The Wildman of 1870

[Unfortunately, articles from this era reflect the times. The usual apologies for the disgusting temporal racism.]

A WILD MAN OF THE WOODS. — The people of Magnolia and Chatawa have had a sensation of their own during the past ten days. It did not come in the shape of a base ball match or an atrocious murder, or of the accidental poisoning of an entire family, but simply in appearance of a wild negro, an insane Fifteenth Amendment, whose wardrobe is a scanty as that of Adam before the fall, or any colored brother who roams the forests or fields of Congo or Dahomey at this day, from the monarch downward. The creature, judging from his actions, must certainly be insane. When first seen in that neighborhood, he was observed by a white man near Magnolia, seated upon a fallen tree, eating pine cones. On being approached, he ceased to eat, threw himself on all fours, and began scratching up the earth like a terrier on the scent of a rat or other vermin, until he managed to get out of sight.

When next seen it was eight miles below, near the railroad station at Chatawa. Every effort to get him to talk to any one, even of his own color, failed, and on being approached he fled away rapidly, until he was seen no more. He manifests no savage or brutal qualities, but seems to entertain an absolute dread of intercourse with human beings. He appeared to be about 25 years of age, well built and healthy. His finger nails have grown to an enormous length, resembling the claws of some wild feline animal. It is believed that he was originally a runaway, and that he has for years lived in the woods and swamps, and is not aware of the emancipation of his race. Some parties also believe that he is identical with the wild man described in Harper’s Weekly, as having been seen near Vicksburg a year or more ago.
— New Orleans Picayune, June 10.

Were these various “wild men” reports of feral people or early accounts of Bigfoot?

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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