Reward For Ohio Wild Man?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 12th, 2009
Burlington Hawk-Eye
Burlington, Iowa
June 30, 1886
A GENUINE WILD MAN.
A Large Reward Offered by Ohio People to be Rid of Him.
Lima, Ohio, June 29. – The people in the neighborhood of Grover Crossing, a small town west of this city, just across the Van Wert county line, are in a state of great excitement over the advent of a wild man in that locality. He is described as being gigantic in size, and wearing no clothing except an
old slouch hat and a pair of boots. His hair is long and matty, his body tanned until it is a mud color, and he is very ferocious, and has a frightful appearance. He is very bold in his adventures and can run like a racehorse. His eyes flash like fire, and his unintelligible utterances are thrilling and blood-curdling.
The first seen of this strange monster was in the latter part of last May [1885]. Since that time he has been seen on many occasions and viewed at short range. The last time he was seen was only yesterday, by a boy by the name of Hartzog, living in that neighborhood, on his way to school. He was obliged to pass through the woods in which the strange being has been seen several times. In passing near a large fallen tree-top the wild man suddenly emerged and ran away, screaming in a most horrible manner. The startling appearance of the wild monster so frightened the boy that he
started in the opposite direction, terrified and crying. When he arrived at home it was some time before he could tell those about him what was the matter. Even now it is impossible to persuade the boy to leave the house, even in day-time. It is said that the people of that neighborhood have offered a reward of $500 for the capture of the wild man and that a party will be organized in a few days to make the attempt.
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.
So that is where my ex moved to …
Just curious…do they mention clothing so they didn’t cause certain people to be totally horrified? I think it kinda weird the mention of clothing on Big Foot, specially a slouch hat and boots.
1885?
By the way, a mexican friend told me a similar story of a wild man called “El Salvaje” (The Wild/Savage One) in Campeche, South México.
The story goes like this:
A friend from him witnessed one day “El Salvaje”, in a rural area, a being that is widely commented by the local people (peasants, farmers and “chicleros”, people who travel into the rainforest to collect “chicle gum”, from which natural chewing gum is made of).
He witnessed a tall being, 2m high, the skin was dark but with a burned-like color with very long hair, wearing very old clothes and carrying a spear (!?). It screams also.
Local people told him that this being was sometimes seen near the Calakmul reserve in the border with Guatemala. There was a mysterious wave of deer killings before the sightings. They assumed the creature was not human, but some primitive man and it was believed, it had “family” hidden in the near Guatemalan forest and mountains. It descended to get food to Mexico, traveling several kilometers.
I really didn’t know what to do with this story, I personally found it amazing and intriguing. I asked my friend many possibilities, a 2 m high person that went feral? (Local people is not so tall). A guerrillero that became mad? A lost tourist? A lacandon native? (Lacandons are a small and mysterious tribe that still lives in the jungle). But the “other possibility scared me a lot: a hybrid human-sisimite (Sisimite is the legendary central american wild-man). But these are just ideas in my head, no proof at all. Just sightings, legends and folklore.
Reminds me of the Wildman Of Navidad flick.
Great story, Loren.
That IS weird about the slouch hat and boots.
Probably fake, but you never know…
There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio…
As the line goes. 🙂