The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-05-26
WILD BILE OF MISSISSIPPI.
"A Deserted Child Who Lived Alone In
swamps Till Manhood.

a Deserted Child Who Lived Alone In
swamps Till Manhood.
Reading of the discovery recently of o
wild man In the Antelope range of noun
ta;ns in this State, recalls to memory the
capture of q wild white human being in
.he swamps bordering the great river OF
the West below the city Of Matches in
the State of Mississippi, in the year
1924. who had grown from childhood up
to mans estate without seeing single
person of his own species until he was
found by his captors. Believing that the
incidents of the story will prove of inter-
est 70 our readers, they are herewith
given:
In Wilkinaon, county, in the, State
above named. just above the old town OF
Fort Adams. there Is d str p OF country
sIown rs Old River, which was seldom
visited by the pioneer settlers of that
4 rt zion, and tbenonly for the purposes of
hsning and hunting, AZ both game and
fish were there to be found in abundance.
In that year party of hunters, to their
sstonishmenG discovered the naked foot.
prints Of human being leading through
| the mud into the water OF the old bed of
this river. Their curiosity was the more
strangelyi exc,.ed from the fact that no
one resided in the immediate vicinity of
that place, and the eettled portions were
but sparaely populated. To discover who
1t was that made the footprint they hun
ted several days in succession with their
dogs, and finally brought to bay in n
drove of wild hogs tall. sinewy human
being in. q state of perfect nudity. He
hrandished In his hand o stout stick,
with which he defended himself against
the doga, the hogs rallying around him,
seemingly for his protection. He gave
utterance to no Ineligible souuds-only
yell of rage and screeches. They bound
and carried him to the town of Wood
vile, tho seat Of justice Of the county.
| some twenty miles distant. He was In
every respect veritable human being,
with good coating Of hair over his
bodEG which, it is to be inferred, nature
furnished all her creatures, otherwise un.
protected &C shie!d them ffoni tho eie-
menta- He had lost the power OF speech,
which indicated that he had been LEFT to
himself when very young By. kind
treatment he soon became domesticat. j,
his faculty Of speech was restored, end
he gave this account of himself: When
II iIIiuiiitp . ngy, supposed come six or seven
down the Mississippi River from SONS
of the Western States and Territories in
q fa,boat With his mother, his elder sis.
ter and hin1self, and landed iat the mouth
jofsOld River, near where the town of
Fort Adams now stands, where they re.
mained for several days. One day the
fatheS killed his mother end sister with
an axe. sIustigatea by fear the boy ran
Oft ard concealed himself in hollow
log His father hunted him, calling
him Billy bLt he remained silent in
his place OF concealment. Being unable
to find the. !, boy, he loosed the .hathoat
from its fastening, and doated down the
river, "a was supposed, to New Orleans.
Left alone at 80 tender an age III wild,
uninhabited section, the law of necessity
became TO him the law of existence.
The climate being mild, made it favora-
|ble,to him. lie ealected a magnolia, or
bay tree, hollow at the base, which, in
that section, grew to great aize, and made
himself o bed of leaves and moss, where
he stayed ct night and took shelter when
10 faf led. Fer food, he eubsisted on
frogs, tadpoles, such fish % he could
catch, and the wild fruit that grew there
in summer. Thus be managed to live
until the time of his capture. The hab-
It's OF this unfortunate being, and the
changes which took place in him from
fha time hin intellect began to develop;
by connjngsin contact with civilization,
bis interesting TO coatemplate. at frst
the eIn0tionso Of shame ho know nothing
of lshd " was difflcnltgo make]him wear
clothing when the weather swas warm.
tWhaneyerI hunger ipieched him,I and he
could obtsin nothing else TO satfafy his
appetite, ne would return to his original
diet of frogs, raw fish, etc. An amusing
instance Of this kind occurred on one
occasion. It was tbs fortune of the
writer Of this TO be, Ia che family who
had r'Wi!d Bill" in charge. On one
saturday he, with Bill, each on q horse,
! with q bag of corn. sHara asnt 10 mill
some miles in the, country. Being do
tained by the miller until evening, Bill
became +huFgry.9 Returning 5hDme he
heaFd-a frog efoanihg In lagoon by the
wsyside. lustehtly he sprang from bis
,.horse aud cautiously Raded into tho
water, STOPPING until 1t reached his. chin,
/ 50 as not TO alarm the frog. Guided by
lits croaking ca the opnnaiie bank, he
| noyed slowly until he cetiA in reach oi
/ Ia and darling fort his hand, lie seized
/ tho frog, aud taking is By the legs, tore
4 1nNtAt AoauuSAl etu0 tAt0 g.V1bu u relish:
EE7pr q icni, Eilne he was Irresponsible, and
lreanlre6 70 be 80 charge OF some one 20
keep him cut Of miacllief and trouble
Go one notable OCCASION Mira. Hamnett
his guardian, wished 10 pay a visit tc
Ieone of hat lady friends, In th9 tcgp ol
I EWoodyille, aud her son, who was gener;
j ely exit with the fask at IookIflg
4 eftet Bib being absent, she locked EiIi
4 up inside the house. Her return beine
EdelaS ed until evening, Bill found the
4 latmb6 phaTe III the room Oppressive, and
IdEnuded hsnnaeig Of his clothing. Beinp
KIM ssss, he concluded ;;za "a 20 DO mis- oWn
cool kipgs aud endeayoTing To do what ht
had seah othefR No IN thia me, he put
h tuto q kiIlet lissle OF evety 2hinE hC
Soull and in tbs house -hog'a lard and
d ground coffee snixed In an i putting G
q on tho ilFs, stirred Il until he fhcns5ht i
Z sas slifhct teatlY cooked SRsien 3fFs
(. sapanlst !, ~otugpe;i, cosnpanied s.
q some 0E hel stHuy mel FlIbors, and un
! she 1t's sllt b Il sest "a di
Z tne L0or near tho hearth wi u Tho lie
before hi9l, lifting itsacet IS ~ ith bolt
. haadst1 His reovt ne 4 ex! Eas
tisenIeft al hacked int II cora D., III
III HIS lfDa Wffd his tnnr9io FTa ,vaa ~