Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-02-10


TIE WILD WoMAN.-1t will perhaps be
recolccted that abou, year and half ago,
the st. Louis papers gave an account ola
woman who had been discovered in the woods
near that city, almost naked and apparently
quite wild. Ii appears that she had lived in
this manner until lately, when the severity of
the winter drove her to human habita,ion,
and there, being much exhausted for want Of
food and badly frost bitten she expired.
Previous to her death she became quite
rational and gave the following account Of
herself which we condense from the St. Lou.
is Organ.
She was born in New Jersey, whence with
her parents she had removed 10 Cincinnati,
where they lived until she grew up to woman
hood. A young man whom her father did
not like paid his addresses TO her and they
eloped for St. Louis. At Louisville he per-
suaded her to take lodgings with him as his
wife, promising to go with her to clergy
man and get married in the morning. He
left her in the morning to 90 for minister
and never returned. AL! day she remained
almost distracted with fear for the safety of
+ her lover, whom she could not think had a.
bandoned her. but finally she learned that he
had taxed 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 kindly disposed
person who: as soon as she recovered, paid
her passage back to Cincinnati.
Her heart almost failed her as she APPROACH
ed her home. She could see her fathers res
idence as the boat passed along up the river,
!, an bor ipta l.
and throw herselfupon the mercy of her faith
, err and mother, and tell them how she had
been deceived. On approaching the door Of
the dwelling, there appeared to be an unusu-
al hustle in the house, and on entering it she
, saw her father lying dead upon the floor
The old man had heard which way she had
gone, and took passage on the unfortunate
steamboat Mosele, which blew up at Clncin.
natl, and being one of the unfortunate suffer-
ers, the body has just been recovered and
brought home. AS soon as the mother saw
her, "thcre," said she, "lere is your MUIR
dered father" She ran from the house, but
4 not before her mothers curse was upon her.
She says it rang in her ears for many a long
day and night as she wandered through the
b woods.
~ " 40 tiitu anu dt tliucS SefcI0
b hunger would induce her to go near the hab-
italions of the people as she wandered along
;, through the country, and at one time she
t slipped in and took the hoecake from the fire,
e while the farmers wife was gone to the spring
e at other times she caught the fowls from
C the fence, and devoured them raw. How
: she lived so long, she is unable to tell, bu,
n berries, nuts, fruit, and such game as she was
.. enabled to catch, has been her food, and fol
;, two winters she lived in an old deserted cabin
4 on the banks of the Missouri. She filled j,
r. nearly full of dried leaves in the fall and
i would creep into them in cold weather.
II Somebody burnt down the cabin last fall
S with some little stores of nuts and dried fruit
: she had laid up for winter, since which time
r she had been sleeping in large hollow tree
d She says, ''her clothing being almost en-.
II irely gone, the cold was very severe, and
S thought would come to house and gel
IT them to bury me. How | have
: suffered no human tongue can tell, but had
d. made up my mind to die in the wild woods
d and never again to suffer human being to
: speak to me, but my resolution failed, and
j am indebted to the kindness of this poor fam.
d lily for what little comfort they could. afford
: me on my MISUNDERSTANDING ChrOni,
e Gle.