The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-10-13
A WILD WOMAN OF THE WOODS.
lfrom the Huron County News.

lfrom the Huron County News
Many years ago, in the Dominion of Cana
da' llVed family of well-to-do French
1857. fair young flower was the dark
eyed Celia, and her three sturdy brothers
were jealous of the man who might in future
years secure the budding rose full blown,
and break the chain ofhappy hearts around
the social hearth. Time passed The war
and its rewards had called the brothers from
lhelr home; the father, allured by the re-
wards which smuggling presented at the
'lme, and which was engaged in to such an
extent on the lake shore in the years 1S6l-Gi,
had turned his honest fish boat into dark
sailed smuggling craft Celia, tlattered by
the commoners and recognized by the Csc
lect' on account of her grace and beauty, AL
unconscious of the lawless father and the
fate of the three warrior brothers. laughed
on, all needless of what was in store for her
becoming vain, careless and fond of dress
Vanity is always the thin ice of destruction.
and in Cela's case it proved no exception
The spoler was on the watch; he rccitcd to
the daughter the story of her fathers crimes,
her brothers death in Southern prisons, and
ended with the tairest proposal OF marriage.
IN her terrible despondencv, caused by these
horrid revelations, the girl Celia accepted
the proposals of her destroyer in the reck-
lesneSs of her despair. Shortly after one of
her brothers returned from the war, alive and
well as ever, and through his instrumentality
the real character OF the villain was discover
ed and made known 10 his sister. Knowing
the disgrace and degradation into which She
had fallen, her reason began gradually Ia
tail her, and in a short time she disappeared
from he neighborhood, no one knew whth-
ar tl,,f f,l1 40 -.
after the disappearance of the FrenchmanS
daughter, two hunters from the township of
White Rock discovered in will and unteu-
anted forest the footprints of human being,
bare-tooted and alone. Their curiosity was
at once aroused, and by the aid of dogs, after
chase of eighteen hours, they succeeded lnN
view OF the object of their pursuit. Nearer
they approached, the form becoming more
palpabe ut every step, when the object.
hearing the approach, turning full upon
them in Ill its horrd semblances Of the hu-
manity it was not Revolving and hileou- d4
was its appearance, the hunters recognized
through all the ghoul-like aspects the person
of Il female lunatic, The dark, wild, insane
eyes; the matted and tangled hair; the
shreds of filthy covering; the SCARED and
fostering skeleton form--all told of reason
lost, OF life wrecked, of Il soul which had
ly she gathered 4 bundle from the ground
flung it across her shoulders, and disappear
ed with the sWittness Of the wind The
people Of the Moighhorh0Od We're aroused
the excitement ran high, and long into the
early part Of the winter hunting parties were
securing the woods in search of the lunatlc
woman. AT last She was captured, Just over
the line in Sanlac County, and taken to- the
common jail People gathered in crowds to
see this strange phenomenon. The bundle
which she was always seen to be CARRYING
while on her flights in the forest was opened
to the public gaze, and there-oh horrors =
lay the skull and skeleton of an intant-hrr
babe which She had carried through all her
tedious marches by night and by day for two
long years and more. She was an inmate of
the jail during the whole of the winter and
the following summer. The only service
which she rendered at the time was knitting,
at which She was an expert. There are many
Yet who recollect the ''old crazy woman"
and but few who saw her will believe Us
when we state that her age, instead of being
from fifty to sixty. us it really seemed, WAS
less than thirty years. At times she would
number over list OF names, which the taller
would hurricdly take down rs nearly rs pos
sible in their iulnbled state, and then inquiry
would be instituted and letters written TO all
parts, but all to no purpose. Her name and
history remained a sealed volume, The fol-
lowing autumn, however, She took advan-
tage of the liberty allowed hcr-Wanderrd
away, and was never heard of more Fol
lowing some onis taturS of her unsettled
brain, she died, perhaps alone, unknown,
with only the wild beasts to listen to her cx-
pring cries. And this was Celia. The lost
link in this chain Of circumstances was only
discovered short time since, and the writrr
of this article is one of the only three who
knew the real facts. There may he some
Slight errors in the dates above given: false
n4me has been given the subject, and the
picture may be slightly colorcd, but in the
main the details are correct and the state
ments facts. rilr brother above alluded il
yet alive IN orphan, sullen in his desperate
purpose of wrcaking his vengeance, and the
tragedy may be but half told.