The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-02-23

THE STORY or A CURIOUS tHAKAcTER.-A
Georgia paper, the Telegraph and Messenger,
of Macon, is responsible for tbs story:
in the old town of Sunbury, on the coast
Of Georgia, now melancholy rum, James
,,omersall, the subject of this notice, was born
tifty-onc wears ago. His parents cmIslateu
from the Island of Bermuda over 4 century
since. and arc iii part responsible for TIC H.
trod,;ciion Of that beautiful grass, WiRl IS
the hana of planters on the seaDo!ra. IEc
f,ti,g, Of J:,lncs was tiilor and cripple, aud
his mother kept snail bakers shop. They
! had Ole other son besides James, and were
very n0or. The former from lis earliest
! childhood was utterly unlike his kind, ana
| dcvclcDcd tastes and halits Of the strAnSc>t
and most abnormal character. once, III a
| very tender agc, he was missing for several
DAYS, and finally turned up fast asleep ups
:, tombstone in the village graveyard.
Fond of solitude, lie lived in the Tack -
! ccs;cs and tangled forests. y passion for
| natural history WAS thus cngcndcrcd, Which
afterwards produced, We venture TO sly, The
most complete work lin manuscript ever
compiled Oh the ornith0lO@y Oh Georgia.
| Skilled IL SHARING Iirds, his home was strung
around with ingenious cages of Els o"n
manufacture, filed with ieatllcrcd iIlhahi-
J
residents Of thc country. Ec las lccn
known 10 watch, and folio" day alter Ga!y
! without cclsin~. Il Var0qilct or som" other
strange bird until i" hat! secured his prize
| Nets, bird-iruc, traps, and robbery on tie
roosf, were tilc means employed by hin i'll
! capturing his Icatlcred treasures. This pro-
i.uv.cd lie i'll The woods and close aSsocia-
ZION with beasts and birds, gradually trans
! :yrnled this wonderful creature into wild
man, and. strange TO say, his very physical
appearance underwent change, and his
natural tastes and apDetitcs also. The writer
LIS .".n him with pocket full CT live grass
loppcrs, which hcWuvt!t cat like sugar i,itlins
or Dt,n-i,o,is. I.iZIrtS, locu:tS, au; even sell
Dcrfs, were Dispatched III the same way. H.
| deed, among iii, otheI si!vHn pursuits, the
cau.jlc Of snakes wa, Il flvoi'ite pa>t;m".
Armed with f0rked stick only, we have
seen this man cr..wl on all iouls through {;
covered ditch forty feet wide, filed with ooZc
and slime, in quest ot tic deadly nioccl-ln.
| When encountered, utter pinning the reptile )
! heal to The earth, Ec would seize 1t by tic
neck, and inserting 4 coarse cloth into It's
mouth 50 AZ 10 cover the lngS, !orcibly cX-
tract them with sharp jerk. lie often ale
Snlkcs alike.
Tie dwelling of tt Is man monster was
visited by every strani CT and antlqu:try who
made Il pilgrimage u Sunhury to view the
old fort and tie Chanting water scenery
of the dilapidateG town. It presented q
unique appearance. Hung around the walls
We're the cagcs OF Il multitude Of birds, EN-
| bracing many of every variety to be found
| in this latitude, and Il long chest upon the
| floor contained lis collection OF selpcnts.
But who would oppose that this snake
| man courted the mus. es and is the author of
cutie collection Of poems, mostly Of the
:morous cast, which Were published, we be.
licvc, in Charleston. Several Of these are in
our possession, and form a curious mclonge
OF sentiment, vulglrit.', and nonsense. De-
ctsionally, however, he wrote quite rcspcc,
| table doggc-cl, and his dttins mother pro-
cl.mcd him to be not quite the equal OF BY.
ron, but the superior Of b urns.
The writer and Mr.. James Seymour, OF
this city, were classmates ut school with this
curious genius. He diecl about six years
since, ard is still regarded, like the Black
! Dwarf Of Sir Walter Scott, rs one of the &C.
lebFities Of old Liberty ca unity.