St. Paul daily globe., 1895-10-27

upon her, and she would spend three
or TOUR nights week sleeping in the
woods. After losing her place she
came back to the city and got work.
but soon gave it up because it kept
her indoors too much.
II can't live unless I get plenty of
air to breathe" she said.
by great economy she had saved quite
a sum OF money and she rented a
room OF Mrs. M. ID. Coogan, who lives
on East sixteenth street. Her meals
she ate IN her room, buying bread at a
bakery near by and a little fruit at
the stand at the corner. Before she
had been in New York a. week she had
found Central Park.
Il smelled the grass and trees and 7
went right to the place." she said, in
telling of it.
While she lived at Mrs. Coogan's her
constant resort at the park. On the
rainy nights she slept at home. Fine
nights she spent in the park. Such was
her life up to the time of her arrest.
as she related it to a reporter who saw
her in Yorkville Court prison. Her do
1ngs in Central park will go down, not
In the police records, but by word of
mouth, from policeman to succeeding
policeman through many years as part
of the annals of the park. The record
begins early in the summer. One June
day a policeman on Central park west
saw a lanky young woman in ilI-fitting
clothes vault lightly over the stone
wall that separates the park from the
noI Is oh
reply, and when he ran to the place she
mad disappeared from view. Much
surprised he hunted around, but could
ma no trace of her. He didn't report
the matter at the arsenal deeming it
too trivial, but he told some of his fell
low officers about it. A few days later
another officer, while going through
the cut at Eighty-sixth street, heard a
chirruping from overhead Looking up
ne saw young woman tossing bread
CRUMBS to group of shy but eager
birds who were hopping about.
What are you doing?'' asked the no.
liceman.
Amt doing anything" said the girl.
You'll come down; it's against the
rules
The girl only laughed
the policeman. whats your name?"
Mary" replied the girl go away;
you scare the BIRDS
eff you don't come down, I'll come
up there after you"
"You can't catch me-" she retorted.
which was perfectly true as the cop
discovered after a tumultous scramble
up the rocks, for she had vanished,
ND Ii.
angrfly from the top branches of a tree
near by. On another occasion she was
seen in the midst of a circle of squirrels,
who listened critically to her whistling
and chirping, drawing nearer and near
er, as If fascinated, while one of them
went so far as to take peanut from
her outstretched hand, darting away
as soon as he had secured it to a perch
in tree and chattering of his brave
deed. One by one the others were nerv-
ing themselves up to the same feat and
quite a crowd had gathered on the side
walk near the grass plot where the
performance was going on, when
sparrow cop came UP and shouted to
her to get off the grass, to the conster-
nation of the squirrels, who scampered
away precipitately. Mary was very
angry and abused the interferer round
ly, refusing to obey him, and when he
made a rush for her she darted like a
flash up over a rocky hillock, plunged
into a thicket of underbruSh, and was
gone. 1t may have been chance, but
few nights later a dead branch fell
from a tree as he was passing and
smashed his helmet.
Soon all the policemen knew about
her, and as she never did any harm,
let her violate the Keep off the grass
rule with impunity. Capt. Collins, of
the Park squad, met her once, and
asked her why she didn't go home.
'"This is home,'' she said.
Haven't you got any other home"
asked the captain.
'Oh, I've got a room in a house; and
I go there when it rains. All my friends
are here
your friends here Who are they?"
asked the captain in surprise.
''Why, the squirrels and birds. They
most all know me, and they come to
get things to eat when I call 'em. 1
always bring 'em somethin' to eat"
''Well, if you ever want anything
yourself, come to the arsenal said
the captain.
So orders were given out not to mo-
lest her, and once in a. while some Off
Ger would try to catch her. One man
gave chase along the winding paths
that line the big lake. Mary took
things easy until the cops was close
up. Then she dived into the lake,
swan across and disappeared in the
woods on the opposite side. In the
upper part she was not so well known
and it was from there that her first
official report came. policeman came
to the arsenal about 9 o'clock one dark
night and said:
Sergeant, an unknown woman COM
mitted suicide in the upper lake about
an hour ago."
What are the circumstance? ask
ed the sergeant, prejaring to write
"I saw her walking along the edge,
and asked her what she was doing.
She said she was Mary, and she be-
longed there. L thought by the way
she laughed when she said it that may
be she was crazy, so l went to take
hold of her and she just Topped right
over into the water. L didn't see her
come up at all. They're looking for the
body now
''Was she tall and thin, and did she
wear round cap?" asked the SER
geant.
Yes, yes; that's what she looked
like
That's no suicide, then That's
Squirrel Mary. She can swim like a
fish and she spends all her time up
here fooling with the birds and squir-
rels, so the boys gave her that name
She'll turn up all right tomorrow
And she did; for the next day she
was seen in conversati with her
squirrels again. OF late, however,
many complaints have come in of her
frightening people at night. Not long
ago a young couple rushed into the ar
senal breathless and frightened.
'One of your gorillys is out" gasped
the young man.
Haven't got any gorillas here" said
the sergeant. Somebody's been fool