The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-06-21

upon a horse and conveyed him over three hun
dred miles OF pampas to Gallegos, where they
handed him over to the authorities In due form.
He was thrown into prison and the Indians de-
parted for their wilderness home once more.
In the Argentine Republic there ia no capital
punishment, SO that after his trial, the sentence
that would be passed upon the Wild Man was GER
tain-penal ~seryitude for life.
But 1t never came to a trial, for It was not long
before the warders of the prison awoke one morn
Ing to find their prisoner gone. He had cut his
way out through the walls OF wood, stolen a horse
that had been tied by some late visitor before
the door Of a house In the main street, ridden
through the night until, at dawn, he found him.
self far out upon the pampas.
All along this belt Of country from Gallegos to
Santa Cruz are scattered farms set along the coast
at frequent intervals. The Wild Man turned north
and. on the second day of his escape, caught and
stole a horse from one of these farms and so
rode on up the coast. While the ordinary traveller
dismisses the horse which has borne him CALAMITY
and we'll with a pat and a kind word, the Wild
Man. each time he procured a fresh mount, re-
turned to his tired and weary beast and killed It.
And then one night, before the Indians had
even heard Of his escape from jail, once more
he raided their mares and drove away a great
troop Of them. His intention doubtless was to
get them to some suitable spot and there kill
them, thereby gratifying his own peculiar and
bloody minded beliefs and at the same time re-
veuging himself upon the Indians.
The instant they discovered their loss the
Indians rode on the trail Of the mares, but
this time Ascensio drove them like a mailman, as
indeed he was.
The sun was already falling toward the west
when they spied him at last. He was nearly
naked, for he had flung away the clothes which
had been supplied to him In the jail, and was
mounted upon a gigantic horse. As he rode,
he uttered a cry Of a lion, and the frenzied and
terrified mares galloped wildly In front Of him.
The sun sank and the chase continued. One
by one the Tehuelches dropped away until at last
the Wild Man and a single Indian alone remained.
Now the moon was in the sky and by Its light the
Indian saw the Wild Man slacken his pace and,
with features convulsed with rage and hate, turn
at bay. The Indian grew afraid and paused.
They looked at each other for a moment and
then the Wild Man laughed aloud and, turning his
great yellow horse, rode slowly to the west,
while the Indian returned to his companions.
whom he rejolned on the following day.
Near the c~ordillera OF the Andes an adven-
turous German settler had ~sQuatted with his fam"
fly, and had built himself q small house or hut.
One night the German was awakened by g knock.
ing ut the door and opened 1t to find a man clad
In skins facing him.
The man appeared to be enaciated and was
certainly Of the most extraordinary appearance,
his whole face being blackened by an almost
continuous growth of hair,
The man demanded food, whereupon the Ger.
man invited him to enter and, taking a frying
pan, commenced to cook some meat. As he bent
over the fire the Wild Man, with senseless and
brutal cruelty, shot him through the back and.
helping himself to various provisions, left the
house and the dead man lying In 1t.
The news Of this crime and of others. which
followed close upon 1t, aroused the whole dis.
trict. Neither man nor woman could feel safe
while the Wild Man lived. and at last q body OF
armed settlers ran the criminal to earth in a
house which he had entered for purposes OF
plumber, He never left that house alive, but fell
on the threshold riddled with bullets, yet not be
fore he had left his mark upon more than one OF
his assailants.