The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-11-04
SCARED BY A BJ 4G0RILLA
"A MUSEUM MoNSTF SAT LARGE IN
LONG ISLAM SSiooDs.

The HeBldentB ABOUT % aukoC AFRAID 10
Go Out at Night B Ise the Gorilla Inc
tests the Neighbor die Kills sheep
and Has Fun Wit Verybody.
New York, Nov Tho villagers Of
Setauket, l. l., believe there is gorilla
lurking in the woods which border their town,
and they are fearful of their lives in conse-
luence. The farmers go armed to their
work in the fields and do. not venture out
alone after dark. Their wives would as soon
defy an army of mice as leave the shelter OF
their homes, and the children are afraid to
go to pasture for the cows, and in some cases
have to be escorted to and from school. The
nutting season is at its height, but the chill
dren dare not venture near the woods. The
colored natives, many Of whom go nightly
to Stony Brook, two miles distant, to buy
rum, now make the trip IN groups armed
with axes and pitchforka.
Selah Strong is farmer of Setauket, who
has fine flock of Southdown sheep. Two
weeks ago the pick of the'fock was found
one morning dead in the field with its throat
horribly mangled. There were marks Of
claws in the flesh, and a spot of soft ground
sheep was skinned and then it was found that
its back was broken. Farmer Strong was
puzzled. A man, he argued, might have
broken the animals back and left the foot
print in the soft ground, but he could not
have torn the flesh about the throat and left
the claw marks. He finally concluded that
man lad started the job and that later
beast had finished it.
,;,,l,s To- GnNE ,ksN
lives about q mile from Farmer Strong,
heard a fearful squawking in his chicken.
house. He loaded double barrelled shotgun
and went forth. The chickens had quieted
down, but on the floor beneath the roost were
three fat hens whose heads had been literally
torn from their bodies There was nothing
to indicate who or what had been guilty Of
the slaughter.
The 40 oody butcher" as the unknown
tres passer came to be called, remained veiled
in mystery for several days. A few even
ings since, however, Farmer Jim Adds met
with an experience which has satisfied his
neighbors as to the true character of the in
truler. This is what occurred, as told by
himself to the reporter:
AID been up in the hills all day plowin',
and about dusk put the team TO the wagon
and started for home. My off mare was a
little lame in one foot and l was drivin' easy.
We came down through the lane to the high
way and stopped and closed up the bars
after me. Then l climbed back into my
wagon and We headed down into the holler.
was nigh onto the big white oak at the edge
O. the swamp when the nigh hoss, Billy,
pricked up his ears and took scent o the air.
He did not seem to like it, and the mare was
up to something peskY, too. l naturally
looked to see what was wrong, and the first
thing l knew we passed within twenty feet Of
big ape of some kind. 1t was just in the
edge of the bush and stood on its hind feet
graspin' the limb of saplin' with one hand.
It made move towards US, and and my nigh
boss gosh durn near jumped through his col
lar. The mare was frightened too, and they
lit out Of that holler like they was colts. l
wasn't exactly scared but looked around
and saw the brute watchiu' in the middle Of
the road, and thought would let the team
git out as quick as they was a mind to. l
had two good, square looks at the animal
He stood nigh onto five feet high His legs
was thin up to the knees and then they was
quite full His arms was the same, and hO
had little head. He was hair all over, and
didn't see no tail"
This was the story which, connected with
the inhuman butchery of sheep and chickens
frightened the quiet village folk. Then the
natives began to wonder where the animal
had come from, and a party of Sound fisher
men was discovered who alleged that few
night previous q South American trader
had sought shelter in the harbor of Port
jefferson, three miles down the coast, and
that they had couple of good sized gorillas
on board. 1t was further alleged by the
fishermen that the animals had escaped whila
exercising on the deck, and that only one Of
them had been recaptured. Nobody could
be found by the reporter yesterday either In
Setauket or Port jefferson who knew who
the fishermen were that had told the yarn.
There are many of the villagers of Setauket
who have been exercising their imaginationl
to increase the sensation. A darky named
Jerry Woodchuck, famous hunter, is al
present in the lead. He has paralySed the
colored colony by tale that on Thursday,
while bunting for coon in Nassakeag Swamp,
he came across footprints in the mud which
measured twenty two inches in length. He
followed them, so he says, and came across Q
tremendous gorilla, at least nine feet In
height, who stood up to his knees in water,
and pounded his chest with both fists Jerry
Woodchuck discharged his gun at the beasl
and fled, or at least that is what he tells hta
nelghbors. Henry Sanford, farmer, told Q
grocery crowd at Stoney Brook the other
night that the gorilla had stood in the middle
of the road and refused to allow him to pasa
The animal, he said, slapped its chest vio-
lently, producing sound like blow on 0
hollow log. Farmer Ali" Calkin's son and
schoolboy named Sherman Hawkins each
told their playfellows that they had met tho
gorilla in the woods. Two strange men
passed through Setauket on Wednesday, who
said they were looking for q gorilla which
had escaped from Brighton Beach museum.
Asking for n st ate Law.
DANvIIIE. Va Nov. 8.-An fmnorkanA