The Kearny meadows’ reported “wild man” (1908)

A reported arrest in the meadows

The Bamberg Herald of July 23, 1908 reprinted a New York World item about an officer named Cuthbert capturing a man in the meadows. It alleged that the man approached Cuthbert’s wife and children, retreated when they screamed, and was later caught by the officer. A posse had reportedly formed, but the article credited Cuthbert with the capture. Bamberg Herald, July 23, 1908, page 1.

The prisoner reportedly called himself Robert O’Brien, forty-five, formerly of Providence, Rhode Island. He said he lived in a natural cave beside the Hackensack River across from Snake Hill penitentiary. The headline emphasized his corset; the account also preserved his explanation that it helped against mosquitoes and maintained his figure. Bamberg Herald, July 23, 1908, page 1.

A place-name problem

The reprint prints “Kearney, N. Y.” Its references to Hudson County jail, Snake Hill and the Hackensack River instead point to Kearny, New Jersey; that geographic identification is an inference from the article’s other details. The clipping provides no conviction or independent confirmation of O’Brien’s identity. It records a northern New Jersey newspaper story about a person, outside the Pine Barrens itself. Bamberg Herald, July 23, 1908, page 1.

Original newspaper page