The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-15
Indiana W0mdm Bee111if,
Unexplained Reason.

of her existence ceased to be known to
any except the older residents
An only sister lived in the house with
Miss Phoebe, and after the death of the
parents TIE two opened a millinery store
in ore of tae front rooms The younger
sister attended to the store, and Miss
Phoebe trimmed hats IN her own room.
and was never seen By any OF the Gus
toners through the ten years or more
that the business was carried on. The
old Methodist log church, of which she
was a member, was torn away and n new
and more pretentious ediffce was erected
She sent a subscription to the building
committee, but has never been in the
church, or, in fact, seen it unless after
night when no one was near to see her.
The canal fell into disuse and the rail-
road came to take its place, but still the
recluse remained in her home, and It is
said that she has never seen a railroad
train, although there are four pass with
in half mile of her home every Gay.
NATIONAL INCIDENT.
After several years of waiting Hadley
johnson went West, and became a pros
porous business man in Utah territory
Then he invested In mining stocks, and
ere long became one of the wealthieSt
men in the far West. When Utah had
been admitted to the Union and had cast
her first vote for presidential electors, it
was he who bore the official records to
Washington as the agent of the govern
ment. On his return home he stopped at
Rrookville, and made a last effort to see
his affianced bride of more than fifty
years before. He was then advanced in
life. but the old scenes had revived the
yearlings of years before. Miss Meeks
was obdurate, and refused to see him or
even to receive any word from him.
Her action had gone unexplained through
all the years of their separation, and
Johnson was destined never to know
what occurred on that fatal night to
change her attitude toward him and the
world. He died last year in his Western
home, never having married.
Miss Meeks only companions are her
sister, several years younger than her
self, and the birds. Hundreds of spar
rows go to her window every morning to
be fed, and for a few moments the blinds
are turned that she may put the crumbs
upon the windowsill for her little pets.
She has ample means on which to live
and the business of a milliner was taken
up for the recreation 1t would give, and
was abandoned as soon as it ceased to
be diverting. She is said to be an om-
nivorous reader, and nearly all of the
popular high priced magazines are taken
and also a Cincinnati daily paper
Though she avoids contact with the
world, she is thus conversant with what
is going on in it, and the grocer who sup
plies her from time to time with vege-
tables, meats, fruits and the like. testi-
f1es to the fact that every bodily COM
fort Is looked after.
Only once has an attempt been made
by outsiders to learn the history of the
night that she separated from her lover
A newspaper man sought the house on
one occasion for that purpose, but was
refused an interview or even permission
to see her. He persisted beyond the
limits of courtesy, and narrowly escaped
a scalding from a bucket of hot water
that was thrown from one of the upper
windows.