River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-11-04
Idyl of Wild Life.

y curious SlOfN Ol VIII lie WlJnln
tne borders of civilization was recently
brought to the surface at Narrowsburg,
n. Y. The story goes that in 1885
Lucy Ann Lobdel, daughter of lum-
berman,-the girl being then 20 years
Old-married Il raftsman, George Slater,
who deserted her and an infant daugh-
ter in year after marriage. They
lived at Long Eddy, Delaware county,
n. Y. Lucy Ann Slater had been
brought up to hunting for living, felt
Independent, and took to the woods,
leaving her child in the care of her
parents. She put ON mems clothes,
took her rifle and fishing tackle, and
built herself Il cabin in the wild woods,
and hunting lodges whenever she
wandered in the mountains. She
could play the violin as we'll as hunt
and fish, and chop wood, and raft, and
accompanied her sports with music
in the wilderness. She was skillful,
and lucky among the game and carried
the skins of such wild animals as the
mountains afforded to the settlements,
where she exchanged them for am
munition and such other articles as
she needed In mems clothes she was
known rs Joseph Lobdell. Those who
knew of the disguise called her the
"Huntress of Long Eddy" So she
lived eight years in the woods, and at
the end of that time ascertained that
her child had been placed in the poor
house at Delhi This in censed her
against her parents, and confirmed her
in the wild life she had chosen. Years
after one Joseph Lobdell appeared in a
Pennsylvania village as teacher of
music, and played the fiddle for coun-
try dances. One of LObdell 5 female
pupils fell in love with him, and then
the young men of the village found out
that the tiddling music teacher was q
woman,-and none other than Lucy
Ann Slater, the huntress She left sud
denly and just escaped a coat of tar
and the enumeration of feathers.
In 1868 the huntress was hunted
and caught and put in the
poor-house at Delhi, from which her
daughter had previously gone, only to
become an outcast. Just about the
same time Marie Louise Perry, young
woman Of beauty and education, who
had been wrOnged, came to the poor
house sick, and Lucy Ann Slater at
tended her as nurse during her Illness
A strange friendship sprang up between
the two, and the young woman having
recovered, both ran away from,the poor
house at the same time. Nothing was
seen or heard of them for two or three
years. In 1871 a man and woman were
arrested as Migrants, in Monroe county,
Pa. The man gave his name as Joseph
Israel LObdeii, and the woman claimed
to be his wife. They had been living
in caves, and the people were afraid of
them. Joseph Israel was lodged in
jail and the woman was let off, and
took to the woods and caves. Writing
with split stick, and using pokeberry
Juice for ink, she drew up petition to
the county court asking for the release
of her husband, Joseph Lobdell in
consequence of his i'll health. which
compelled her constant care" The
paper is said to have been "a marvel of
neat penmanship and correct compost
ton" The county court yielded and
Joseph Lobdell was released I pair
then went to Damascus township,
Wayne county, Pa, and squatted on a
piece of ground. where they lived until
a year and a half ago, when Joseph
disappeared Some months afterwards
the remains Of person were found in
the woods not far from the farm. and
were buried as those of the missing
huntres- The woman of the Lobdell
copartnership remained on the patch
of ground where both had lived Lately
the acquaintance of Lucy Ann Slater
were surprised to see her at Long Eddy
dressed in the male garb, tattered and
torn, while she was weary and worn
and insane. She was put in the asy-
lum at Ovid, and henceforth will be re
strained fr.m roaming. And Mary
Louise Perry is still living alone in her
cabin at Damascus.