Arizona republican., 1903-06-03

that I could get over the ledge and be on a level with my strange neigh- bor.
 "I finally succeeded in approaching closer to the point. I saw sitting on large boulder a man with long white hair and matted beard that reached to his knees. The creature was un- aware of my approach, and l gazed up on him for some moments unobserVed. He was about fifty yards away and ! in full view He wore no clothing, and upon his talon-like fingers were claws at least two inches long. A coat ol gray hair nearly covered his body ! with here and there a spot of dirty | skin showing. I had found the 'wlld man of the rocks.
 "At that moment q rock loosened by some animal came rolling down. The | creature turned his face toward me. | Horrors, What a face-it was scared and burned brown by the sun, with fiery green eyes. With a wild whoop and a leap ne was up over rocks and cliffs like a mountain sheep for about | seventy-five yeards. Then he stopped. He was armed with queer shaped club. large enough to fell an OK. Brandishing this bludgeon, he shrieked and chattered for a moment, then started toward me. roaring and still f1ourshing his weapon. Faster and faster he came and my hair began to stiffen.
 'I am a poor runner, so l stood my ground. When the creature was with in about fifteen yeard of me l raised my rifle to fire, thinking to cripple
 him. As l glanced along the barrel heard d growl just above the wild man. He also had heard the growl and braced himself for the shock.
 "I drew a nasty bead on the cougar and pressed the trigger. When the smoke had cleared away the mother cougar lay dead whre the wild man stood. The man himself had disap- peared. The two young cougars were still on the rock, apparently greatly frightened by the report and echoes oi my old Sharp's rife.
 Reaching hastily for a cartridge, found had neglected 10 buckle on my
 belt when leaving camp, SO l hastily retreated to the boat, where l found
 everything as 1 had left it. l showed
 the boat off and drifted toward camp which was near the cougars. There lay the old cougar where she had fal-
 len The wild man was standing oVel l the two cubs, which also were dead, h'
 having beat the life out of them witt
 a club He stood a moment gazing or
 the carcasses, then got down on hands
 and knees and drank the warm blood
 as it flowed from the death wounds
 The sight sickened me.
 "I stood up in the boat and yelled
 The man sprang to his feet, took {
 long look at me, then fled up iron ledge to ledge until he reached th' fourth ledge, where he stopped. Here
 he flourished his club again and scream
 ed the widest, most unearthly screecl
 I ever heard, then turned and sprant
 up the craggy wall of the canyon.
 Not fancying my wild neiGhbor,
 packed my outfit into the boat an'
 drifted down and out of the canyol
 before l made camp for the night. Tha
 was the strangest adventure of my life Tradition records that years ag'
 hostile Indians captured three men
 bound them to logs far up the canyol
 and cast them adrift upon the swollel . river. It may be that this wild crea
 ture is one of those unfortunate mel . who, by chance freed himself and es capped death, but was made insane b, his awful experience