Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-03-28
ARISES FROM GRAVE.
Boy Who Was Mourned as Dead Turns
Up Alive.

Our readers will remember that 9
few weeks ago we gave an account o.
the identification of the young mar
who fell or was pushed off Ringing
Bros circus train near Mosinee lasi
summer. Samuel p. Justus of St
Joseph, Mo-, came here and positively
Identified the corpse as that of hi:
missing son Sheridan NJ. Justus, enc
removed 0ile corpse to his home fol
burial. Before the body was disinterred
Mr.. Justus said that if certain marks
were found on the body, such a.s a
depression OF the forehead, and il the
teeth were found as he described those
OF his son, then the corpse must be
that OF his boy. He told what kind
OF shoes the boy wore, the makers
name and described the clothing.
When the box was opened it was
found that everything tailed with his
description. The only thing found on
the boy was a pocket aluminium
souvenir comb, such as young Justus
was known to have. Now comes the
funny part of the story and TO explain
IL we clip the following from the St.
Joseph MO- Examiner:
After his first cali at home, Mr..
Justus, who is district manager for
the Bankers Accident Co., went to
his Office and sat down to catch up
with his correspondence which had
accumulated during his trip to Wis
conSln. And then he sat back in his
chair, pale and gasping, for, staring
up at him from pile of unopened
letters was one in the we'll known
hand writing Of the boy he mourned
as dead and whose body he thought
even then rested in Ashland cemetery,
ana The date stamped on the envelope
was March 2nd, the day on which the
BODY OF the train victim was being
prepared for shipment in Mosinee.
Win shaking hands he opened the
mlsslVe and then realization that his
boy was alive and wanted to come
home overwhelmed him.
"As soon as he had become COM
posed he rushed to telegraph office
and wired the sheriff at Percia, Tenn,
asking if Sheridan M. Justus was
working there. Friday night the
sheriff replied that such was the case.
lie was not only alive, but was eyeL
then one of the state witnesses in a
murder trial, he having been one of
the witnesses of the crime. By night
iCOOCl OIlC ldUll6I SeHb UIl6 SIl6Tlu
marks bv which to identify the lad
and also wrote Ghe boy. Saturday the
sheriff again wired, this time in more
reasoning terms.
And following it came a letter
from the boy in which he reasserted
that he was alive and declared that
he would be home within few days.
He recited the story of his wander
ings since he ran away from home in
Omaha last July. He wandered with
Ringing Bros show over Michigan,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama,
quitting the circus at McComb, Ill.
lie then made his way to Chicago and
was shipped out with gang of labor
ers to Michigan where he worked for
two weeks with section crew on the
Northwestern railway. Then he went
to South Bend, Ind, from there to
Birmingham, Ala, and then back to
Tennessee where he got job on a
railway at Percia.
He declared that the wanderlust
had left him, that his only desire was
to return home and that he would
have done so before had not his grip
and clothing been stolen from him
early in his wanderingS. This, it is
believed, accounts for his clothes be-
ing found on the body of the train
victim.
$50 confident was Mr.. Justus that
the body of the young man buried in
the potter's field at Mosinee was that
of his son that he was able to con-
vince an insurance company and re-
ceived from them S240 which was
carried on the youngsters life. This
money was returned to the local rep
resentative of the company Saturday
by the father who declared that he
felt it the only thing to do under the
circumstances"
When Mr.. Justus was here he stated
that it was his intention to begin iii
action against the Ringing Bros.
under law which prohibits anyone
taking a minor out of Nebraska with
out the consent of the parents or
rr1r r1ion