Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-03-28


it. The mothers may be aptly styled . kind
of moving cradle, their fur; or coat OF hair,
serving as blankets for the little ones in ear
liest infancy. A fowling-piece should not be
used, for nine times out Of ten the wounded
mother would stay in clefts Of the trees, where
she would perish ultimate with her progeny.
An arrow poisoned with wourali is the surest
weapon, and, with good aim, in a few min
utes the monkey will be lying dead at the
feet of the shooter. The wourali poison en-
tirely destroys all tension in the muscles; but
a gun-shot wound, even though it be mortal,
has not such an immediate effect. Thus, by
using poisoned arrows, an ill-fated animals
existence is not prolonged under the painful
anguish of deadly gnnshot wound.
THE STORY OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER.
A Georgia paper-the Telegraph and Mes
senqer, of Macon-is responsible for this story:
In the old town of Sunbury, on the coast of
Georgia. now melancholy ruin, James Som.
ersall, the subject of this notice, was born it,
ty.one years ago. Hisparents emigrsted from
the Island of Bermuda over century ago,
and are in part responsible for the introduce
ton of that beautiful grass which is the bane
of planters on the seaboard. The father of
James was tailor and cripple, and his moth.
er kept small bakers shop. She had one
other son besides james, and was very poor.
The former from his earliest childhood, was
unlike his kind, and developed tastes and
habits of the strangest and most abnormal
character. Once, at a very tender age, he was
missing for several days, and finally turned
up fast asleep upon tombstone in the vii
lage graveyard.
Fond of solitude, he lived in the thick re.
cesses and tangled forests. A passion for nat.
ural history was thus engendered, which after
ward produced, we venture to say, the most
complete work Gn manuscript ever compiled
on the ornithology of Georgia. Skilled in
snaring birds, his home was strung around
with ingenious cages of his own manufacture,
filled with feathered inhabitants, some hither-
to utterly unknown to the residents OF the
country He has been known to watch, and
follow day after day without ceasing, paro.
ouet or some other strange bird until he had
secured his prize. Nets, bird lime, traps and
robbery on the roost, were the means employ
ed by him in capturing his feathered treasures.
This protracted life in the woods and close as-
sociation with beasts and birds gradually
transformed the wonderful creature into wild
man, and, strange to say, his physical appear:
ance underwent change, and his natural
tastes and appetites also. The writer has seen
him with a pocketful of live grasshoppers,
which he would eat like sugar plums or Don
bons Lizards, locusts, and even serpents
were dispatched in the same way. Indeed,
among his other sylvan pursuits, the capture
of snakes was favorite pastime. Armed
with forked stick only, we have seen this
man crawl on all-fours through a covered
ditch forty feet wide, filled with ooze and slime
in quest Of the deadly moccasin. When en-
countered, after pinning the reptiles head to
the earth, he would seize it by the neck and
inserting coarse cloth into it's mouth so as
to cover the fangs, forcibly extract them with
a sharp Jerk. He often ate snakes alive.
The dwelling of this man monster was Wis
tied by every stranger and antiquary who
made pilgrimageto Sunbury to view the old
fort and enchanting water scenery Of the d.
lapidated town. It presented unique ap-
pearance Hung around the walls we're the
cages of multitude of birds, embracing many
of every variety to be found in this latitude,
and a long chest upon the floor contained bis
collection Of serpents
But who would suppose that this snake man
courted the muses., and is the author of quite
a collection of poems mostly of the amorous
cast, which were published, we believe, in
Charleston. Several Of these are in our pos
session, and form curious meLange OF sentl-
ment, vulparitv and nonsense Occasionally,
however, he wrote quite respectable doggerel,
and his doting mother proclaimed him to be,
not quite the equal of Byron, but the superior
of Burns.
The writer and Mr.. James Seymour, Of this
city, were class mates at school with this Gu
rious genius. He died about SIX years ago.
and is still regarded, like the black dwarf of
Sir Walter Scott, as one of the celebrities Of
old Liberty county. 49,. ........na. f..