Wild man and hairy giant reports

1. 1839
2. The Hillsborough Recorder. Hillsborough, N.C. · April 11, 1839 · Page 1

   A wild man of the woods brought back from the Mississippi

   St. Peters (Minnesota) River, upper Mississippi approx. · April 1839

   A Boston paper reported that a lumber company agent had returned from the St. Peters River on the upper Mississippi with a living wild man of the woods and two small cubs. The story ran in papers from North Carolina to Vermont.

   Probably a hoax or tall tale A classic newspaper tall tale of its day; no such captive was ever exhibited.

   Also printed in 1 other paper

   • Vermont PhÅ“nix., Brattleboro, Vt., Sept. 13, 1839, p. 4
3. 1869
4. The Cambria Freeman. Ebensburg, Pa. · Jan. 28, 1869 · Page 1

   A hairy wild man near Gallipolis

   Gallipolis, Ohio · Jan. 1869

   The Gallipolis Bulletin reported a wild man in the woods near town: naked, covered in hair, very tall and with bulging eyes. Some older boys first saw him behind Carrell's Hill, and later he chased women along the Chillicothe road. The story was reprinted as far away as Vermont.

   Also printed in 2 other papers

   • Burlington Weekly Free Press., Burlington, Vt., Jan. 29, 1869, p. 1
   • Grant County Herald., Lancaster, Wis., Feb. 9, 1869, p. 4
5. The Wheeling Daily Register. Wheeling, W. Va. · March 15, 1869 · Page 1

   Cries from the Hurricane near Uniontown

   The Hurricane, southwest of Uniontown, Kentucky approx. · March 1869

   The Uniontown Appeal said a family living near a tract of storm-felled forest called the Hurricane had for months heard cries like a child in distress coming from the timber. After long watching, the father finally saw a strange hairy creature there.

   “a sight that made him creep”

6. The Evening Telegraph. Philadelphia · Aug. 31, 1869 · Page 1

   A gorilla at large in Kansas

   Arcadia, Crawford County, Kansas · Aug. 15, 1869

   A letter from Arcadia to the St. Louis Democrat said a wild man or gorilla had been seen at different times by nearly everyone in the valley, and occasionally across the line in Missouri, and had several times come close to houses. The story inspired Mark Twain's satirical "interview" with the wild man, which papers reprinted for months.

   “It is nothing less than the discovery of a wild man or gorilla.”

   Also printed in 8 other papers

   • The Evening Telegraph., Philadelphia, Sept. 22, 1869, p. 6
   • Memphis Daily Appeal., Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 3, 1869, p. 2
   • Staunton Spectator., Staunton, Va., Oct. 12, 1869, p. 1
   • Clearfield Republican., Clearfield, Pa., Oct. 20, 1869, p. 7
   • North Iowa Times., McGregor, Iowa, Oct. 20, 1869, p. 1
   • The Weekly Panola Star., Panola, Miss., Oct. 23, 1869, p. 1
   • Bristol News., Bristol, Va. & Tenn., Oct. 29, 1869, p. 1
   • The State Rights Democrat., Albany, Linn County, Oregon, Dec. 10, 1869, p. 1
7. The Wheeling Daily Register. Wheeling, W. Va. · Dec. 13, 1869 · Page 1

   A wild man's den on the Big Sioux

   Big Sioux River, Dakota side, northwest of Sioux City approx. · Nov. 1869

   The Sioux City Times said a farmer hauling firewood on the Big Sioux saw what he took for a wild man bolt from a hollow log and outrun him into the woods. A mounted party found his den in a rock crevice lined with brush and animal skins. Reprints claimed he was a Frenchman who had fled into the wilds after a murder.

   Also printed in 5 other papers

   • Nashville Union and American., Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 15, 1869, p. 3
   • The Charleston Daily News., Charleston, S.C., Dec. 25, 1869, p. 3
   • The Charleston Daily News., Charleston, S.C., Dec. 25, 1869, p. 3
   • The Louisiana Democrat., Alexandria, La., Dec. 29, 1869, p. 3
   • Rutland Weekly Herald., Rutland, Vt., Dec. 30, 1869, p. 1
8. 1884
9. Savannah Morning News. Savannah · Aug. 17, 1884 · Page 2

   Jacko, the British Columbia gorilla

   Near Tunnel No. 4, above Yale, British Columbia · June 30, 1884

   American papers reprinted a story from Victoria's British Colonist: railway men near Tunnel No. 4, about twenty miles above Yale on the Fraser River, chased and captured a strange creature on the rock bluffs, half man and half beast. It became the famous Jacko story.

