Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1916-12-15
BILLY
BRADFORD
Story of a Boy Who Had
Never Heard of
Christmas
By F. A. mitchell

Billy Bradford was the son Of a con
stitutlonal rover Billy was born in
prairie schooner crossing the plains In
iS49 When he was old enough TO ex-
perience his first Christmas he was
astride a donkey In Mexico. There
was no Christmas for the Bradford
family and no mention Of Christmas.
IL Billy's father remembered Il was
Christmas day be said nothing about
1t. The wife and mother remembered
It with tears. She had no home. There
was no mantel on which her little boy
might hang his stocking, and n there
were there was nothing to put IN n.
The mother died while the family
were still moving from place to place.
Then the father died while passing
through an unlnhabited country. Billy
found himself alone. He wns eight
years old, Considering that he was
left In wilderness, with no one to
take care OF him, perhaps his want Of
the refining Influences Of home were
In his favor. With littls help from
Kindly neighbors, he went about pro
vidins for himself as a young squirrel
does when left on its own resourt es.
At first he slept out under the trees
then made himself a sleeping place
partly under ground. For food be
lived mostly on berries But bis ia
ther had left a gun. aud Billie knew
bow 70 bEing down birds. That IL aI
he did. the same a. wfh animals
One day while examining the articles
bis father bad when he died Billy
found some certificates Of shares In
mining company located near San
Francisco. He had no idea what the,
were, but one day traveller passed
that way, and Billy showed them to
him. He told Billy that they repre-
sented fortune for whomsoever owned
them. When Billy told him thst his
fathers was the name written on them
and that he Billyl was all that was
left OF the Bradford family the strsu
ser advised him to go to San Francisco
and look the matter up. Billy explained
that his father had crossed a country
with no trees and plenty Of Indians
and stopped awhile in a city, where
upon the man inferred that Bradford
had been forty-niner, had invested in
a mining venture and moved on.
The stranger furnished Billy with
funds to go to san Francisco, writing
out a note for the amount. and Billy
made an X at the bottom. Then the
lender went on his way, saying that he
would likely turn up some day in San
Francisco and claim the amount due
him. He never did.
Billy knew nothing of travelling and
walked the whole way to San Fran.
cisco, more than 300 miles. He reached
the suburbs Of the town on a winter
evening at dusk. Passing a house that
was lighted up. he looked In through
a window. A number Of children were
inside and some older persons were
hanging evergreen festoons from the
ceiling. The scene in the house pleas
ed Billy. and he went to the door and
knocked. A little girl opened 1t. and
Billy said to her:
what you putin up the green things
torT'
what are we putting them up for?
Why, for Christmas. of course"
whats Christmas7"
"Oh, my good graciousr'
She ran back into the room where
the Christmas preparations were being
made and cried out:
There's boy at the door who
doesn't know what Christmas IS"
The astonishment at this announce
ment among the children was eclipsed
at sight of Billy, who followed the girl
into the room and stood staring about
him, half blinded by the lights A lady
descended from a stepladder and con.
fronted him.
-Are you the boy who doesn't know
what Christmas isf''
mo; don't"
where were you brought upr
II wasn't brought up at all. was
mover"
what do you mean by thatr'
That's what mother said we was.
We was always Roin' somewhere"
"where is your motherr'
Dead"
"And your fatherT"
Dead"
And you nsva heard sf ChFfst
mas7'
"No, l never did"
"Children," said the lady, how often
have 1 tried to make you understand
how thankful you should be that you
are surrounded with comforts. Here's
a boy who has neither father nor
mother, who has always been wan.
derer and who doesn't know what
Christmas is. Have you anything TO be
thankful for. little boyT
ayes, I'm thankful that wasn't
borned a grounding or somethin' Ike
that"
The children were not able to com
prehend this assertion. They did not
know that the only thing the boy had
to be thankful for was that he was q
human being. II they were thankful 1t
was that they were far above other hu-
man beings who lived in small houses,
wore ragged clothes and didn't have
all the money they wanted for candy.
Come with me- said the lady to
Billy.
She led Billy into another room.
where a gentleman sat reading, and
told the gentleman what had thus far
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