Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-05
A MONTANA WILD MAN
HE LIVES IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH
 WILD BEASTS FOR COMPANY.

All Questionable Runs Down 8 Deer When aue Is Hungry-of Course There
 Is Mystery About Him.
 In the almost unknown wilds of tho Wise River mountains, in the southeast ern part of Montana, about 40 miles from Butte, is the roaming place of the most interesting and mysterious character of the state, If not of tho whole northwest. The man has been n mystery to tho people of that section for moro than quarter of century, and about the only positive thing they have been able to learn about him in that time was that his name is George PettingilL 9eat
 Recently a hunting party made trip into the Wise River mountains and camp ed for several days at tho junction of tho 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 indicated by tho guide brought the party to short. narrow gulch In the foothills, where was found the rude hut described as tho honie of the wild man. Tho owner If the pac5 was nowhere to bc seen There was ID door to tho entrance. The hut Itself was half dug into the hillside, and the other half was formed of tended fir trees. The in side was about by 70 feet in size and did not contain single article of furniture. The sleeping place of it's pccGpa.. was the bare floor on one side Of the hut. where the imprint of "a human form indicated the spot where the man had passed his nights for a score. and ha!f of years. A smoothly worn piece Of wood served as pillow Its middle was worn hollow, eho uirty hot f ha1 many years. Not shred of clothing or covering of any kind was in the hut. After completing m inspection of the strange place tho intruder5 resumed their way to- ward the mountains, but had not left the hut moro than b fcet behind when they suddenly came upon the object they were looking for.
 He stood like an apparition upon knoll but few feet away and had evi- dently been watching tho trcspassers for some time. An old army rifle was resting across his arm, and when the correspond ent made n few steps forward tho gun crept up toward tho mans shoulder. The two men stood startled and amazed, and he as immovable as statue. Ho is fully feet inches tall and slightly stopped, with massive chest, shoulders and arms and with not an ounce of supornuous flesh
 
 only piece of clothing he wore was a rag ged old army overcoat and a pair of old brooches that extended n few inches be- low his knees. His body was thickly GOV cred 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 ns a man s wrist and contain ed more hair than the head of tho average woman. His feet were bare, and his legs, like his body, wero covered with a coat of hair Ho appeared to be about 60 years of age. ".'+ '.e
 Are you the wild manY" finally ven turcd Mir. McKfnstry. ,l-.,
 The strange figure smiled, surprisingly pleasant, and replied, 1T believe that is what they call me.
 Do you live there9" was the next ques- tion, indicating the barren hut.
 ''Yes, that is my home or rather my headquarters, but do not spend much of my time there, for l am busy rustling most of the time y e'
 The mans language was perfect Eng fish and gave evidence of an educated man. He took scat 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 skillfully parried. 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 ject was droppt l.
 Concerning his lifo in the mountains he talked freely. He believed that nature intended man to 1.-Two as he did and point ed to tho fact that he wore little or no clothing even in tho most rigid winters, and yet in the 30 years which he had lived in tho mountains he has not known a days sickness. He subsists almost en- tirely upon raw meat, mostly game, which ho kills himself. Though he carries gun. he uses it only i'll self defense and never to kill game. His method is to get on tho trail of deer, moose, elk or bear and run 1t down. He has been known to follow Q deer in that way for week or ten days, and being tireless himself the deer sooner or later falls an easy victim to his knife. It 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 killingi it he remains with the carcass until 1t is consumed Stories of his en- counters with bearand elk driven to bay are numerous. By tho strength and meth ods of Samson he is always victorious in the conflicts. .aSss,
 At intervals of from three to six weeks he returns to headquarters" to look after few head of horses which he has run ming on tho range, but the only use he has for horsrs, as he expresses 1t, is to remind him of the outside world and make him feel that he is not entirely alone About twice year when game is scarce he makes a trip to Dewey's Flat . small settlement of ranches about ten miles distant from his headquarters, for supplies. His sup plies consist of beef and tallow, both of which he cats raw, and the latest maga- zines and periodicals. He raises what lit tie money he requires by selling horse occasionally. The most remarkable thing about this man is that he is we'll read and we'll informed on tie public questions, though he is usually about six months be- hind the times. -re
 There are several stories told as to the season why Pettingill came to Montana and adopted tho wild life he is leading, and tha 1nOct uapara1lv pccpDtnd iS that