The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-02-04
DIsCoyEKED MsrCHELL,s BODY
Big Tom the Fa~nous Black Mouutaiu
Hunter and Guide Was fa Wilmington
Y@sterday-He FOUND Prof. s.or
Body ON Nitckrii'r Peak Man With -
Great REGARD as "A Hunter

nu0tcr ana O0fuc nas Ia ttnAtBStoa
Y-sterd.y-He Found Prof. s-or Mi,ch~lrs
Body ON Mitck-ii'- P-sk-A Man with -
Great REGARD IN a Hunter
There arrived in our city yesterday,
Mr.. Thomas D. Wilson. Of Yancey
county, better known as Big ToIn." a
famous hunter and mountain guide.
who Is known all over North Carolina,
and whose exploits have been written
about IN many papers in both southern
and northern cities. He was here on
his way 10 Orion plantation to spend
a while with Colonel K NJ. Murchison.
a NOTABLE MAN.
Mr.. Wilson is a man Of 73 years Of
age. but Notwithstanding his grey
hairs, he IS a robust specimen of man
hood. He is large Of frame and his
heart is as big in proportion. He is TO
bust and good natured and his rugged
honesty. pictu-esqueness Of individual
Ity, his adventures and his experience
in his far mountain home make him a
most interesting MAI to meet.
A Messenger representative mad the
pleasure Of meeting him yesterday. He
was born in Yancey county and is the
oldest and most trusty guide in the
Black Mountain country. He is su-
p~erintendent of the MurJi-iSon reserve
of 3d. 600 acres of land on Caney river,
in the mountains Of western North
Carolina, and as an evidence of his
vigor he walked thirty miles
to Asheville no take the train for Will
mington.
FOUND MITCHELL'S BODY.
To the readers of history, Big Tom
is an object of peculiar and special in
terest, as it was he who, in 1857, found
the remains of Professor Mitchell on
Black Mountain, the highest peak of
which was thereafter called Mftchells
Peak. 1t is the highest mountain east
of the Mississippi river. Professor
Mitchell was a professor at the state
university and he was wont to spend
his holidays in exploring the noun
tains of western North Carolina. While
exploring Black Mountain, he was
missing, and two parties were organic
ed to hunt fer him. One of the parties
was headed by Zebulon 3. Vance, a
man afterwards famous in our stale,
and in what particular it is not neces-
sary to mention, while the other was
headed by big Tom" The dead body
Of the lamented Mitchell was found on
the peak now called Mitchell's Peak, in
a rugged and lonely spot, where the
daring explorer has slipped over a
precipice into a pool of water.
KILLED ia BEARS.
Big Tom has a great record Is a
hunter and fisherman. The
trout abounds in his country, and
there is no more skilled catcher of the
game and wary speckled beauty than
is our old friend of the mountains. No
man in all the south has such a record
as a hunter. He has killed and cap
tured ia black bears. and during one
season his record was fifty-four rae
DON five wild cats, four foxes, six
deer, twelve turkeys, and n bear
weighing over 400 pounds net.
During the civil war Big Tom" was
in the confederate service as a fifer,
and he a many wonderful things to
tell of his career then as Well as in the
past and since the war. We are told
that he never took but two drinks of
spirits in his life and that his sons now
neither drink liquor or coffee.
Big Tom is al interesting man and
a most agreeable talker and is quite a
c~OmpaniOnable man. 1t is said of him
that the first time ne came here and
saw the ocean he sat on his feet, and
looking out upon the broad expanse of
waters, shed tears.
The Messenger wishes him a pleasant
stay in nnrr country.