Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-11-21
A95}nnp a Ao1ue1ess
8ny Becanae g n
"Outs ide" Buy

|
from great eastern city to the far
west. These little homeless and for
the most part nameless, waits were
distributed about among farmers in
various states west OF the Mississippi
river Some of them found good
homes, others were not SO fortunate.
Among the latter was Billy, the sub
ject of this story. We was years old
at the time of his being shipped
west" and he had no other name than
Billy. This little pet name had been
found pinned to his dress on the
morning when policeman picked him
up in one Of the public city parks.
And on the paper that give his name
as Billy" was written these words:
Somebody be good to my little boy,
Billy, and God In heaven will bless
you" But SO far that somebody"
had not been found, and Billy's lot
had been a pretty hard one. In the
asylum where he had lived prior to
his being shipped west" he had
known only severity and work. The
little time that he and other orphans
were allowed to play was after work
and study hours, and then they we're
too tired to make joyful use of their
leisure and preferred to lie about on
the hard soil of the uninviting play
ground, with it's jaillike high fence,
and rest their tired limbs. And lying
there they would wonder if in some
other world they would have papas
and mammas. like other children
children of the great big outside
world So often these little orphans
would watch with wonder the ''other
children" going past the asylum, and
q cry would sometimes burst from
their lips and tears spring to their
eyes as they compared their own des-
olate like with those care free and
happy children on 1.-THE outside"
And Billy had been one of the little
mourners for these heavy hearted or
phans could hardly be called anything
else. And when one day the news
spread throughout the asylum that
about fifty of it's inmates were to be
shipped west" Billy was one of the
first to cry out: ooh, let me be one of
| them! | want to go to--to-a home"
And Billy was one of those chosen
to be sent to the farmers living in
| the far west, and he dreamed Of the
i time when he would not wear clothes
| Just like all the other orphans, but
would have a nice Sunday suit, like
| the outside boys" And for every
daye he would dress like the grocer's
| delivery boy who came to the asylum,
! and who was so red checked and
merry, and who dressed in blue over
alls and bingham shirt, and who
whistled such lively tunes as he drove
up to the grounds.
And with light heart Billy was
carried far, far away towards the set
| ting sun. And with still lighter heart
| he was told that he was going to a
place where man and his wife kept
little railroad station eating house,
away over the mountains, near Salt
Lake City. And this man and women
were to be his parents, for they had
no children Of their own.
But after the first hour in his new
home Billy was sick for the loveless
asylum His new mother was a
cold, sharp tongued woman, tireless
in her work and tireless in making
Billy work also. And the new father"
was red-nosed man given to drink,
as Billy afterwards learned So this
was the "home" Billy had not dream
Of And his hopes died during the
first hour of his existence there.
And all day long he was alone with
this strange, unaffectionate woman
and red-nosed man, save for ten
| minutes at the noon hour and ten
minutes again at o'clock in the eve
ming, when trains stopped TO allow
their passengers to procure sand
wiches, pie, doughnuts and coffee at
the little station eating house And
during the ten-minute rush twice a
| day Billy was happy, for there were
people, laughing, chatting, bustling
people, eating, and drinking.as fast as
they could And Billy helped to
wait on them, work he much enjoyed,
for though tried out from constant
toll in the garden and kitchen, the
excitement of the crowd made him
forget his WEAKNESS.
And so life passed on and on in the
lonely place with the woman whom
he could not call mother, and the
man whom he Gould not call father
But as neither of these new parents
seemed to care about what he called
them, so that he did his work well,
he was not corrected when he adj
dressed them as Aunt Jane and Uncle
Tom. Il may find mother some
day" he would whisper TO himself.
"a good woman that will love me for
my own sake and not just feed and
clothe me for the work do. Oh how
l want to be loved like the outside
children" ,(Billy had never ceased
speaking of children who were not
orphans as Outside children'O.
The people who had given Billy a
home exprasse their intention of
adopting him according to law, thus
giving him a ohild's claim on them
and their property, but they had put
the matter off from month to month
and after. a years sojourn with them
Billy was still the unnamed orphan
boy, having no lawful claim On any
body or anything. But being so young
he did not realize the wrong these
people were doing him. He did not
know that they were to adopt him
as their own SON some time He had