Fairbank Farm where He Lived.

/
Lester j. Stafford, an insane man.
who has lived in the family OF X. N
Fairbank since the death of his faith
er, Joshua c. Stafford about six years
ago. strayed from his home last Sat
urday afternoon. and although con-
tinuous and exhaustive search has
been maintained, no trace of him has
been found. He left the Fairbank
house about five O'Clock, going east
across the brook into the COW pasture,
where he had been accustomed TO go
since his early childhood. Not re-
turning at his usual time the family
became anxious and sought for him
until about 1880 o'clock when the
moon went down. The search was
resumed at daylight Sunday morning,
Guy Fairbank and II. d. Andrews CO.
ing across the mountain to Vernon on
horseback. Finding no trace they tel
ephoned Stafford's guardian, j. E.
Gale at Guilford. who Immediately
raised force of 80 men who secured
the west slope of the mountain until
dark that night, covering a tract about
two miles long by one in width,
Monday morning a reward of 500
was offered to the finder, and the
search resumed. Teams were sent to
Vernon, Bernardston, Leyden and
Gin and many supposed clues We're
followed up, but invariably without
the least result. Wednesday morning
Mr.. Gale was in communication with
j. L. Winchell of Fair Haven, VT, and
%. b. Weir of Plattsburgh, n. y.
owners of some of the best trained
bloodhounds in America, but was
told that it was utterly useless to put
the hounds on a trail as old as this
would be by the time the hounds
reached it.
But little hope is now entertained
that the wanderer will be found alive;
he was not in the habit of going far
from home, but had always had the
liberty to go and come about the farm
and often went through the woods
east to the site of the old Cook house,
which has long since gone to decay.
He also sometimes visited the Sails
bury place, once the site. of house,
on the mountain side southeast from
the Fairbank farm about a mile. The
entire section east of the Fairbank
farm is an almost unbroken wilder
ness for miles in all directions. There
are many swamps and water holes,
steep lodges and precipices, slash lots
covered with briers and fallen tree
tops. on the western border of this
immense tract and between it and the
Fairbank house is the north branch OF
Fall river, not a large stream, but
sluggish, muddy and Of considerable
depth in places. A part of its course
lies through a large--rItural swale
called the Houghton meadow, appar-
emily once the bottom Of large pond
or lake. In some places through this
meadow the brook bottom is soft
muck of unknown depth, and made
still more treacherous by large guam
titles of sawdust from the Johnson
sawmill which formerly operated fur
ther to the north.
Stafford's course might readily have
led him through this meadow If he
had lost his way. There is a possi-
bility that he went to the south to-
ward Bernardston, for footprint
was found in a swamp on the noun
tain near the Bernardston line, ap-
parently made by a newly tapped lea
ther boot such as Stafford wore. I'm
less some trace is found before next
Tuesday morning a large party will
be organized and the east side of the
mountain thoroughly covered. The re-
ward will be kept good until the man
is found, living or dead. He was the
only son of Joshua C. and Clarissa
Andrews Stafford. He was never
we'll balanced mentally, but was nom
est, harmless and bright in some
ways. His age was SO years and the
posters describe him as feet, 10 in
ches in height, with gray hair, full
gray beard and a large wen on the
back of his head. Stafford was never
able to talk coherently and could un-
derstand but very little. In DISPOSE
ton he was very timid and spent
much of his time in the woods.