Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1903 — The Wild Man From Borneo [ARTICLE]

The Wild Man From Borneo

Wasn’t A Circumstance To This Wild Man From Wheatfield. most violently insane man Jasper county has had for many a long day was brought down from \ Wheatfield, by team, Friday night. His name is Edward Prairie and his birth plaoe Kankakee county, and is a Frenchman by exifl|btion. He is 42 years old and has been married 21 years and has a wife and two children.

His insanity has only lately developed, it being first notioed on ,Bth of this month. Some of the parties who brought him down, stated that he recently made $2,000 on a land deal, and more recently had a chance to have made $5,000 on another, but a party who had possession of the land would not -give it up, and the trade fell through. Worrying over this lost ohance is said to have caused his We do not vouoh for the correctness of this story, how- _ He is very violent and dangeroue, and fried to kill Alva Herehmajp, and another party. He also violently attacked his physician, Dr. Sohwier, and injured him quite severely. While being brought down Fri*day night he caused a good deal of trouble and at one time broke away and had to be pursued and recaptured. On arrival here he was takep to the jail for safe keeping and placed in the lower of the two cells outside of the main jail, a sweetly snoozing common drunk being turned out on a cold world to make room. But Prairie did 'not seem to appreciate the distinction of being given a front room down stairs, for he proceeded to wreok everything wreokable in sight. He broke out both windows in the cell, including not only the glass but every part of the frames. He also pulled his bed to pieoes and by a most remarkable exercise of strength, twisted and wrenched all out of shape, and utterly ruined the iron cot bed he was sleeping on. When anyone approaohed the door to try to quiet him he wonld, being unable to attack them in any other yay, spit in their faces. Finally Bruce Hardy tried the cooling effect of throwing a dipper full of cold water in the raving man’s whiob he did. ‘'That does me good” he shouted loud enough to have been heard half a mile, and then turned around, laid down on the fragments of his wrecked bed and slept quietly till morning. Next morning he was taken from the scene of his oyclonic destruction and placed in the inner oorrider of the main jail. Here he soon found opportunity to exercise his muscular developement, and by main strength he wrenched off and broke an inch and a quarter water pipe into several pieces thereby possessing himself of two very dangerous weapons, He wreoked a bed in one unlocked cell, and then with a pieoe of the Fpipe, in elbow form, he pounded a steel air shaft until he tore loose a huge sheet of the heavy Bteel. The problem of how t® seize and 'disarm him was a serious one, but a number of strong citizens wore assembled in the outer oorrider and the jail door then Opened. Prairie walked out, his weapons in hand, -end advanoed to Oliver Robinson. As he did so he was seized by Ed Duvall, who is stout as a horse himself, and held firmly, until his weapons were taken from him, and he was then put baok in the corridor, and again locked up. He did not put up the strenuous resistance that was anticipated, evidently being pretty well tired out. Among bis delusions is one that he wants his 19 year old son to marry a rioh old maid, in Kanka-

kee, but it oan’t be brought about because of inability to obtam.deeds for some property. Another iB that he wants to bny the Chicago stock yards, and still another that he wants to become a prize fighter. Whioh last noble aspiration Df. Sohwier and others who have experienced his muscle, would not consider so very far beyond his physical abilities. All possible haste will be made to get the unfortunate man into Longoliff insane asylum, but the papers are rather irregular, and besides he is stated to be a resident of Illinois, and that may make difficulty again, abont his being received at the asylum. II I “ The Forty-Eighth Indiana Regiment. The 48th Volunteer infantry whose annual reunion is held at Valparaiso this week was raised in north and northwest Indiana in the fall and winter of 1861. Fortyone years ago, on Feb. 7, the regi--1 ment left for the South to fight j for the flag. The work of enlist- , ing men was begun in September. 1 The men reached Fort Donelson, j ; and from there they went to Paducah, Ky., where they remain- . ed till May, when the regiment eni gaged in the siege of Corinth. The i regiment was assigned to the Army I of the Mississippi and engaged in i the pursuit of General Price. On ; the 10th of September the regiment engaged in the battle of luka where of a total of 420 in the regiment 116 were killed and wounded. Early in October the regiment was in the 2nd battle of Corinth, when they suffered a loss of 26 men killed and wounded. The regiment was then assigned to the 17th army corps and in January, 1863 was assigned to the command of General Grant, participating in the siege of Vicksburg, which lasted till in May, during which time it lost 88 men.

Tbe regiment engaged in active duty till January, 1864, then re-en-listed as a veteran organization. The regiment afterwards joined Sherman’s army and participated in the celebrated march to the sea. The regiment was mustered out in July, 1865, at Louisville, During its service the 48th lost in killed and wounded 213 men.

Company K. of this regiment was organized in Jasper county. Its first oaptain was Sara Miller and its second his brother John Miller. After him, M. F. Chilcote became captain and remained in oommand until tbe end of the war.