South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-07-13
13 Year Old Girl
SPINS Remarkable
Yarn of Travels


told a remarkable tale last night at
the police station. She was picked
up on a charge Of being a runaway
by Policewoman Minnie Evans above
the saloon OF Steve Gergacz on $40
Prairie av. She said her name is
Rosie Nagg and that he home is
way out in Colorado.
She left her home at the Monarch
coal mines, just Is miles outside Of
Denver. in the summer of 1915,
when the miners, among whom was
father told her 10 leave home and
strike out for herself, owing 10 con-
ditions at the mine. So the little
girl, urged on by the fact that her
mother had not treated her Just as
mother should. left home without
a penny and without a friend.
Walks the Ties.
She didn't know just exactly what
TO do and she had no place TO go.
She had often heard of walking on
the railroad tracks. so she decided
she would try that. She found
some, she didn't know what ones
they were, but anyway they were
tracks and so she started 10 walk
on them just as any full-fedged
knight of the road" would have
done. After she had gone 20, ever
so many miles" as she expressed il,
a fast passenger train came along.
The engineer saw her on the tracks
and he stopped the train, picked her
up and carried her 10 nearby
junction. Here he gave her a small
amount Of money and left her. She
next found work on a farm for a
while. but got tired soon and left.
She roamed from town TO town.
Takes Care OF Babies.
She kept house for one family,
who treated her Just swell" At
another place where she worked the
family were unhappy and so they
separated. and the husband was left
with their two infant children. Lit
tie Rosie pitched right in and took
the place Of the mother and cared
for the children. The novelty of
this also soon wore away and she
yearned for other excitement" She
began 10 roam again.
For over a year she travelled about
Colorado's towns and country. When
out of work and penniless she would
sleep in old barns or deserted shacks,
eat the scraps from the back doors
and take cast-off clothing to cover
her back.
Early this spring at little town
-, Coto~ad - -bo fo,,pJ v..orly mill, Opa
John Martina. One day after he had
asked her about her parents, she
told him that they did not want her
and that she would rather go TO a
town called South Bend, as she had
heard her father mention several
times that he had some friends
there.
Martina Buys a Ticket.
So Martina bought her a ticket,
put her on the train and gave her
81 to spend That was about July
/. During the entire trip the girl
spent Just so cents, and she proudly
showed the remaining $3.50 at the
station to prove her statement. Still.
she said. she had had plenty TO eat
and did not feel hungry even then,
She arrived in South Bend on the
4th of July, after stopping off at
Chicago and giving the loop district
the "once- Lover" between trains. She
found work Immediately above
Gergacz's saloon and intended TO re-
main there for some time in hopes
that she would find somebody that
knew her father.
The police are a bit in doubt as
10 the truth of the little girls story.
They have bunch that one of these
hours some of the families in the
west end are going to have a roll
call and find that Rosie is missing.