The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-10-04
SMALL BOY MADE
LONG JOURNEY
ON BICYCLE
Louis Springer Rode to Sche-
nectady and Home Again
is ONLY IL YEARS OLD
Boy is Small for His Years and Bi.
cycle Was Too High for his
Short Legs

Louis Springer. a lad of 10 years,
who left this village between 10 and
II O'Clock Sunday forenoon on a
bicycle and of whom no travo had
since been obtained, staggered
through the door of his home on
Grove street about $50 O'Clock on
Tuesday evening to the relief of his
wearied legs and the mind of his
agonized mother who had become
nearly distracted over his long alb
sence
The boy who will be 10 years of
age next month but who is so small
that he wears clothes made for a ten
year old. had travelled all the way
from Schenectady and back on the
bicycle. The wheel is so large and
the boy Is so small that he is able
to reach the pedals only on the up
stroke and yet the youngster had
kicked his way from Schenectady
into Bennington. distance of be-
tween 46 and so miles, since o.
clock in the morning.
The boy has been living in Ben
nington but week, coming from
Schenectady where his father has
been employed as a teamster. His
mother, Mrs. Agnes Springer, a
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Joseph
Madison Of Gage street, came on to
Bennington to stop with her parents
and to secure tenement in advance
OF Mr. Springer, who still retained
his position in Schenectady. A tene
ment was secured on Grove street
by the family which consists of the
mother, two little girls and Louis,
the boy being the oldest of the three.
The bicycle on which the boy
made his long trip was a blue frame
Berkshire wheel which had been
purchased for him by his mother
since the family came to town. Sun
day morning Louis told one OF his
sisters that he was going to Schen.
ectady on his bicycle to see his
father but the little girl believed that
the boy was only Dragging and
thought no more about it until eve
ming when Mrs. Springer had be.
come thoroughly worried over the
boys absence. Even then the moth
er did not believe that the boy had at
tempted to carry out his boast. She
preferred to think that he had under.
taken a longer ride than he intended
when he left and that he was out on
some OF the country roads too weary
to make rapid progress toward
home. After a sleepless night she
finally managed to reach the boys
father In Schenectady on the tele-
phone and her anxiety was doubly in
creased when she learned that Mr..
Springer could give her no informa.
ton concerning the lost one. The
telephone was used to put the pol.
Ice OF Troy and Schenectady on the
lookout for the bicyclist but no trace
was obtained from these sources.
Late Tuesday afternoon Mrs. Spring.
er was at the Banner office with a
request that the paper publish a des.
cription of Louis in this afternoons
edition but shortly after z o'clock
word was received that the wanderer
had returned.
Mrs. Springers failure to secure
any re-assuring information from the
boys father Monday forenoon is ac.
counted for by the fact that the bicy.
clist had not then reached Schenec.
tady. While the boy was laborious.
ly Kicking those long pedals through
the village of Lansingburgh late on
Sunday afternoon, he was stopped
by a man whose attention was eyi.
IDENTITY attracted by the boys thor.
oughly exhausted condition. A little
Questioning soon produced the evi.
dence that Louis was in no shape
to complete his contemplated jour.
ney and he was finally persuaded to
accept hospitality for the night
Supper a nights rest and breakfast
put kicking power enough into the
little fellow to enable him to finish
the trip to Schenectady where ne
passed the remainder OF the day and
night with his father. Tuesday
morning Mr.. Springer gave the boy
money enough to pay his passage
home on the train but the youngster
put the coins In his pocket and rode
his wheel back to Bennington.