The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-09-23
THE WILD MEM OF MAINE.
A Tribe of Cretins in Somerset Coun
ty That Causes Much Trouble.
NEW York Tribune.


Auburn, Me.-The Brighton wild men
are proving the toughest proposition that
northern Somerset county, Maine. has
encountered for some time. If any other
state IN the Union can produce a more
lamentable or more striking case ~ S3ao
uon.
Brighton is a plantation away up on
the northern edge OF Somerset county
next 10 the great Maine forests. At one
period OF its history il had a town or
sanlzatlon. Five years ago its citizens
came before the Maine legislature with
tale of woe. Brighton wanted to go
PACK 10 the plantation form OF govern
Inent- II had so many paupers il didn't
know what TO do. These paupers were
the wild men, whose periodical out
breaks furnish grisly topics for the
a town must support its own paupers
BY the state law the paupsrs on a plan
Town, the said town TO be reimbursed by
the state when its claims are proved. As
Brlghton was able to show to the legis-
laIure that II could not Wiggle much
longer under its burden of paupers it
was allowed to retrogress to the planta-
tiOn pol1ty. and its property owners have
since come back to the farms that they
mad abandoned when overtaxed. But the
wild men" still furnish problems for
the farmers Men who own fOcks and
herds and gardens VOW that between the
wild men and the states protected
deer and an occasional bear a farmer 5
/ ioI IN Brighton is not happy one
For four generations the Browns and
Tuttles of Athens and Brighton have
been intermarryiag until they have be-
come a tribe, instead CT family-and a
/ tribe of degeneraJes at that They live
/ by themselves in the WOODS, at the end
! except officers in search of stolen plum
der. 1t isn't safe or pleasant for casual
! visitors to stray in that direction. The
writer went in once with the local deputy
/ sheriff, and the tribe stole a camera and
/ a box of cigars from the carriage, and
all the threats and persuasions OF the
] n ma 10 he faar-
ing thieves give back the property.
g . g
A week ago several farmers who own
outlying pastures in Brighton concluded
that some wild animal must be stealing
{ their sheep When the owners paid their
weekly visits to carry salt and look after
the fences they found pools of blood and
/ other evidences that animals had been
slaughtered. Yet there were no bones to
show that the sheep had been devoured
[ there
The farmers dubbed together at last
and hired old Loring Adams, who for
| years has been one of the best known
region He built shelter of brush II
one of the pastures. and set himself
to watch the herds. For a week the
sheep grazed UndistUrbed. One after
noon, as Uncle LOring dozed and blinkec
: under his leafy covert, he noticed a. sud.
den scampering of the sheep. and ther
floating to his ears. He peered out, ane
after a time beheld the strangest "ani
mile IndL ever rONeQ ABROAD In that sec
ton, according to his notion The hunter
at first glance decided that it was man
but as the figure crept nearer on al
tours Uncle Loring was at loss to nam'
it. Its head was as shaggy as a poodle.
and hair covered its body above tn,
waist. A tattered pair of trousers CAV
the thing human semblance.
Though the being was clearly stalking
the sheep. the herder did not have tn
nerve to shoot Despite the hair and tn,
other characteristics, the creature wa,
I evidently human. So, after meditating
bit, Adams crawled out of his hdin;
place and shouted to the visitor. Tn
latter stopped and crouched back on it
thighs. After regarding the hunter TO
a moment it leaped up, made a dash q
with the bleating animal over its shoul
der, ran for the woods. The loude
Adams yelled to command a halt, tn
dropped TO the ground, rested his riff
! over a cradle knoll to insure steady aim
and fired. The creature uttered a crl
like a yelp, threw the sheep from him
and then. staggering distance. tumole'
The hunter found him writhing on tn,
! short pasture grass. bleeding from bull
let wound. in the thigh. It was not
handkerchief that he took from his necl
and by using pasture cobwebs. the hun
ter was able to stop the flow of blood
the creature regarding him stolidly-
While Adams was working over tn
man he was conscious of a movemen
several times in the edge of the woods
and at last two men came out an
walked toward him He recognized then
as members OF the Brown and Tuttl
tribe When they came up they pre-
tended not to understand the scene.
Where d We find him." they asked
pointing to the man on the grass;
Il was firm my rifle in the air for fun
and brought him down" said Adams
with grim humor. Reckon be must o
a hen hawk. What do you think!
Oh. him-him's our uncle. SAID on
of the men, Wen take him along VIII
, us
wal. not so ye'd notice it,, declared
the hunter. '-de's been stealth sheer
and l reckon the men that hired me vii
want to look him over And while We r
about il, ye'd better stay with me. too
That poor critter there don't know