Big Horn County MT Archives News.....HANS FINDS HIS BROTHER July 18, 1899
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Dan Brown dadbrown_99@yahoo.com July 1, 2010, 4:01 pm

Newspaper-Omaha Daily Bee July 18, 1899

Omaha Daily Bee
July 18, 1899

"HANS FINDS HIS BROTHER"
Romance In the Early Life of Special Agent for Sioux City and Pacific Railway 
Company.

SIOUX CITY , la. , July 17, 1899. ( Special. ) The name of Fred M. Hans of 
Omaha , special agent for the Sioux City and Pacific and the Fremont , Elkhorn 
& Missouri Valley railways , has been spoken of a good deal lately In 
connection with the recent robbery of a Union Pacific train. Not that Hans was 
one of the robbers, but he has taken some part In the chase after the 
perpetrators of the crime. Hans made his mark some years ago and back of his 
present career Is a life of daring and real romance.

He has been a frontiersman , scout , detective , and is one of the quickest 
shots with a revolver In the world. Hans began his career In rather a peculiar 
manner.-

He was a youth working on his father's farm , when it became necessary that he
leave horne to search for an abducted brother.-In this chase he spent nearly 
one-half of his career, but he finally acompllshed his purpose and took the 
boy back to his home.

It was in July, 1876 , that a man named Randall , who had a grudge against 
Fred Hans' father , abducted the 2-year-old son-
Randall's son had been sent to the penitentiary for murder on information 
furmished by Mr. Hans, sr.  He took a cowardly method of revenge. When the boy 
was stolen Randall was at once suspected, and Hans started out in search of 
the boy and his captor. He felt convinced from the start that Randall had 
given the boy to the Indians, so young Hans went among these people. This 
search he continued for eighteen long years. It was in this way that he became 
famous as a scout. He entered the employ of the goverment and for years 
worked with the Army in the Black Hills country on the plains about Montana 
and went through a number of frontier wars. He knew Custer well but never was 
with his army very much but spent some time with general Miles who has a high 
regard for Hans as a scout and brave man.

But the way he found his brother was wonderful. Hans happened to stroll Into a
hotel at Rapid City one day , and saw a young fellow there whose face caught 
his attention at once. He felt convinced that this young fellow was his long-
lost brother, although ho was eighteen years older. He walked up to him and 
tapped him on the shoulder. An Investigation proved his surmlse to be true and 
It was an affecting meeting. The boy was known as John Hart , and it turned 
out Randall had given him to a Mrs. Hart at Cheyenne, who had brought him up 
and had given him his name, The woman never knew the boy was stolen,as Randall 
had told her he was an orphan without a home, It happened that Randall was 
killed three months after he abducted the child and before the lost brother 
had been taken home the father had died, but the mother was living, and her 
son Is now with her at Fort Robinson-"

Additional Comments:
Dan Brown, the submitter (a HANS descendant) has a huge collection of other 
articles, pictures, biographies, books and magazines that reference Fred HANS, 
but still desires additional info or official records from archives, court 
houses, libraries, etc.
Dan also has the Personal Diary of Fred Hans which includes detailed 
descriptions of his travels while scouting, and while acting as a marshall and 
while also as a detective for the railroad.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mt/bighorn/newspapers/hansfind35gnw.txt

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