The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-06-14
Georgla's Wild Hermit.

ATLANTA, GA, June 2.-darrls Coun'
ty is absorbed in sensational mystery
which was unearthed near there yester.
day. A mile West of Hamilton, on a
high and rugged peak Of Pine Mountain,
is an old Indian fort, built of stone, and,
owing to the ruggedness, of the mountain,
approachable on only one side. Its high,
thick stone wall and its peculiar situation
made it qr:te stronghold for the Indians
in time of war. For many years it has
been remembered by only few hunters
and old settlers, so deeply was it buried
ia the mountains. Recently, however,
the neighbors, who had been attributing
the loss of live -tock to the sheep dog
and the deft darky, have had cause to
suppose the old fort to be inhabited by
thieves.
Tuesday night B. G. Whi:ten passed
| near the mountain on his return from
| neighbours house and heard the piteous
| cries of one of his goats as it seemed to
be carried up the mountain side to the
old fort on the summit. Investigation
disclosed signs Of habitation, and resulted
in a band of half dozen neighbors
yesterday forcing an entrance and cap.
turing man in the most abject state of
barbarism. He showed fight, and was
fslled to the ground twice with the butt
of gun. With great difficulty his hands
and feet were secured and tied. He had
no weapons, and was dressed in natures
garments. A thick, stubby hair had
grown all over his body; his full, black
beard reached to his waist, and his long,
unkempt hair hung down his back and
about his shoulders. He had keen, black
eyes that seemed unaccustomed to the
light of day, and since his capture he
has not uttered a sound. He seems
man of forty years old, six feet two or
three inches in height, and weighs about
| 200 pounds. There is not pound of
surplus flesh about him-all is bone and
muscles-and his strength is marvellous.
His bands are talons and his india-rubber
feet scare resemble the feet of human
being. He vas carried to the Shelf this
morning to Hamilton, where it is thought
an ordinary jury i'll adjudge him insane
and have him sent to the Asylum.
Who this mysterious person is or how
long he has been cut loose from civiliza-
ton no one knows. Some of the older
settlers tell ola young man, Richmond
Sykes, who dazzled this part of the
country away back in the sixties. He is
described as tall, slender and straight'
with intensely black hair and eyes, silken
black mustache and soft white skin.
His dress was scrupuously neat, and be
was the picture of handsome man. He
was man of leisure, had no visible means
of support, but was never without money.
He claimed to have a plantation aud
slaves in Virginia and one in Mississippi.
For two years he was the star of the
aristocratic society that adorned this
section, and most fathers looked on his
attention to their daughters with favor.
One afternoon he called to see lady for
! whom he had many times shown pref
erence. For two hours the interview
lasted, then he left, wearing strong look
of despair. His landlady noticed that
he refused to attend supper as usual, and
that night he disappeared and was never
seen by the people of this place any more.
Those who remember the young man are
| inclined to think that they have found in
him the person of the prisoner captured
yesterday at the old fort. However, this
is mere conjecture, and it is doubtful
whether or not the real truth will ever be
known and the mystery cleared up.