The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-04-17
ROMANCE IN REAL LIFE.
Mother Reunited With Her Children
After Many Years of Sepera-
ton and Search.

Lawton, April 17.-After a.
sensational chase over the greater
part of two states and two territor-
les and extending over a period of
the past six years, assisted by the
officers and courts of both Texas and
Oklahoma, Mrs Lee Cleveland, now
the wife of wealthy farmer living
near Davidson, southwest of Law
ton, has just secured possession of
her two children, kidnapped from
her. in point of law, by her own hus-
band at the time of their separation
half dozen years ago.
w H Dacus is the name of the
husband and former head of the Da-
Gus family for many years residing
in Callahan county, Texas. On a
farm, there, five children We're born
to the Dacus home when, after ser
ious and PROSTATE trouble between
Dacus disappeared suddenly and TAX
ing with him the three smaller child
rem, Dee. a boy ) years of age, Mary,
8 and Adam, II. This was six years
ago.
Mrs. Dacus came to Davidson, then
a town in the territory of Oklahoma,
10 WISH utl SlSlt1 anu
began suit in the courts of Comman-
the county to secure a divorce and
custody of the children decree
for both was granted, but nothing
could be found either of the hus-
band or the children with whom he
had disappeared. Search was insti-
tuted, both in Texas and Oklahoma,
but they were not to be found.
TIA Gov
second time, to Lee Cleveland, the
owner of several valuable farms near
Davidson, and the two older daught
ers also married Oklahoma hus-
bands.
Sometime more than a month ago,
unknown to the father, during
serious illness near Rush Springs in
the Chickasaw country, the daugh-
ter, Mary, wrote to her mother tell
ing her that Dacus could not live but
a few days and asking her to come
for her and her brothers.
The letter was addressed, how
ever, to the old home and to the old
name and, years having elapsed
since Mrs Cleveland had been home,
it was several weeks before the let
ter reached her.
AS soon as she received this news
the first in many years-the anx-
ious mother Immediately went in
quest of her family BY the time she
reached Rush Springs, however, the
father had recovered and the family
had departed.
Bafled again, Mrs. Cleveland got
her stepson to take up the trail. He
traced them to Cement, thence sew
eral miles southwest, but again lost
them. Officers of Comanche county
were called into service and this
week they We're found camped near
Apache.
/ The father and three children, now
III, > and II years of age. were all
/ living in an old broke down wagon,
/ driving an ambling span of mules,
and living a sort of gypsy life. Prac-
! tically their sole supper on the even
! ing when found was baked rabbit,
and the children stated that almost
! the entire six years had been spent
| thus-hunting through the Chicka-
saw country and the Wichita noun
tains. and when hunting and fishing
/ was bad, coming into the settlements
| long enough to collect something to
eat by picking or chopping cotton.
AS soon as they were located, the
mother was notified and Immediately
made the trip to Apache to identify
! her children
SO great changes have been
wrought by time and conditions that
neither mother nor children readily
recognized the other, and so wild
and varied had been the life of the
| children under the care of the seem
ingly vagrant father that the chill.
dren were shy OF their mothers at
tentions.
Father and children were brought