The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-28
ARIZONA Wild
MN No DREAM
Writer Talked to Man Who
Saw Him
WAS SEATED ON ROCK
Face Like That of a Wild
Beast
WAS SEATED ON ROCK

Albuquerque, y. NJ, May 1.-THE
Journal Democrat says: Many strange
stories have been told of the wild man
of the Grand Canon of the Colorado. and
while some persons have credited these
weird tales. they have for the most part
been regarded as the ingenious inven-
tions of imaginative travellers. and have
passed into tradition as such. But, ac-
cording TO l. w. Stevens of Cedar. Col,
the wild man is not a myth and he
gives d thrilling account of an encounter
he had with the creature.
Two years ago. said Mr.. Stevens, 4
had business in the northwestern part
OF Arizona that took me in the neighbour
hood OF the extreme lower end OF the
Grand Conon OF the COLORADO river, in
Mohave county. Arizona. Having the mis-
fortune OF getting my arm broken, took
a trip up the river to kill time and catch
4 few beaver. ! constructed a skiff, with
the aid OF friend. and when my arm got
strong enough 1 took a trip up the canon
as far as l could go with a boat \ few
boat upon the sand and got ready to
examine the rock walls.
The firt thing that attracted my at
tention was the imprint of bare feet in
the sand. Thinking tn etracks had been
made by some Indian. perhaps Piute.
or a Hanlipi l began looking the gorge
over with much interest. Going down
stream a short distance 1 found more
tracks.
The third day of my stay l saw the
head of a man on a bench of rocks on
the north side of the river. Evidently
he was seated on the edge of a cliff
some distance above my camp. l rowed
up stream a little above the point where
!. saw the mans head and part of his
shoulders above the CROSSWORD brush.
Climbing up to the bench, / had some
difficulty in finding a place that I could
get over the ledge and be on level
with my strange neighbor.
Il finally succeeded in approaching
closer to the point l saw sitting on a
large boulder a man with long white hair
and matted beard that reached TO his
knees. The creature was unaware of
my approach. and l gazed upon 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 inch
es long. A coat of gray hair nearly COW
cred his body, with here and there a
spot of dirty skin showing. / had found
the wild man of the rock,
AT that moment a rock loosened by
some animal came rolling down. The
creature turned his face towards me.
Horros. What a FACET was scared and
burned brown by the sun. with fiery
green eyes. With a wild whoop and
leap he was off up over rocks and cliffs
like mountain sheep for about seventy
five yards. Then he stopped. He was
armed with a queer shaped club. large
enough to fell an OK. Brandishing this
bludgeon. he shrieked and chartered for
a moment, then started towards me-
roaring and still hourishng his weapon.
Faster and faster he came, and my hair
began to stiffen.
Il am a poor runner, so l stood my
ground. When the creature was within
about. fifteen yards Of me / raised my
rife to fire, thinking to cripple him. AS
1 glanced along the barrel L heard a deep
grOwl just above the wild man. Looking
up l saw the cougar and two half-grown
cubs. The mother cougar crouched. with
man. He also heard the growi and he
braced himself for the shock
Il drew a hasty bead on the cougar and
pressed the trigger. When the smoke
had cleared away the mother cougar
lay dead where the wild man had stood
The man himself had disappeared. The
two young cougars We're still on the rock.
apparently greatly frightened by The re-
port and echoes of my sharp's rife
Reaching hastily for cartridge I
found ] had neglected to buckle on my
belt when leaving camp. so | hastily re-
treated to the boat. where ] found ev-
erything as / had left it. / showed the
boat OFF and drifted towards camp. which
was near the cougars. There lay the old
cougar where she had fallen. The wild
man was standing over the cubs which
We're also dead. he having beaten n
life out Of them with his club He stood
a moment gazing at their carrasses. then
got down on his hands and knees and
drank the warm blood "a it flowed from
the death wounds. The sight sickened
me
Il stood up the boat and yelled The
man sprang to his feet took a long look
at me. then fed up from ledge 70 Iedse
untiI he reached the fourth ledge where
he stopped. Here he rourished his club
agai nand scresmed the widest. most
uaesrthy screech ever heard. then turn
60 and Sprang onward up the crazy wall
OF the canon.
Not fancyiug nv Wild neighbor.
packed my outfit into the boat and drift
ed down and out OF the canon before I
made camp for the night That was
the strangest adventure Of my life.
Tradition records that years ago hos
tile Indians captured three men. bound
them To logs for up the canon. and set
them sdrift upon the swollen river. II
may be that this Wild creature Is one %
those unfortunate men who by chance
freed himself and escaped death. hut was