The Shasta courier., 1866-03-31
Escape of a Yonng Girl from the Nor
mons.

A correspondent of the Cincinnati Com
mercial. writing from Petersburg, Ono,
gives long account of the adventures of
Young girl named Louisa Black, who re-
Gently escaped from the Mormon community
in Salt Lake city and endured great suffer
ing. The substance of the story is as fol
lows
son Thursday morning, 4th instant, as
boy was returning from school across the
fields, near Petersburg, on nearing couple
Of haystacks he heard plalntlve means, ap-
parently proceeding therefrom, accompanied
by faint articulations of human voice
lie distinctly heard the ejaculation, My
God my God = The boy hurried to his
home, which was in sight, and told Mr..
Davidson what be had heard. Mr.. David
son at once started back with him, and
meeting two neighbors on the way, took them
along to the stack Of nay.
On reaching the spot and going round one
Of the stacks from whence the sounds pro
ceeled. they discovered some rags protuding
from the base, and what was their surprise to
find young girl, an entire stranger. literal
ly burrowed in the hay. seemingly helpless
aud in dying condition. She raised a
pair Of blue eyes to the gentlemen's startled
faces and implored them not to move her. to
let her lie there and die, for she was frozen
and starved, and aid had arrived to late !
However, the gentlemen raised her as gen
.ly as they could, and, though the gentlest
motions aggravated a. her sufferings. succeed
ed in CARRYING her back to Mr.. Davidson's
farm honse. She was evidently not more
than sixteen years of age, and scantily and
miserably clad. A tattered dress clung
around her, and a garment that had once
been an under shirt she had torn in two,
one strip being tied about her head, and the
other wrapped about her feet.
She AYERS that she resided in Missouri
until the Fall of 1864, when her father be
came infatuated with the Mormon faith Ia
number of Mormons being settled near them J
and in opposition to the wishes of his wife
and family, made preparations to remove to
Salt Lake city. As he could not be turned
from his purpose, the family reluctantly ac-
compauied him, and were numbered among
the inhabitants of that city, while Mr. B ack
was at once enrolled among the saints
They had been there for six months, during
which time matters had been growing from
bad to worse, when the crisis arrived, in the
shape of Mrs. Black No. 2 The family
were now wrought up to desperation, and
Mrs. Black No. /, with her three daughters
resolved to make her escape from Utah, al
the same time being cognizant that the way
was rife with dang,r and that if captured
death would be their doom. Louisa goes on
to say that they succeeded in eluding Wig
iance, and made their escape from Salt
Lake city on the 18th of last June, with only
twelve dollars in their purse, and turned
their faces toward the States
The girl says they kept mostly to the
woods and ravines and all covert places, to
avoid their discovery, and gave their former
home in Missouri a wide berth for foar of
the many Mormons there. At length one
of the sisters died from exposure and priva
ton. and covering her up in the woods they
wandered on. Soon another sister persisted,
and Louisa and her mother al.ne pursued
their flight. At length Mrs Black lay
down, never to rise again. Louisa thinks it
must have been in the vicinity of Cleveland
that her mother died. Instead of asking
any assistance she wandered on alone She
tells of being at Greenville, Pennsylvania,
and of finally arriving at Middlesex. where
she says she lay concealed for three days on
the farm of Mr.. ,Edmonson This was
about the 9th of December.
She relates that she was here found by a
couple OF horse thieves, and We next find
this young girl on the eve of December llth.
employed as an emissary by these refugees
70 ride off horse that they had just stolen
from Mr.. Edmonson's field. She states
that they had instructed her to 90 to Oil
City, and gave her directions how to
get to there; also that one of them gave her
TWO bills, ten and five, with which to
procure subsistence for herself and horse
while on the route. When asked what she
did with the money she at first did not seem
to recoilect, and at length said she spent
IT. but did not say what for. However. il is
supposed she lost the money These thieves
told her that they would take another route
10 Oil City, where they would meet her. and
take charge Of the horse, also that their gang
had their headquarters there, and that they
had run of many horse to Oil City. They
furthermore boasted that they had stolen a
span in Cleveland worth S4O0 Tney placed
her on the horse and started her off. and that
is the last she saw of them. Instead of tax.
ing the prescribed route Louisa changed the
programme by taking route of her own
choosing.
She finally took refuge in the hay stack
where she was found, badly frozen"