   “Description of a Strange Creature Captured Near Yale.”

   Probably a hoax or tall tale Rival British Columbia papers soon reported that no such creature could be found, and most historians treat the story as a newspaper hoax.

   Also printed in 3 other papers

   • The Indianapolis Journal., Indianapolis, Nov. 7, 1884, p. 5
   • Savannah Morning News., Savannah, Nov. 30, 1884, p. 6
   • Cheyenne Transporter., Darlington, Indian Terr., Dec. 5, 1884, p. 7
10. 1890
11. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, W. Va. · Jan. 2, 1891 · Page 1

    A strange creature prowls a Chicago suburb

    A Chicago suburb, Illinois approx. · Dec. 1890

    A Chicago suburb was in a fright after rumours of a bear or similar animal grew into the traditional wild man. Two young men described a thrilling encounter, and searches came up empty.

12. 1891
13. Baxter Springs News. Baxter Springs, Kan. · Jan. 24, 1891 · Page 2

    A wild man who lives on grass

    Mountain View, Passaic County, New Jersey approx. · Jan. 1891

    The mountain hamlet of Mountain View in Passaic County was alarmed by a wild man in the woods who was said to live on grass. Hunting parties searched the woods in every direction.

14. The Morning News. Savannah, Ga. · April 8, 1891 · Page 3

    A gorilla in the hills around Vernon

    Vernon, Indiana · April 1891

    The Cincinnati Enquirer reported a gorilla-like creature in the rugged hills around Vernon, Indiana, near a cavern a local man claimed to have found years earlier. The paper wondered if it was Darwin's missing link.

    “Perhaps This Is Darwin's Long-Sought Missing Link”

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • The Indiana State Sentinel., Indianapolis, April 8, 1891, p. 8
    • The Superior Times., Superior, Wis., May 2, 1891, p. 6
15. Wheeling Register. Wheeling, W. Va. · May 13, 1891 · Page 7

    An old tale of an eight-foot hairy giant in Georgia

    Rabun County, Georgia approx. · May 1891

    A widely reprinted 1891 item retold an old account of hunters in the Rabun County mountains finding a being nearly eight feet tall, covered in hair, with a human face and huge ears like a donkey's.

    Probably a hoax or tall tale A retold legend, not a contemporary sighting.

    Also printed in 10 other papers

    • The Wichita Daily Eagle., Wichita, Kan., May 27, 1891, p. 2
    • The Penn's Grove Record, May 29, 1891, p. 1
    • Cameron County Press., Emporium, Cameron County, Pa., Oct. 14, 1909, p. 10
    • The Dickinson Press, Oct. 16, 1909, p. 1
    • Shenandoah Herald., Woodstock, Va., Oct. 22, 1909, p. 1
    • The Mount Holly News., Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J., Nov. 2, 1909, p. 4
    • The Newport Miner., Newport, Wash., Nov. 11, 1909, p. 6
    • Bismarck Daily Tribune., Bismarck, Dakota, Nov. 12, 1909, p. 7
    • The Marietta Journal and Courier, Marietta, Ga., Nov. 19, 1909, p. 7
    • The Manning Times., Manning, Clarendon County, S.C., Dec. 29, 1909, p. 4
16. Fort Worth Gazette. Fort Worth, Tex. · May 15, 1891 · Page 2

    A wild man caught on Salado Creek

    Salado Creek near San Antonio, Texas approx. · May 1891

    A farmer near San Antonio said that after a long chase he captured a wild man on Salado Creek, with a foot-long shaggy black beard, hair down his back and nails three inches long. The Ocala Banner said it revived an old Florida wild-man scare.

