Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-11-05
THE WILD MAN OF CROW CANYON
An Interesting STORY.

| saw in your paper, short time since,
an item concerning the gorilla which
is said to have been seen in Grow can
yon, and shortly after in the mountains
at 0restimba creek. You sneered at
the idea of there being any such crit
ters' in these hills, and were | not better
informed | should sneer too, or else con-
clude that one of your recent prospect
ing parties had got lost in the wilder
ness, and didn't have sense enough to
find his way back to Terry's. ! posi-
lively assure you that this gorilla, or
wild man, or whateveryou choose to call
it, is no myth. i know that its exists,
and that there are at least two Of them,
having seen them both at once not a
year ago. Their existence has been re-
ported at timesf for the past twenty years,
and | have heard it said that, in early
days, an orang-outang escaped from a
ship on the southern coast; but the crea-
ture have seen is not animal, and II II
is where did he get his mate? import her
as the Web-foot did their wivesf Last
fall ] was hunting in the mountains
about twenty miles south OF here, and
camped five or six days in one place, as
| have done every season for the past fif-
teen years. Several times | returned to
my camp, after hunt, and saw that the
ashes aud charred sticks from the fire
place had been scattered about. An old
hunter notices such things, and very
soon gets curious to know the cause.
Although my bedding and traps and little
stores were not disturbed, as | could
see, | was anxious to learn who or what it
was that SO regularly visited my camp,
for clearly the half-burnt sticks and Gin
ders could not scatter themselves about.
| saw no tracks near the camp, as the
hard ground, covered with dry leaves,
would show none. So / started on a
circle around the place, and three hum
dred yards off, in damp sand, | struck
the track of mans feet, as | supposed
bare, and of immense size. Now |
was curious, sure, and resolved to lay for
the bare-footed visitor accordingly
took position on hill Side, about sixty
or seventy feet from the fire, and
securely hid in the brush, | waited and
watched. Two hours or more sat there
would come again, and whether he imag-
ined what an interest he had created in
my inquiring mind, and finally, what
possessed him to be prowling about there
with no shoes on. The fireplace was on
my right and the spot where saw the
track was ON my left hid by the bushes.
1t was in this direction that my attention
was mostly directed, thinking the visitor
would appear there, and besides, itiwas
easier to. sit and face that way. Sud
denly | was started by a shrill whistle,
such as boys produce with two fingers
under their tongue, and turning quickly,
| calculated, Good God" as j saw the
object of my solicitude standing beside
my fire, erect, and looking suspiciously
around. 1t was in the image of man,
but it could not have been human |
was never SO benumbed with aston
ishment before. The creature, what
ever it was, stood full five feet
high, and disproportionately broad
and square at the shoulders, with
arms of great length. The legs were
very short, and the body long. The
head was small compared with the rest
of the creature, and appeared to be set
upon his shoulders without neck. The
whole was covered with dark brown and
cinnamon colored hair, quite long on
some parts, that on the head standing in
a shock and growing close down to the
eyes, like Digger Indians. As |
looked, he threw his head back and
whistled again, and then stopped and
grasped stick from the fire. This he
swung round and round, until the fire on
the end had gone out, when he repeated
the maneuver. / was dumb, almost, and
could only look. Fifteen minutes | sat
and watched him, as he whistled and
my fire about. could easily
have put bullet through his head, but
why should ] kill him2 Having amused
apparently, all he desired, with
my fire, he started to 90, and, having
gone a short distance, he returned, and
was Joined by another-a female, un-
mistakably--when they both turned and
walked past me, within twenty yards of
where / sat, and disappeared in the brush.
| could not have had better opportu-
nifty for observing them, as they we're un-
conscious of my presence. Their only
object In visiting my camp seemed to be
to amuse themselves with swinging
lighted sticks around have heard this
story many times since then, and it has
often raised an incredulous smile; but |
have met one person who has seen the
creatures, and dozen who
have ooRe across their tracks at various
places between here and Pacheco Pass.