The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-11-13
Miracle" Baby
Stirs Township
Continued from Page u

with two iron beds and o cook stove
made out OF an oil drum, and found
his wife cuddling an infant. She had
been standing on the porch In the
dusk, she said, when a dog came
trotting out of the forest carrying q
bundle In It's mouth. She had yelled
at the dog, causing 1t to drop the
bundle and trot back into the for
est. She went to the bundle, was
astonished 10 find that 1t contained
baby.
Husband Deeply Religious
Crawford, deeply religious, pro-
claimed through the community OF
shanties that q dog had delivered q
modern Moses to his wife, q babe
from Heaven who would deliver
them from the wilderness. The
neighbors gathered and the story
spread In ever widening circles until
early Wednesday 1t reached Coving-
ton, the parish seat.
Parish officials and social service
workers went Immediately to the
Crawford shanty. A truck driver APP
peared voluntarily to tell OF having
seen q woman, carrying O young In
FAINT, accompanied by man and q
dog, on the highway--apparently
starving hitch-hikers. His descrip-
ton Of the dog fitted Mrs. Craw-
ford's and he even identified the
blanket which Mrs. Crawford said
was wrapped around the baby she
found, as having been wrapped
around the baby he had seen.
Baby In Better Quarters
The social service workers, hav-
Ing seen the Crawford shanty, be-
lieved the infant would have little
chance for survival there and took
1t across Lake Pontchartrain 10 New
Orleans Charity hospital, 40 miles
away. Mrs. Crawford protested tear
fully and bitterly. The dog had
brought the baby to her. which
meant God wanted her to have 1t.
The Crawfords have lived In the
scrub pine forests for several gen
erations and are a numerous clan
Yesterday afternoon, one group Of
relatives obtained her confession
and burdened with the shame Of
It," went away silently.
Believed In Miracle
Last night, the United Press cor
respondent entered the forest. HI
inquired at q roadside shanty fol
the Louis Crawford home. 1t was
the shanty Of Fletcher Crawford, or
uncle OF Louis. The reporter ex'
planned his mission, and out Of the
blackness, came six grim-facee
backwoodsmcn. They had heard
nothing OF the confession and they
believed In the miracle, but decided
after debate, to put II up to Effie.
In single Ale, their lanterns swing
Ing, they marched across the knoll
TO Louis cabin, went In without
knocking, and, as silently, put dowr
their lanterns. The two Crawford
children, asleep In one OF the iror
beds, awoke and cried.
"What do you all wantp" Mrs
Crawford asked without looking al
her kinsmen.
"Efie," said Uncle Fletch, "Hyari
a reporter. He says you oil told how
you air the mother Of that baby va
said va foun6 with O dog t'othei
night. Air yer"
II never told nobody nothin'."
Uncle Fletcher's old eyes glared oil
her through the gloom, and she
squirmed.
"I CANT say nothin' in hyah with
all these people"
She Told Her Story
Mrs. Crawford, only "a years old
but prematurely aged, led the way
still bare-footed, out to the pig sly
where she told her story. The kins-
men weren't supposed TO hear, but
they crept UP In the dark and lis
tened. Her husband, she said, hao
not wanted any more babies, and
for that reason, they had not beer
on connubial terms for more than O
year. I-,r husband had never sus-
pected her pregnancy, she said. sun
day night, while he slept, she fell
the birth pangs, slipped silently Out
of the bed, and went out into the
forest where her baby was born.
Then I carried the baby inside
and hid him under the blankets.
she said. HE wasn't the crying
kind. / guess. He never woke my
husband. In the morning. he gol
I'D and went on TO his WPA job
Monday night hid the baby behind
the stove. Tuesday I was thinking
all day what TO do. Then ] thought
OF the dog. put the baby In the
bed under the blankets and when
Louis came home ] pulled back the