The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1911-05-17
Little Francis Tells Just How She
Ran Away in Harry's Clothes

Children Turn "Hobo" to Get
Help for Others; Awful
Hungry, But Not When SIZE
Saw the Nasty, Gravity Mud
turtle.
CHICAGO. May 17.-This is
how-and why-a black-eyed girl
of 10 dressed as a boy, and her
brother. 13, set out to tramp
from Ohio to Chicago, spent a
week in jail at Lima, o., as
guests" en- route and finally got
here ION the cushions"
Six little LENA children were
sent from here month ago to
the Mennonite home at West Lib
erty, o. Mother couldn't support
them after LENA deserted the
family. But the children didn't
like the Mennonite home.
"It was all right for a day or
two" says Frances. "Then they
began to whip US. I was whipped
twice on Sunday for not staying
In church. SO was Harry. Then
they sent us to bed without our
supper.
Lille made 1t up for us to
run away. She said that Harry
and / would have to go, because
Frank Is only 4 and George only
6, and Beatrice only 8. She
would stay with them and take
the whippings If we would come
to Chicago and get help.
Thursday morning they sent
us out to keep the cows out of the
potato patch while the man whip.
ped us and some ladies were plant.
ing 'em. Lille had sneaked a
suit of boys clothes and a pair of
scissors and Harry and / hid 'em
under our clothes.
when the man who whipped
us and the ladies wasn't looking,
we slipped over on the other side
Of hill. Then we ran like sixty.
We crawled on our hands and
knees in some bushes and then
Harry cut off my hair and helped
me on with the pants. / took off
my skirt and everything and hid
them in the weeds. Then / put
on the cap and the coat and we
started.
1--WE ran at first. Then we'd
walk a while and run again. At
last we came to a pond that was
full of mud turtles. We rested
and the turtles came up the bank
and Harry caught Is of them, be-
cause, he said, we could kill 'em
and eat 'em IL we couldn't get
else.
Then we started off walking
again. and we got awful hungry.
Harry said we'd eat some of the
turtles, but when he got the
nasty Gravity thing out and
showed 1t to me / said l wasn't
very hungry. He said he wasn't
hungry either, SO we kept on
After long while 1t began to-
get dark and / got lonesome and
began to cry and Harry took me
In his arms and said: Don't cryfl
and We went into a house and al
man gave US good supper and al
nice bed and so we went to sleep.
I'm the morning the man
asked US who we were, and Harry
said that we were lost children. 4
but that we lived in Lima, and he
said. Follow the railway track
and you'll get there so we fol-
lowed the track and pretty soon a
car came along and we got on.
THE conductor came and said.
Give me your fare,' but Harry
said, Amt got none,, and START
ed to cry, and a man across the
aisle said, How much Is it7' and
paid it.
When we got into Lima a
man met us at the station and he
said, Who are you kids all out
here by yourselves?' and Harry
spoke up right away and said,
We're runaway children and we
want some place to CO. and the
man said, All right. see the
sheriff.
$50 we went over to the sher-
iff and he had a Jail. There was
eight prisoners In 1t. One pris-.
oner had stole horse and they
we're going to lock him up for