    Also printed in 5 other papers

    • The Ocala Banner, Ocala, Marion County, Fla., May 22, 1891, p. 1
    • The Laurens Advertiser, Laurens, S.C., May 26, 1891, p. 4
    • The Pickens Sentinel., Pickens, S.C., May 28, 1891, p. 4
    • Shepherdstown Register., Shepherdstown, Va., June 5, 1891, p. 3
    • The Western Sentinel., Winston-Salem, N.C., June 11, 1891, p. 1
17. The Salt Lake Herald. Salt Lake City · May 10, 1891 · Page 12

    The ten-cent wild man was a fake

    Salt Lake City, Utah · May 1891

    Local showmen in Salt Lake City exhibited a captured wild man for ten cents until Sheriff Burt tugged at his eyebrows and found they were glued on.

    “The Eyebrows Were Stuck on the Wild Man.”

    Probably a hoax or tall tale An exhibit fraud, exposed by the sheriff.

18. Wheeling Register. Wheeling, W. Va. · Sept. 15, 1891 · Page 6

    A wild man runs through Southwest City

    Southwest City, Missouri · Sept. 1891

    Southwest City was thrown into excitement when a man taken for a maniac came rushing through the streets, frightening everyone, and was captured after a hard struggle. Stranger stories about him followed.

    Also printed in 4 other papers

    • The Morning News., Savannah, Ga., Sept. 19, 1891, p. 5
    • The Laurens Advertiser, Laurens, S.C., Sept. 29, 1891, p. 1
    • Delaware Gazette and State Journal, Wilmington, Del., Oct. 1, 1891, p. 7
    • The Pickens Sentinel., Pickens, S.C., Oct. 1, 1891, p. 4
19. Oct. 27, 1891 · Page 1

    A wild man run down in the Hayward hills

    Eden Township hills near Haywards and Dublin, California · Nov. 1891

    Hunters and farmers in the hills of Eden Township near Haywards and Dublin had glimpsed a creature that ran like a deer. A Haywards constable finally caught him, a man who had been living wild and eating quail, and brought him to the county jail.

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • The Diamond Drill, Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich., Dec. 19, 1891, p. 12
    • The L'Anse Sentinel, L'Anse, L.S., Mich., Dec. 26, 1891, p. 7
20. The Indianapolis Journal. Indianapolis · Nov. 27, 1891 · Page 3

    Hunters catch the wild man of the Okaw

    Beck's Creek near Vandalia, Illinois · Nov. 25, 1891

    For two weeks, people along Beck's Creek in Loudon Township were worried by a supposed wild man who roamed the Okaw River bottoms living on young pigs and calves. A party of hunters finally captured him.

21. 1896
22. The Morning News. Savannah, Ga. · March 14, 1896 · Page 4

    A giant wild man near Cape Flattery

    Quillayute country near Cape Flattery, Washington approx. · March 1896

    Lawrence F. Doyle, a Montana legislator, said that while crossing unexplored timber near Cape Flattery he closely watched a hatless wild man of unusually large size, with a heavy beard and a shock of long hair. He offered to swear affidavits. The item ran in papers from Georgia to Oregon.

    “A sure enough wild man was seen in the Quillayute Mountains”

    Also printed in 3 other papers

    • The Daily Morning Astorian., Astoria, Oregon, March 21, 1896, p. 2
    • Crawford Avalanche, Grayling, Mich., April 30, 1896, p. 7
    • The Black Hills Union., Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota, May 15, 1896, p. 3
23. New-York Tribune. New York · April 29, 1896 · Page 16

    The wild man of the great swamp

    Great swamp near Vineland and Waterford, New Jersey approx. · April 28, 1896

    Farmers on the edge of a great swamp in South Jersey reported a tall wild man with a mass of hair and beard, wearing moccasins and carrying a club, who taunted searchers with cries. Residents of Waterford caught him a few days later; he escaped, was cornered again and locked up. He turned out to be a mentally ill man who had been living in the woods.

    “He leads his pursuers a fast chase”

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • New-York Tribune., New York, May 1, 1896, p. 15
    • Alexandria Gazette., Alexandria, D.C., May 4, 1896, p. 1
24. The Portland Daily Press July 21, 1896 · Page 2

    Minot's wild man

    Minot, Maine · July 20, 1896

    Half a dozen people near Minot said they saw a ragged, heavily whiskered wild man close up in broad daylight before he vanished into the woods. Weeks later he appeared to a South Auburn farmer carrying a long butcher knife, and a woman from Aroostook County came forward thinking he might be her missing husband.

    “Like all wild men he has more whiskers than clothes.”

