Tombstone epitaph., 1922-05-28
BILLY FOWLER FOUND
 LOST eoee,E EckERMAN

~ '" No sAbBtoSibif Ab @'A tno as to who really was the first to find Robbie Ecserman. which would tally with each other
 After thorough search for the person who first found the wandering boy. it appears that Billie Fop Ter. son of Mir. and Mrs. w. A. Fowler. had the good fortune to find the lost child
 When asked about ',is finding the boy. young Fowler said
 , 'I left the camp above Ceci. Cos ,ello's place about seven o'clock Mon day morning. with my father. Walk;
 ing along the first ridge west of the camp toward the Costello ranch. we had heard the men coming in for fooG and water say they had found the tracks made by Robbie about l-2 miles west of the camp about 3 % that night and we figured that # he had gotten that far since one or two o'clock Sunday afternoon. he might have gone still further down belcw where anyone had been looking for him.
 My father and I separated on tho ridge. he crossing over to the west,
 while continued on farther down until think miles or more west of the Costello place. when I turned off into COW trail in draw with lit tie sandwash running thru it where I found tracks These were plain to follow for about a mile and half: here I lost them. but kept going in the same direction. south, a little bit southwest. I think. when l came into
 another small draw or sand wash, where I again found tracks which I could follow but not so far as the first tracks. Then lost the trail but went on in the same direction the last tracks seemed to be point ! ing. Here I came into large sand wash where I again found tracks: followed and lost them again. but
 I saw where he had climbed up the bank of this wash. the dirt of the tracks being quite fresh. but I could not find tracks on the bank to fol low. and I saw something dark shat seemed to move. about half a mile away. l went down to the wash, found plain tracks and followed until I got close enough to call to Robbie He turned around and looked. and ! called to him to come to me: l was afraid he might run from me if went up too fast to him told him
 he was lost and that folks and ev-
 erybody in town were out looking for
 him. He said: I'm not lost. I'm go- ing home"
 He talked iot: said he wanted a drink and was hungry and was look ing for soda water and ice cream. lie
 was pretty tired. and got on my back 1 and carried him. stopping to rest often; sometimes he would walk a few steps. then say I'm tired" and I would carry him again I made in
 the direction of the big hill by the
 Costello ranch. about four miles away. After travelling this way. stop ping often to rest. we got to about
 mile from the ranch. While sitting | down to rest l saw a man on horse
 back coming over the ridge in the direction of Tombstone. This turned out to be Porter Mcdonald. He saw
 us and rode down to us, took us both on his horse and started towards COsteilo's We met Edgar Axtell
 on horseback on the way and Porter
 sent him back to camp to tell the news and send back a car and water.
 "The place where I found the boy
 was at least a mile south and four
 miles west of Cecil Costello's. and
 the sand wash bore off away from
 Tombstone. more towards Fairbank.
 Robbie was sleepy and tired. and
 wanted to lie down and sleep while
 we were getting back. every time we stopped to rest"
 Undoubtedly the searching party
 who were preparing to comb the
 country below Costello's ranch as
 thoroughly as they had that above.
 would have found the lost boy in an- ! other hour or two, unless in lying