Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-11-02
wild Tennessean with Fish
scales for a skin.


, teriOus and wonderful creature. Tx
Will be exhibited throughout III,
country by manager WhAllen, o
the Metropolitan, who Is a third
owner In this remarkable being
who promises to successfully bafil,
all scientists who desire 10 give 1
satisfactory explanation OF hisl un
natural appearance. Before enter
ing into the details Of his capture
which form quite a thrilling and IN.
teresting episode, a description OF
the curiosity, which promises TO eX.
cite more attention than Barnum's
"What is it ?" will be given. Az
a distance the general outline of his
figure would Indicate that he Is
only an ordinary man. Close ex-
animation shows that his whole
| body is covered with layer of
scales, which drop otf at regular
periods, i'm the spring and fall. like
the skin of a rattlesnake. He has a
heavy growth Of hair ON his head
and dark reddish beard about six
inches long. His eyes present a
frightful appearance, being at least
twice the size of the average sized
eye. Some of his toes are formed
together, which give his feet a
strange appearance, and his height,
when standing perfectly erect, is
about six feet five incnes. A ner-
vOus twitching OF his muscles shows
desire to escape, ard he II con-
stanlly looking in the direction of
the door through which he entered.
His entire body must be wet at i'm
tervals, should this be neglected, he
begins Immediately TO manifest
great uneasiness, his flesh becomes
feverish, ard his sufferings cannot
be alleviated until the water is APP
piled. AT times he Is dangerous,
and yesterday morning, when Mr..
Whallen attempted to place him I'm
a wagon, i'm which he intended TO
bring him To the theater, II Occu-
pied some time. The strange
creature acted in the most mystic
rious manner, refusing Obstinately
for some time TO get into the wagon.
He has quite sharp appetite, hav-
ing eaten a meal yesterday morn
ing that would have fully satisfied
at least four men. With the
exception of fish, his meals are all
prepared i'm the ordinary way, but
the fish is eaten entirely raw. DIR.
BrOylersays that when alone he will
mutter an unintelligible
jargon, which would be impossible
for any one to understand, but that,
in the presence Of visitors, he re-
mains perfectly silent. Yesterday
from one to four, pri-
vate exhibition was given, and "A
of physicians We're pres, MT,
among them Drs. Brady aud Cary
who said that he was a
great curiosity. DIR. Blackburn said
that his scaly condition could not
be attributed to any skin disease,
but undoubtedly he was born In
that condition. He Will be ON eX.
hibition in one of the Inivate rooms
Of the metropolitan Theatre
his fternOon and Tomorrow be-
tween the hours of one and four o.
clock. Only physicians and those
specially invited will be allowed
His exact age is not
known, but for the past eighteen
years he has been running wild In
the Cumberland Mountains In Tenn
assee, near the Caney Fork and
Big Bone Creek. He has been the
terror of the community,
although he was never known to
attack any one until the day Of his
,apture. DIR. G. q. Broyler, Of
Sparta, Tenn, says that since the
of the Confederate army
Il has been his intention TO capture
his creature and exhibit him
through the country. The doctor
,ays the parents of the wild man
ire respectable citizens Of North
Carolina named CrOslin. That their
on is unquestiOnably a freak OF
nature they did not deny, but they
'ould not account for his scaly skin.
At the tender age Of five years, al
Ways been possessed with a rowing
he left home and
Immediately into the
region OF Tennessee.
Here he lived as best he could, sub
isting or the products OF the
such as roots and herbs
nd small animals that he could
apture. When i'm the water he
vas i'm his element. He would dive
IOwn into the depth OF the island
axe, remaining under water for a
length Of time, and
nally emerge with both hands
He'd with small fish, which he
would devOur at once in the raw
tate. DIR. Broyler says that until
bout eighteen months ago he had
Ot attempted the capture, although
e had been watching the creatures
ctions for the past twelve years.
| bout the 18th of September he
tarted into the mountains fully de-
ermined to succeed i'm the capture.
The "Wild Man of the Woods"
5 he was termed by the people Of
he vicinity, was unusually fleet Of
Dot and POSSESSED with great deal
( agility, bounding over tine noun
ainOus ravines i'm the most fearless
manner. During the chase they
ept the wild man cOntantly in
ight, and their plan was 10 tire
i'm out, in which they finally sue
eeded. He was pursued through
ne wild, mountainous country,
yer lakes and precipices, until his
ursuers almost despaired Of success.
was finally resOrted to.
he lariat was thrown at him with
ut success, and then "A kind of net
ap was formed, into which he was
ecOyed and captured. He ran
into the net, and became
ltangled in the meshes. Captured.
ut not conquered, a struggle en-
led, in which DIR. Broyer was se-
ously wounded. The wild man
,ught with his hands, after the
shion Of a bear, and bruised and
the Doctor in a frightful
tanner. AT last they quieted their
nwilling victim and brought him
Sparta. The Doctor Immediately
to Mr.. Whallen, who
nrchased q third interest In the
Onder and had him brought To
yesterday morning. The
resence Of this wild man IN Louis
Ille has excited considerable at
ntion among the doctors, and also
large crowd of curious persons,
no are anxious to see the wonder
i creature. There will be only
ne public exhibition I'm this city,
hich takes place at the MetrOpOli-
n Theater, Saturday afternoon.
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A Good Name.
How true Il is that a good name
capital in itself. Such capital,
ke every solid accumulation, Is
II built in q day, but H. the result