The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-03-19
Wild Man in Jungle Near Lanes.

Wild Man in Jungle Near Lanes.
A thrilling story of the capture
of a typical wild man of the jun
gle, a negro, covered from head
to foot with black, bristling hair,
as thick and long as that on some
giant gorilla. on the edge of San.
lee Swamp, in South Carolina,
near Lanes Junction, fifty miles
north Of Charleston, is told by
W. S. Damon, conductor in
charge of the Atlantic Coast
Line passenger train which ar
rived at 1925 P. NJ from Flor
ence yesterday, says the Savan-
nah Morning News of Monday.
The wild man, Mr.. Damon
states, driven from SAINT e e
Swamp by freshet in the San
tee river, hid in barn near the
edge of the marsh land and,
when discovered, fought 6end
ishly until overpowered and COW
ed into subjection. The man is
now chained and tied with ropes
in the barn in which be was cap
tured, the conductor says.
Details of the capture of the
man, Mr.. Damos states. are un-
known to him. Lanes Junction
is a division point where trans
fers are made for Colum bia,
Georgetown aud Savannah. He
said that when his train reached
the junction yesterday morning
at l1:10 o'clock the little town
was in a state of intense excite
ment over the capture of the man.
The Savannah train did not stop
at Lanes. however, for longer
than five minutes and so Mr.. Da-
mos could get but meagre infor,
nation of the affair. The negroes
of Lanes are panic stricken, Mr..
Damos says.
THEORY OF THE NATIVES.
What disposition will be made
of the man Mr.. Damos declares
be does not know. He says that
it is his suppositiou, however,
that the matter will be reported
to the authorities of the State
Hospital for the Insane at Co.
lumbia and that the man will be
sent there for confinement ard
observation. The man is burly
negro and speaks some English,
says the conductor.
1t is generally thought, the
conductor says, that the negro is
either an escaped convict or a
fugitive from justice. He says it
is the general belief at Lanes
that the man went into Santee
Swamp to hide from officers of
the law and, frightened by the
lonliness of the place and the
fear of capture. became insane.
Another theory of how the man
reached his present state Of saw
agery, Mr.. Damos say is that
the negro, already mad, wander.
ed into the swamp and remained
there. The appearance of the
negro, it IS stated. would indi-
cate that be had been living in
the swamp as a savage for prob
ably many years.
DISCOVERY of WILD MAN.
According to Mr.. Damon, when
members of a family of negroes
residing on a small farm on the
edge of Santee Swamp went out
to a ramshackled barn in the rear
of their little cabin, about day
break yesterday, they were
frightened by the terrible sight
of a man, over six feet tall, broad
and muscular, with great brawny
and heavy shoulders, covered
from head to foot with thick
black hair and whose eyes gleam-
ed like those of some wild ami
NAL, crouched in one corner of
the shack as though ready to
spring upon the first living crea-
ture which molested him.
The family of negroes, it is
said, were thrown into a panic
and went hurrying in all direc-
tions in search of aid. Residents
of that neighborhood went in re-
sponse to the frightened cries
and pleas for help. A small mob,
it is said, formed around the barn
within half an hour and plans
were hastily made for the cap
ture Of the man alive, if possible,
and with as little injury to him
as necessary.
MAN 1N9 . N1C1oOSLI
The negro showed signs of
fight and when the effort to catch
him continued fought viciouSly.
Finally, however, without any of
the mob being hurt and without
inficting any, injuries upon the
man further than a few bruises
of minor nature, the burly
more animal in appear
ance than human. was overpoW-
cred and tied hand and foot.
Quickly the news of the fight
with and the capture of the man |
spreadover the surroundingcoun-
try and people from adjoining
settlements and residing on small