Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-30
THE WILD MAN OF PATNA
Written for The Star by M. Quad.

emptying into the GanSeS, ana ABOUT sew
enty-fve miles from the foot hills Of the
Himalaya mountains. I had been there for
a week or so, in the year 1872. when mes
sengers came in from the north with strange
stories about Wild man. If they had said
that a wild boy had been seen, or that
native woman had been observed skulking
about. no one would have paid any attention
to the stories, as almost every locality has
Its wolf boy" and the adult natives often
go crazy and seek the solitude of the jungle.
They stOut1y affirmed, however, that this
wild man was a white man, and there were
reasons for believing that he was an English
army officer
In the year 1870 party Of English Off
GERS stationed at Rungpoor, two hundred
miles west of Patna, had gone into the foot
hills to hunt, and one day a cavalry captain
named Lancaster had strangely disap-
peared. He was out in company with two
others. became separated, and that was the
last seen of him. 1t was believed that he
had been killed and devoured by some wild
beast. but, search they would. no trace
of his fate could be had. He was man who
stood over six feet high. and was Her
cules in strength. His hair was jet black,
and his voice was unusually heavy, and
what created such excitement in Patna
the fact that the messengers gave a perfect
description of Captain Lancaster in their
stories of the wild man. The military
thorities at once started out a party in
search. and 1 was fortunate enough to be
attached to 1t, though a civilian and an
American. Before leaving Patna we heard
full history of the wild man for the pre-
Vious month. He had evidently come into
the district from the west HIS hair and
whiskers were long and matted, and his
clothing was simply rags. He first
seen by ryot, OF farmer, who was at work
in his field near a jungle. The wild man
came out of the Jungle and seized the farm
er before he was seen. He caught the poor
nan by the ears and held him aloft at
arms length for half minute, and then
threw him a distance of ten feet and walked
away with hoarse laugh. This farmer had
good look at the stranger. and after he had
been closely questioned a Patna little doubt
remained of the identity Of the wanderer
On the same day. and about three miles
away, the wild man had entered village
OF sixty inhabitants and driven everybody
out with a club and taken possession After
eating his fill he had set fire to the huts and
destroyed everything. There was one
native who was old and crippled and could
not flee. The wild man had a mind to brain
him at first, but finally flung him aside and
the old man gave good description Of the
ions-lost captain in describing the wild man.
!! was distance of sixty miles from
rama to the locality where the wild man
hau been last encountered, and marching
across country, we reached the village of
Bear in three days. This village was 10.
Gated on small stream and in a wild dis
trlct. and numbered about two hundred in
haDitahts. We found the people in a state
OF intense excitement. At noon of that
day. as most of the people were asleep in
their huts, the wild man entered the vii
laSe ana produced great ConSterna ton. He
was i'll good nature. singing ana laughing
but all could see that he was insane He
had evidently run wild for long time. His
body was only partially covered with the
rags, which had once represented a stout
suit; his hair hung down on his shoulders
and his beard on his breast; his face and
hands had darkened under the blazing SUM-
while his big black eyes shone like those of
mad dog. He caught some of the people
ana threw them about and he tore down
two OF the huts, as if to show his strength.
and after an hour he went away, laughing
| The presence of a man-eating tiger could
not have produced half the excitement.
| Here was giant of man. armed with
stout club, and liable at any moment to be
seized with a fit of frenzy. Should he turn
| loose on a village nothing could stay his
hand. a tiger was to be feared only after
sunset the wild man might attack at any
moment. day or night. The fact that we
had come to hunt him down set the village
| ablaZe with 10y.
Before leaving Patna the subject of cap
ture had been thoroughly discussed. Army
surgeons had given it as their opinion that
Captain Lancaster had had a SunStroke
while separated from his companions, or
had, perhaps fallen and produced Concus-
sion Of the brain If he had been wander
ing about for two years in a daZed wild
state there was little hope that he would
tamely submit to capture, or that his recol-
lections of the past could be aroused. A
bugler had been brought along, however
and also cavalry captains uniform, and
In the party We're a corporal and five pr-
Yates belonging to Captain LanCasters old
company. We made our camp alongside
the village, and before turning in for the
| night the bugler sounded several calls,
which it was hoped would reach the wild
mans ears in his jungle retreat. He may
or may not have heard them but the night
ne nd ct dow,
we heard of him at a point ten miles away.
He had crept W on and stranged a farmer
in his field, had killed two oxen with blows
of his club, and after chasing the people
out of the village had torn down the huts
and retreated to a dense jungle on the side
of hill half mile away. Between this
jungle and the village was n clear field,
ard soon could ride TO the place
we made preparations which we hoped
would result in success. The bugIer first
sounded Officers CALL and the notes had
scarcely died way before the wild man left
his lair and appeared on the edge of the
field
Those who knew Captain Lancaster rec
osnized him at once. When brought nearer
under the field glasses no doubt existed.
1t had been two years since he heard the
hugles. and the notes had at once aroused
his curiosity. Several officers called him
by name and begged him to advance, but
he stood and stared and made no move.
Then one Of the troopers rode forward with
the uniform and left it within hundred
feet of the wild man, and returned, but it
failed to attract his attention. AS last
resort the corporal took his mounted men
out on the field and put them through a
sharp drill for half an hour. The wild man
watched the movements with the keenest
interest, and would now and then start as
if some old recollection had been revived,
but he obviously maintained his first posi-
ton. 1t had about been decided to charge
down upon him in hopes of capture when
he suddenly leaped forward seized the
uniform, and was in the jungle and out Of
sight like flash. What we had depended
on above all else had mserably failed
Captain Lancaster well known as a
man of violent temper, and it had been de-
termined from the start to adopt pacific
measures Let this wild man once become
thoroughly enraged and he would fight to
the death, or it might become necessary to
Kill him to save the lives of others When he
retreated into the jungle it was deemed
wtsest to pay no further attention to him.
We went into camp, the villagers were told
to demean themselves as If nobody were
about, and when night came the most sus-
picous could not have imagined that we
we're anything more than party of hun
tiers. At midnight that night the wild man
row clothed in his uniform, came skulking
UP and attempted to steal one of the
horses, but an alarm from the sentinels