New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-18
THE. WILD MAN OF ST. LANDRY
From the Planters Banner.l

ot,s7t77 OpELoUsAs, june Z, 1871.
Yesterday, in company with Mr.. james
H. Houston, of this place, we rode out 10
see thesWiId Man Of st. Landry. And we
saw him. His range is about five miles
from this place, OH the mail route to the
Junction. He is living and breatAipe
curiosity. m 81 y s,r ri.te-.- u IL q, -
..Wild SAM" as he is Familiarity called BY
the neighbors, is a mulatto. From appear
ances, and from the traditions of the neigh.
bors. he is believed to be between eighty
and ninety years old. He is known to have
lived in the neghborhood where he ranges
over fifty years. He formerly belonged 10
Baptiste Bruno.
The oldest men in the neighborhood, who
have known Wild Sam for more than fifty
wears. do not remember that he ever slept
in a cabin or house on any place in this
country. He ALWAYS took to the woods
when his days work was done, and came
ont of the woods in the morning to perform
the labors of the day.
He was a strong and willing laborer, was
an excellent ditcher, rail splitter and ak
man. He had gentle disposition, and his
master was always pleased with him. His
former weight was abont l75 pounds. He
now weighs not more than 100. He is about
five and a half feet high.
For many years Wild Sam has roved
about in the woods from five to eight miles
from Opelousas, sleeping in different places
according to caprice and circumstances. He
was never married, and never associated
with people of any color, or sex. In spirit
and in practice, as far as possible, he has
always been hermit of the wilderness. At
meal time, on the plantation, he would al
ways take his plate of food, and go off and
eat by himself.
A still more curious feature in the nature
and habits of this remarkable man is,
when in the woods he always goes naked,
and sleeps on the naked ground, or on a
plank, or something hard. The ground is
his pillow. a lasa
He likes to camp in the edge of the woods
near plantations, and when he can do so he
drives forks into the ground, puts pole on
them, and makes shed roof OF pieux to
protect him from the rain. At other times
he stretches himself on the ground like
wild beast, and takes the weather as 1t
comes. He never minds mosquitoes or flies.
He keeps fire, and rakes it up with an
idea to reproduce it when needed.
We found Wild Sam on the sixth instant
at Alex. FOurnier's, about five miles from
this place. Mr.. Fourier had constructed
rough camp for this strange character near
his own dwellinghouse, under pecan tree,
by the side of the fence. q TIE 'rH .4I~., Ell &
As we approached the camp, which was
made split cypress, eight or nine feet long,
the bottom of each piece resting on the
ground, the tops meeting and forming the
comb of the camp, about five feet high, MIR.
Fourier took away some clapboards from
the front, and Wild Sam was in full view.
He was lying asleep, perfectly naked, on
a broad cypress fence post about ten inches
in width and eight feet in length, fiat on his
back, and nothing under his head. Each
end of the post rested on a rough block,
him a foot from no Opnuuh Ther1
were a few other posts and pieuK in the
camp, rough and ragged old overcoat, a
broad brim hat, which had been thrown
away as useless, about enough rags to con
stitute suit of worse than begging clothes,
an old banjo of his own making, crazy old
cane or two, an old bag, which, perhaps,
contained implements for plying the con-
and brands of unburned wood. Besides
these, and the old wild man, there was
nothing whatever in the camp.
AS Sam is now old and intirm, Mr.. -Four
nier and the colored people in the neighbor-
hood kindly feed him and give him
some old clothes, which he only wears to
cover his nakedness when he comes out Of
his den. If he were in the woods he would
not wear these at all, except when the
weather is frosty or severe.
His whiskers and head are white, and his
limbs and flesh look hard and weather.
beaten. His face has wild, but firm and
fearless appearance. He looks stupid, as
though age is gradually wasting his iron
frame, and his eyes look dull, as though be
were gazing at his grave.
This singular specimen of humanity was
never known to be sick. He was always
fond of tobacco, but would never drink
whisky. He never wears shoes, and would
never wear anything but that he does not
wish to offend people when he comes from
the woods by exposing his person. He car
ries in his hand, or ties about his loins,
bunch of black moss, in bulk about enough
to fill water bucket
This was lying across his person when We
found him in his camp asleep. He uses it
for the same purpose that our great ances-
tiers used fig leaves in the Garden of Eden.
oimerly, when in the woods, Wild Sam
lived principally on roots, berries and such
food as he could find, much as bear lives
sometimes he would go without food two
days or more, and then come into the place
OF those who knew him for food. He never
stole anything. He has always been kindly
treated, but could never in his life be in
duced to put his foot inside of a white mans
house. EI - t l
We have talked with about half dozen
OF Wild Sans neighbors, creoles and col
Ored people, who were raised in the neigh
borhood where he has lived so long, and
tney all agree perfectly in relation to his
history What We saw with our own eyes
we know to be true. and what those in the
neighborhOod told us we believe to be true,
and we have condensed our observation and
their statements in the above article on the
O Of