The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-12-11

long in doubt, for as they walked along
on the edge of it, trying to find place
! where he might have entered, he bound
ed out again, within short distance of
Allabeen. The latter ran towards him,
and the grizzly creature stood still, as
if he had given up all idea of escape.
When the hunter drew close enough
to touch the wildman the latter turned
and walked towards the thicket again.
Allabeen sprang forward and caught
hold of the mans shoulders, which
were naked. Quick as a cat he turned
and clasped Allabeen about the hips.
Raising the hunter from the ground he
threw him heavily, head first, into the
underbrush. Allabeen maintained his
hold, and the wild man fell with him
into the thicket, but in an instant was
on his feet again, and, tearing loose
from the hunter, ran back into the
woods. Ames and the guide were but
a few hundred yards distant, but so
quickly had the encounter begun and
ended that it was over before they
reached the spot. Allabeen received a
sprained wrist, some bad scratches and
badly bruised side from his severe
fall, but the hunt for the wild man was
continued for two hours. All efforts to
obtain further trace of him failed. ALA
been says that the man was nearly
naked, the covering that he had on be-
ing remnants of a corduroy suit. His
skin was hard and black with dirt.
His whiskers and hair were long, mixed
with gray, and matted and entangled
with twigs and briars. During the
struggle in the brush he made two or
three exclamations that were unintel-
ligible to Allabeen.
Two years ago three citizens of Da-
mascus Township, while looking for 3
lost COW in q swamp in that township,
came upon a bare-headed, ragged and
bare-footed man, with short-cropped
gray hair and beard. He ran away
when discovered, but was captured
after long chase. 1t was evident that
he had been in the woods for some time.
He talked wildly, in language that
no one in the neighborhood understood.
He was finally taken to the county seat
and placed in Jail. There it was found
that his strange language was French
and that he was evidently insane.
When asked what his name was he drew
the figure of cross, and he exclaimed
in French: al am the Empire" The
county authorities refused to assume
any responsibility in the case of the
strange being and threw him on the
Damascus authorities. No one in the
township would take charge of the un-
fortunate lunatic as q pauper, and, as
an easy way out of the dilemma, he
was placed on an Erie Railway train
with ticket to a station in a neighbor-
ing county. Before the train reached
that station the man leaped from the
car while in rapid motion, swan the
Delaware river and disappeared once
more in the woods of Wayne County.
An account of the circumstance of his
capture, and the extraordinary dispo-
sal that was made of him was printed
in q local paper and some weeks after
ward it was learned that the wild man
was a pauper lunatic from a New York
county. He was a Frenchman, who
had lost his mind over the defeat of the
French army by Germany and the de-
struction of the Empire. Having been
pronounced an incurable case, the
county authorities were taking him to
State institution, Uia the Erie Rail-
way, and he escaped from their GUS
tody at a small station bordering on
Wayne County, and a long search
failed to effect his capture. That this
unfortunate creature has managed to
maintain an existence in the forest of
Wayne County for two years does not
seem possible, but such is now be-
lieved to be the case since the adventure
of the two Rochester hunters on Mon
day. An effort will be made to capt
ure him and have him taken to an
asylum. Cor. Philadelphia
Times