The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-03-31

SUI, as they went, the crowd grew ever mora
Till thousands stood around tbc fri.niIto
grave,
Led by that prineely heart, who, royal. true
honored the poor and brave
NNSoNSNN-N~NNNN-O~~S
WILD BILL. or ArrSSv~~~---
Deserted Child Who Lived Alone "a
Swamps Till Manhood.
San Francisco Examiner.1
/ Reading of the discovery, recently. of a
wild man in the Antelope range of noun.
taius in this State, recalls TO memory the
capture of wild white human being in tn d
swamps bordering the great river of the
! West below the city of Natchez in the State
OF Mississippi, in the year 1924 who had
grown from childhood up to mans estate
without seeing a single person of his own
/ species until he was found by his captors.
/ Believing that the incidents of the story
will prove of interest TO the readers of the
Examiner, they are herewith given. In
! Wilkinson county, in the State above named
just above the old town Of Fort Adams
there is n strip Of country known as Old
River, which was seldom visited by the
pioneer settlers of that region and then
only for the purposes of fishing and hunts
ing, as both game and fish were there to be-
found in abundance In that year a party
Of hunters TO their astonishment discovered
the naked footprints of a human being
leading through the mud into the water of
the old bed of this river Their curiosity
was the more strangely excited from the
fact that no one resided in the immediate
vicinity Of that place, and the settled por-
tions were but sparsely populated. To dis
cover who it was that made the footprint
they hunted several days in succession with
their dogs, and finally brought to bay
INA DROVE OF WILD HOGS,
a tall, sinewy human being in a state Of
perfect nudity. lie brandshed in his hand
a stout stick, with which he defended him.
self, the hogs railying around him,
seemingly for his protection He gave
utterance TO no Ineligible sounds, only
yells of rage and screeches. They bound
and carried him to the town of Woodville.
the seat OF iustice the county, some TWEEN
ty milea distant He was in every respect
veritable human being, with a good coat
ing of hair over his body, which, it is to be
inferred, nature furnishes all her crea-
lures, otherwise unprotected, to shield them
from the elements He had lost the power
of speech, which indicated that he had been
lett to himself when very young. By kind
treatment he soon BECAME domesticated, hia
faculty of speech was restored and no gave
this occount of himself: When quite a boy,
father presumably came down the Missia-
sippi river from some of the Western Statea
or Territories in a flatboat with his mother.
his elder sister and himself, and landed at
the mouth of Old river, near where the town
of Fort Adams now stands, where they re-
manned for several days. One day tia
Eather killed has mother with an ak. In
stigated by fear the boy ran off and con-
cealed himselfin hollow log. His father
hnD tad Int D.
ed silent in his place of coucealment Being
unable to find the boy, he losseued the fat
boat from its fastenings. and fioated down
as was supposed, TO New Orleans.
LEFT ALONE
at so tender an age, in wild, uninhabited
section, the law of necessity became to him
the law of existence. The climate being
mild made il favorble to him He selected
a magnolia, or bay tree, hollow at the base.
which, in in that section, grew % great size,
and made himself bed Of leaves and moss.
where he stayed at night and took shelter
when it r&ned. For food, he sub-sted on
frogs, tadpOles, such fish as he could catch,
and the wild frut. grew there ia Sum
mer. Thus be ged TO live until the
time OF mis- 60 49,. The hat Of the uns
fortunate being, and the ehaag6swhich took
place in him from the time his intelGcf be~
gan to develop by coming in contact Wit.
civilization, is interesting TO contemplate. At
first, the emotions Of shame he knew moth
ing of, and it was difficult to make him wear
clothing when the weather was warm.
Whenever hunger pinched him, and he could
obtain nothing else 10 satisfy his appetite,
he would return to his original diet frogs,
raw fish, etc. An amusing instance Of this
kind occurred on one occasion 1t was the
fortune of the writer Of this TO live in tho
family who had "Wild Bill" in charge. On
one Saturday he, with Bill each ON a horse.
with bag of corn, were sent to mill some
miles m the country, Being detained by the
miller until evening, Bill became hungry.
Returning home. he heard
A FROG cRoAKING IN A LAGOON
by the wayside Instantly he sprang from
his horse and cautiously Waded into the
water, STOPPING until it reached his chin,
so as not to alarm the frog. Guided by It's
croaking On the opposite bank he moved
slowly until he came within reach Of it, and
darting forth his hand, he seized the frog,
and taking it by the legs, tore them asunder
and ate it with a relish. For a long time
he was irresponsible, and required TO be in
charge Of some one to keep him out Of
mischief and trouble. On one notable oc-
casiOn Mrs Hammett, his guardian, wished
TO pay visit to some Of her lady friends ia
was generally charged with the task Of
looking after Bill, being absent, she locked
him up inside the house. Her return being
delayed until evening, Bill found the at
mOsphere of the room oppressive, and de-
nuded himself Of his clothing. Being hum
CRY, he concluded TO do his own cooking, and
endeavoring TO do as he had seen Othera
do in this line, he put into skillet a little
of every kind of food he could find in the
house-hog's land and ground coffee mixed
in-and putting it on the fire, stirred il
until he thought it was sufficiently cooked.
When Mrs. Hammett returned, accOmpan-
led by some of her lady neighbors aud un-
locking the door, she found Bill seated on
the floor near the hearth with the skillet
before him, slifting its contents with both
hands to his mouth and expecting chas-
tisement, he backed into a corner, licking
his lips with his tongue, He was exceed
ingly
F0SD OF SWEET THISGs,
and particularly of strong drinks If they
we're sweetened. For drink Of sweetened
whisky he would attempt anything. At
one time he was promised glass Of whisky
and sugar if he would whip General Ioor,
who in full feather, was mastering the
county militia according to tho old manner
of doing such things annually. To obtain
the promised glass. Bill stealthily came up
behind him, took him by the hair Of the
head and bore him into the dust on the
street. Finding himself thus assailed,
General JoOF drew his sword and pierced
Bill through the thigh. From this wound
he never fairly recovered. He was very
agile and fast Of foot He could climb a
tree with surprising quiekness, swim and
manage horse with dexterity. 1t was with
him as with 6 child. From the time Of his
capture be knew not right from wrong ae~
tons until he was taught, and until bis
intellect expanded and he began 20 COM
prehend his true position in society, be
sorrowed over the reflection, He sicksned
and died IN New Orleans in the year 1929,
while in charge Of gentleman who under.
tnnk Ia erhihit him for money. " u. u.