St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1890-04-05
THE STORY OF NELLIE BLY,.

Nellie BLY, is known nprivate life a.
Miss Elizabeth Cochrane. She is an I'M
married woman twenty three years ofage
She lives quietly in an uptown fiat witt
her widowed mother. The kind of wors
she has done has made it necessary tina
she should know as few people as possible
and on that account her private life has
been very quiet one. She has accepted
no social attentions, but among the few
people with whom she has come in con-
tact she has gained liking for her two
most distinctive qualities-her frankness
and her gentleness. Free from affecta
ton and loudness, she is popular with al
who have known her, except the people
she has made uncomfortable through the
columns of the World.
Miss Cochrane is a good-looking bru-
nette, of medium height, and slight grace
full figure, who does not look nearly as
old as the records make her. Her appear
ance is girlish, and while contact with the
world in her journalistic capacity has
given her thoughts and manners serious
cast. and the far-reaching usefulness OF
many of her tasks mas made her feel that
newspaper women have earnest missions in
life, still there is CLINT of the sunshine of
youth in many of her ways, and jolly
light heartedness at times manifests itself,
which shows that there is strong, bright
link between her looks and the girlhood
that radiates through them
She is not so old, either, as far as years
are concerned. Miss Cochrane was born
in 1867. Her birthplace was Cochrane's
Mills, settlement in Armstrong county,
Pa, named after her father. Mr.. Coch-
rane owned four -four mills there and q
large tract of land. He had numerous
employees who built houses in the neigh
borhood on his property and these COM
posed the community. Her father was
not miller, as might be supposed from
the fact of his owning -four mills; he was
a lawyer and for several terms filed the
Office of Associate Judge of Armstrong
county. The family lived first at the
mills and then moved into a house built
for them at Apolla, about ten miles distant.
While Miss Cochrane was still in her first
decade her father died. He was stricken
suddenly with paralysis and passed away
without being able to make a will. This
involved the family estate, which is still
unsettled and in the hands of administra-
tors.
Miss Cochrane's education began at
home. Her first instructions were given
her by her father, from whom she received
inspiration in the direction of study. He
was a broad minded, high principled
gentleman, cultivated and polished, and
approaching all the advantages of educa-
ton, he gave his children the full benefit
of every advantage he possessed in that
way. When Miss Cochrane was old
enough to leave home, she was sent to
boarding school at Indiana, Pa, where she
remained from 1879 to 1881. She was
obliged to leave this institution on account
of threatening heart disease, and later
when arrangements were nearly completed
to send her to the Blairsville Seminary
the doctor said one years study would
probably cost the girl her life. She was
anxious to continue her studies, but she
didn't want to die. She remained at home,
and her waking hours not given to books
were devoted to horseback riding and
light outdoor exercises, which greatly
her health. She became so
skilled in equestrianism she soon had the
reputation of being the best horsewoman
in Armstrong county. Her literary taste
was general. She had no favorite study,
but seemed to have an inordinate mental
appetite for all kinds of information. Sto-
ries of travel seemed to give her great
deal of pleasure, and if she liked any one
class of books more than another, it might
be said that she preferred books of travel.
Sentimental creations she had no fond
ness for. This appears strange in face of
the fact that when very little girl she
wrote love and fairy stories by the score.
She wrote them on the fly leaves of books
and on loose scraps of paper. For whole
hours at night she lay in bed unable to go
to sleep because of the tirelessness of her
weaving tales and creating
heroes and heroines, simply for her own
delight or the qualification of the Young
companions to whom she would relate
Them. 1t was her want to get the girls of
the town together and tell them these
stories; 1t was easier to make up some
story to tell them than to repeat an old
story. So active was the childs brain AID
30 strongly her faculties eluded sleep that
her condition became alarming and she
had to be placed under the care of physj-
clans. She had no idea then of publish
ing anything. 1t was not until she and
her mother went to Pittsburg at the So
licitation of her three brothers, who are
here in the rubber business, that she en-
tered the professional field of literature.
She was great newspaper reader, and
one day she saw an article in the Pittsburg
Dispatch headed "What Girls Are Good |
for" She wrote reply to the article, (
giving her imagination pretty free rein,
and though the reply was not published,
/ paragraph appeared in the Dispatch the
lay after she sent the communication ask
ng for the writer's name. Miss Cochrane
sent her name and received letter from
he editor requesting her to write an arti
lie on the subject of "Girls and Their
spheres in Life for the Sunday Dispatch
She did this. The article was printed and |
he same week. she received q check for it |
md the request for something else. Her
,ext subject was Divorce" and at the |
md of the article appeared the now world
amous signature, Nellie Bly," Miss
Jochrane assumed it by the suggestion of
dr. Geo. A. Madden, managing editor of
he Dispatch, who got it from Stephen
Fosters popular song. The divorce arti-
lie attracted attention. It was timely and |
contributed to the salutary change which
vas made shortly after in the marriage
avs of Pennsylvania Then Miss Coch
ane wrote to the editor setting forth the
,alue of series of articles about working
iris. She was invited to the office and
lhuS arrangements W dcCcpb U saioLy tnu
evote her time to the Dispatch. Taking
n artist with her she went through the
actories and workshops at Pittsburg and
escribed and picture the condition of the
7orking girls. The articles made big
it and were initiated by writer's in almost
very large city in the land. Later Miss
ochrane became society sditress of the
)sspGtch and also looked after the dram
tic and art departments, all for salary
$40 per week. Ideas kept bobbing up