Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-12-11
WILLIE BENTHUsEN, WILD BOY
Lives in the Woods on Raw Fish and Birds
for Three Years.

Tor Three Years.
! Eating raw fish, gophers and birds.
spending his days in the woods and
sleeping on a bed of straw at night.
Willie Benthusen, aged Is, has lived
aloof from civilization and entirely
without means since the death of
his mother, Mary Benthusen at FL
gin. three years ago. The boys con-
dition was discovered by the Ameri-
can Home Finding association, of
Chicago, through its agent, Mrs. y.
VI. Stiles, who came upon the boy
while he was eating n raw fish. De-
spite the hardships he has suffered
reports to the society say that he
enjoys perfect health.
Benthusen's means for securing
subsistence consist of an air gun, a
sling and n bent pin attached to a
fishing line. With these he obtained
sufficient food to supply his daily
wants. He exchanged fish and birds
to rural travellers for cast-off cloth
ing.
Mrs. Stiles watched the youth
after discovering him eating raw fish
and soon found that ne ate birds
raw, after picking the feathers from
them and devOured gophers with the
relish of one partal<ing of the most
toothsome food. She endeavored to
get young Benthusen to go home
with her, telling him that she would
give him cooked food to eat. but he
declared that he was perfectly con-
tended with his mode of life.
She then reported the case to the
Home Finding association at Chicago
and pending reply drove out to the
boys home the next day, taking him
bread. cooked meats and other
things prepared for the home table.
The next day the articles she had
brought remained untouched. while
the feathers and bones of birds and
fins and scales of fish lying around
attested that he had eaten heartily
of his accustomed diet.
Mrs. Stiles has notified the author
tiles at Elgin of the case. but it re-
mains to be determined whether he
can be forced TO eat cooked food
and sleep on a bed against his desire.
The boys father. w. NJ. Benthusen,
is living. it is said, but according to
the report he makes no efforts to
save his child from his seeming de
generacy. The Chicago institution,
with the EIgin authorities. are look
ing into the matter and if possible
young Benthusen will be compelled
to remove from his woodland haumts
and live in home of civilization.
Willie Benthusen's place of abode
is a dilapidated frame shanty in the
midst of a thick wood about two
miles from Elgin.
1T is miserable howell" said Ar
thur G.. Evans, an officer of the asso-
citation. s. and is populated overflow
ingly by rats.
'Thc shanty where the boy sleeps
at night is of old planlSs and the sup
porting timbers are rotting away.
In "A corner of the one room is Il bank
of straw.
''To the rear of the shanty is a
small brook which seems well popu-
lated with the finny tribe. Benthu
sen may be found sitting Oh the bank
OF this stream any warm day catch
ing fish with his bent pin.
THE boy is said to he crack shot
with his unique weapons. He shoots
pebbles and sharp-pointed arrows in
his sling and air gun. He is as sure
of aim with either as the huntsman
is with the most modern rifle. He
makes his sling from rubber bands,
a piece of old leather, which holds
the pebble. and "a forked stick. His
air gun he makes from a hollow reed.
His arrows he points with nails filed
to a point"
81 have got so used to eating raw
the boy told Mrs. Stiles,
"that I don't like anything that is
cooked. Whenever / try to eat cook
ed victuals it makes me sick. / like
to stay in the woods. 1 don't have
to work, never 1 remember ma and
pa used to work mighty hard to get
us all enough to eat. ] enjoy eating
now moe than / did then and it is
no trouble for me to get all want"