The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1906-02-09
CAPTURED A WILD IRISHl.AH
NAKED AND CUTTING up N
FIELD NEAR RULEr0N.
Land Agent Ran Him to Straw Stack
nc Point OF RevoIver-ThOGght
TO Be Insane.


Naked in g field near Ruleton. in
winter weather, J. ". Shea. an Irish
I man with giant physique. was cap
! tured at the point OF q revolver We'd
nesday afternoon by H c. Sweet, q
I real estate man OF Stockton, Kan.
! Shea, who wandered into Sherman
/ county from Colorado and presumed
/ to be insane. was brought to Good
| land Wednesday evening and put in
charge OF Sheriff Bradley. The neigh
bOrhOOd OF RuletOn had been terrified
with the presence Of the man from
the mines, who went through queer
antics and gestures, and undressed
and dressed himself with startling
rapidity. He worked so fast at Il that
he tore his underclothes all to pieces,
and when he was driven to where he
had at last hid his garments, his
pantalOOns and coat were the only
things that did not resemble a rag
bag
Mike Ryan, deputized by Sheriff
Bradley, took Shea to Burlington,
Colo, Thursday morning and turned
him over to the Kit Carson county
authorities, as he was held to be sim
ply wandered across the line into
Kansas, and subject to the state OF
Colorado.
county on land business, accompanied
by Frank Decious, was making a
drive in the west part OF the county.
near RuletOn, to look at a tract OF
land They found the quiet little
town very much excited over q crazy
man that had been creating q dis
turbance and had been driven out
From Ruleton. they drove about a
mile and a half southeast where the
there in a stubble field they ran across
the fellow, entirely nure and hustling
hithsr and thither OstensibIy to keep
the weather from freezing him. His
skin was as blue as a pigeon, and his
person extremely sOiled with dirt and
coal dust.
Driving out where he was, Mr..
Sweet arrested him at the point OF q
revolver. When questioned as to
where his clothes were, the insane
man pointed to a straw stack, IN
which he had burroweI and establish
ed his wardrobe. Sweet made him
dress himself, and then took him as
a passenger to RuletOn where he tele-
graphed Sheriff Bradley at GOOdIand
to come and take Shea in charge.
He was anything but an attractive
creature" said Sweet in telling Of the
incident eff I didn't see the Wild
man of BOrneO today, then never
expect to see him He was built like
a giant and there would have been
little cause to have tackled him IL he
had provided himself with any Weap-
Ons Of defense. Shea was within sight
Of the Charles Aim place, and you
can imagine the terror that such an
object would strike into the heart OF
woman with her husband and de-
fender away from home This was
the predicament OF Mrs. Aim, for her
husband had left that day for Kan
Orado to do some trading. am glad
I came that way"
The unfortunate fellow, when ques-
toned in GOOdland, gave his name
as J. W Shea, and said he was a ma
tive Of Dublin, Ireland. He IS six
feet tall, and weighs 225 pounds. he
cherishes the haIlucination that he
has no blood and infers that he needs
no clothing His arrangement was
caused by an injury to his head. In.
jumping from a moving train, his
head struck a switch post, causing an
indentatfon Of the skull bone. DR..
Carmichael, county physician, examin-
ed Shea It was ascertafnable that
he had been working in the mines in
Colorado. He said; 'Ah, those poor
miners; they 20 down IN the dark
shaft; they stOOp and drive tunnels
From the ceiling overhead, big rocks
hang down. They fall down some
times and the miner is a dead IN He
had better been out here in Kansas
There is nothing to fall down here on
a mans head but the sky" He gave
his age as 90.