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • Daily Kennebec Journal., Augusta, Me., Aug. 1, 1896, p. 8
    • Daily Kennebec Journal., Augusta, Me., Aug. 8, 1896, p. 3
25. Grant County Herald. Lancaster, Wis. · Aug. 27, 1896 · Page 1

    A naked man running wild near Annaton

    Annaton, Wisconsin · Aug. 22, 1896

    Several people near Annaton in Grant County reported a man with no clothes running wild through the woods and brush along the roads. The sheriff went out to investigate.

26. The Sun Sept. 20, 1896 · Page 5

    Rumours of a wild man on the Hudson

    Irvington-on-Hudson, New York · Sept. 19, 1896

    For weeks, women and children in Irvington-on-the-Hudson said a wild man in tattered clothes was lurking in the woods along Hartman Lane, near a railroad agent's house.

27. 1897
28. The Evening Tribune Pawtucket, R.I. · June 4, 1897 · Page 3

    Woodcutters fight a hairy wild man near Rome, Ohio

    Near Rome, Ohio (exact Rome not given) approx. · May 1897

    Weeks after a wild man frightened people near Rome, Ohio, two woodcutters, Charles Lukins and Bob Former, said they met him while cutting timber. After a hard struggle they drove the gorilla-like figure, which wore nothing but long curly hair, back into its retreat.

    “He Wears Nothing but Hair, Which Is Long and Curly.”

    Also printed in 1 other paper

    • The Brunswick Times., Brunswick, Ga., June 6, 1897, p. 6
29. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, W. Va. · June 8, 1897 · Page 1

    A wild woman who leaps fences like a deer

    Near Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia approx. · June 1897

    Farmers near Elkins said a wild woman crossed their fields and was too fast to catch, leaping fences like a deer. At night they heard hideous noises like a dog's or fox's bark, and searchers from Elkins scoured the woods without finding her.

    Also printed in 4 other papers

    • Alexandria Gazette., Alexandria, D.C., June 9, 1897, p. 2
    • The Topeka State Journal, June 10, 1897, p. 8
    • The Cambria Freeman., Ebensburg, Pa., June 11, 1897, p. 2
    • The Republican., Oakland, Md., June 17, 1897, p. 5
30. Barbour County Index. Medicine Lodge, Kan. · July 7, 1897 · Page 1

    A wild man caught asleep in the Nebraska pines

    Pine forests of Dawes and Sioux counties, Nebraska approx. · July 1897

    A wild man who had haunted the pine forests of Dawes and Sioux counties was captured while asleep. He seemed to know nothing when the insanity board examined him.

    Also printed in 3 other papers

    • Barton County Democrat., Great Bend, Kan., July 8, 1897, p. 2
    • The Iola Register., Iola, Allen County, Kansas, July 9, 1897, p. 6
    • Western Kansas World., WaKeeney, Kan., July 10, 1897, p. 7
31. The Sun. New York · Aug. 12, 1897 · Page 1

    The wild man of the White Plains road

    Between Mount Vernon, Bronxville and White Plains, New York · Aug. 11, 1897

    Cyclists on the road between Mount Vernon and White Plains reported a wild man who burst out of the woods to stop travellers, and a lawyer said he met him at the foot of a hill. Weeks later the Bronxville wild man was back, chasing passers-by and frightening women and girls in the Masterton woods.

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • The Times, Aug. 31, 1897, p. 3
    • The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, Aug. 31, 1897, p. 2
32. 1909
33. The Yale Expositor Jan. 29, 1909 · Page 6

    A wild man on Prospect Hill

    Prospect Hill, Taunton, Massachusetts · Jan. 28, 1909

    Scores of residents in north Taunton asked the police to investigate a wild man who roamed the edge of the woods near Prospect Hill and appeared by the roads. Mothers kept their children indoors.

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • The Rice Belt Journal, Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La., Jan. 29, 1909, p. 7
    • Charlevoix County Herald, Feb. 13, 1909, p. 2
34. The Lexington Intelligencer. Lexington, Mo. · Feb. 27, 1909 · Page 2

    The wild man with an axe

    Northern Johnson County, Missouri approx. · Feb. 1909

    For weeks, a mysterious man carrying an axe and a gun camped in barns and haystacks across northern Johnson County. He burrowed a den in one farmer's hay loft and frightened people near Valley City.

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