The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-09

zines " ears LAAAAH 0AAAAA--hF nuns
Down a Deer and Eats Him Raw, and
He Plays a Rafting Good Hand at
Poker.
From the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Butte. Mon. Nov. 2l.-In the almost I'M
known wilds Of the Wise River Noun
tains. in tie southeastern part OF Monta-
ma, about forty miles from Butte. is the
roaming place of the most interesting
and mysterious characters Of the state,
If not OF the whole northwest. The man
has been mystery TO the people for more
than a quarter of q century and about the
only positive thing they have been able
to learn about him in that time is that his
name is George Petungill. He lives
among the wild animals, lives like them
and is almost one OF them. He is promi-
nent in a state noted for It's interesting
peculiariues and is known and commonly
spoken Of as the wild man" Many stories
of his habits. encounters and strange
mode of living are told.
Recently a hunting party made a trip
into the Wise River Mountains and camp
ed for several days at the junction of the
Wise and Big Hole rivers, not far from
the reported habitation of the wild man."
There was a natural curiosity to get
glimpse of the strange individual A
walk of several miles in the direction in
dicated by the guide brought the party to
a short, narrow gulch in the foothills,
where was found the rude hut described
as the home of the wild man. The owner
of the place was no where to be seen.
There was no door TO the entrance. The
hut itself was half dug into the hillside.
nd he otI no Il 90 10
1ir trees. The inside was about six by ten
feet in size, and did not contain a single
article of furniture. The sleeping place
of its occupant was the bare floor on one
side of the hut. where the imprint of n hui
man form indicated the spot where the
man had passed his nights for a score
and half of years. A smoothly worn
piece of wood served as a pillow. Its
middle was worn hollow, showing that It
had served its purpose FOR many years.
Not a shred of clothing or covering of
any kind was in the hut. After complet-
ing an inspection of the strange place,
the intruders resumed their way toward
the mountains, but had not left the hut
more than fifteen feet behind when they
suddenly came upon the object they were
looking for
He stood like an apparition upon a
knoll but few feet away, and had evil
IDENTIFY been watching the trespassers for
e0AAN AAAAAt- All OlA dIulN Ill1e was IeSlln&
across his arm, and when the correspond
ent made few steps forward the gun
crept up toward the mans shoulder. The
two men stood startled and amazed. and
he as immovable as a statue He is fully
feet inches tall and slightly stopped,
with massive chest, shoulders, and arms.
and with not an ounce Of superhuous flesh
and weighing about 300 pounds. The only
piece of clothing he wore was ragged old
army overcoat and a pair of old breeches
that extended a few inches below his
knees. His body was thickly covered with
short hair, and his beard and the hair of
his head, which were of an iron gray,
hung in heavy matted curls about eight
inches below his waist. Each curl was as
thick as a mans wrist and contained
more hair than the head of the average wo-
man. His feet were bare and his legs, like
his body, were covered with coat of
hair. He appeared to be about 60 years of
age.
Are you the wild MANI" finally ven
tured Mr.. McKinstry.
The strange figure smiled surprisingly
pleasant and replied: Il believe that is
what they call me-"
DO you live there?" was the next ques-
ton. indicating the barren hut.
Yes, that is my home. or rather my
headquarters. but 1 do not spend much
of my time there, for 1 am busy rustling
most of the time"
The mans language was perfect Eng
lish and gave evidence of an educated
man. He took a seat upon the knoll and
his visitors, having become treasured, sat
by his side, and for an hour or more en-
gagged in conversation with the strange
creature. All efforts, however. to learn
anything of his history were skilfully par
red. Once, when a question on that point
was rather bluntly put, he said:
Every man has his secrets that the
world is bound to respect" and the sub
Jet was dropped.
Concerning his life in the mountains he
talked freely. He believed that nature in
tended man to live as he did, and pointed
10 the fact that he wore little or no cloth
ing even in the most rigid winters, and
vet in the thirty years in which he had
lived the life of a wild man in the noun
tains he has not known a days sickness.
he subsists almost entirely upon raw
Ipeat, mostly game which he kills himself
Though he carries gun he uses it only in
self-defence, and never to kill game. His
method is TO get on the trail of a deer
moose, elk, or bear and run it down. He
has been known to follow a deer in that
way for a week or ten days, and, being
tireless himself, the deer sooner or later
falls an easy victim to his knife. 1t is also
stated that during such a chase he never
stops to eat, but sticks to the trail until
he overtakes the animal, and after killing
u he remains with the carcass until ii is
consumed. Stories of his encounters with
bear and elk driven to bay are numerous.
By the strength and methods of a Samson
he is always victorious in the conflicts.
At intervals of from three to six weeks
he returns to headquarters" to look af-
ter few head of horses which he has run
ming on the range, bat the only use he has
for the horses, as he expresses it, is to
remind him of the outside world and make
him feel that he is not entirely alone.
About twice a year, when game is scarce,
he makes a trip to Deweys Flat, small
settlement of ranches about ten miles dis
tant from his headquarters, for sup
plies His supplies" consist of beef and
tallOw, both of which he eats raw, and
the latest magazines and periodicals. He
raises what little money he requires by
selling horse occasionally.
The most remarkable thing about this
man is that he is well read and well in
formed on the public questions, though
he is usually about six months behind
the times. Among the magazines he
reads are Arena, North American Re.
view, Century and Scientific American
He also writes a beautiful hand. His last
visit to Dewey's was on election day
when he walked the ten miles barefootec
T4erh fxzrr fF1rb Of