Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1843-02-24
From the Pittsburg Chronicle.
THE WILD WOMAN.

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II will perhaps be recoected that about
year and half ago the st. Louis papers
gave an. account of woman who had been
discovered in the woods near that city, al
most naked, aud apparently quite wild. 1t
appears that she had lived in this manner
until lately, when the severity Of the winter
drove her to human habitation, and there,
being much exhausted for want of food, and
badly lrost-bltten, she expired.
Previous to her death she became quite
rational, and gave the following account OF
herself which we condense from the st.
Louis Organ;
She was born in New Jersey, whence with
her parents she removed to Cincinnati, where
they lived until she grew up to womanhood.
A young man whom her father did not like
paid his addresses to her, and they eloped
for st. Louis. AT Louisville he persuaded
her 10 take lodgings with him as his wife,
promising to 90 with herto a clergyman and
get married in the morning. lie left her in
the morhing to 90 for minister and never
returned. All day she remained almost dis
tracted with fear for the safety of her lover,
whom she could not think had abandoned
her, but finally she learned that he had taken
a boat going down the river in the morning.
The shock to her feelings was so great that
she tainted and fell in the street. She was
taken up by some kindy-disposed person,
who, as soon as she recovered, paid her pas
sage back to Cincinnati.
Her heart almost failed her as she ap-
preached her home. She could see her ia
theirs residence as the boat passed along the
river, and it was her intention to go directly
home, and throw herself upon the mercy Of
her father and mother and tell them how she
had been deceived. On approaching the
door of the dwelling there appeared to be an
unusual hustle in the house, and on entering
she saw her father lying dead upon the
floor The old man had heard which way
she had gone, and took passage on the I'M
fortunate steamboat Moselle, which blew up
at Cincinnati, and being one of the unfor-
tunate sufferers, the body had just been re-
covered and brought home As soon as the |
mother saw her, there" said she, ''there is
your murdered father" She ran from the |
house, but not before her mothers curse
was upon her. She says it rang in her ears
for many long day and night as she wan
dered through the woods.
1t was then summer, and at times severe
hunger would induce her to 20 near the hab-
itations Of the people as she wandered along
through the country, and at one time she
slipped in and took the hoecake from the
fire, while the farmers wife was gore to the
spring-and at other times she caught the
fowls from the fence, and devoured them
raw. How she lived so long, she is unable
TO tell, but berries, nuts, fruit, aud such game
as she was enabled to catch, has been her
food, and for two winters she lived in an old |
deserted cabin on the banks Of the Missouri.
She filed it nearly full ofdred leaves in the
fall, and would creep into them in cold
weather. Somebody burnt down the cabin
last fall, with some little stores of nuts and
dried fruit she had laid up for winter, since
which time she has been sleeping in large
hollow tree.
She saw cher clothing being almost en-
tlrely gone, the cold was very severe, and / /
thought | would come to house and get
them to bury me. How | have
suffered no human tongue can tell, but had
made up my mind to die in the wild woods,
and never again to suffer a human being to
speak to me, but my resolution failed, and |
am Indebted to the kindness of this poor
family for what little comfort they could af-
tord me on my death bed"