Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1894-1895, 1895-10-04
WANTED TO BE A MAI.
The Young Woman Who Went to Chi
cago in Mems Clothing.

Miss Hettie Dickey, the young lady
from Delaware who recently visited Chi
cagO in mems clothing. has told the com
piete story Of her adventures 1t ap-
pears that for years she has had an
overwhelming desire to be a man. The
impulse to See the world as a man sees
it grew upon her TO such an extent that
she finally decided to leave home. She
secreted suit of her brothers clothes
in the wOodshed. and soon after noon
on March "a she slipped quietly into
the shed and put on masculine attire
Then she walked calmly out of the yard
in front of her home to the road lead
ing to Kiamensi station on the Balti-
more & Ohio railroad. 1t was then
about 1870 o'clock in the afternoon
She followed the tracks three miles
without meeting anyone. Then two
men came in sight, and for fear of de-
lection, she turned aside into field
and made her way to Newark. where
she took the 3 o'clock train for Balti-
more. BY this time her parents were
searching the country for her in the i'm
mediate vicinity of their home. Reach
Ing Baltimore, she stopped for an hour.
Then she bought a ticket to Chicago,
and left on the o'clock train over the
Baltimore & Ohio railroad. All the
money she had on leaving home was
$50. She reached Chicago on the night
of March 26 with 23.4S in the pocket of
her trousers. Her original intention
was To go 10 Beaver or san Francisco.
In both of those PAGES she has relatives.
After her arrival in the Windy City
she was az a loss to know where to lay
her head. She was afraid to go to q
clearinghouse, so she concluded to walk
the streets rather than run the risk Of
being detected. For two nights she
.ramped the sidewalks of Chicago be-
tore finding a place OF shelter. At last
she found a big lumber yard near the
lake, and there she spent five nights
among the piles of lumber What little
food she ate during this time she pur-
chased at cheap restaurants. In all OF
these she seated herself at tables along
side men. For three nights she occupied
corner in a box car standing on side
track of the Illinois Central railroad.
One of the employees discovered her and
demanded an explanation of her pres
ence. She maintained her fortitude and
succeeded in escaping arrest. She went
on in this way for two weeks until. over
come by exhaustion. she fell Ill, and
was removed 70 the Cook County Hos
pital. The incessant tramping and the
clumsiness of her brothers shoes caused
severe Injuries to her feet. Upon re
moval of the shoes at the hospital flesh
came off with them. y diagnosis of her
case was made 10y the physicians in
charge. While making an examination
OF her lungs he discovered her sex. She
told him her name was Hettie Dicker-
son, but subsequently admitted that it
was Hettie Dickey. and that her home
was in Stanton, Del. After listening to
her narrative the doctor notified her
parents On April a, one month from
the time of her disappearance. she wrote
to her mother, describing her sufferings
and asked forgiveness. She reached
home week ago, and with the eXcep-
ton of a slight feebieness, she was none
the worse for the experience.