Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 July 1906 — Wild Man Excitement Quieting Down. [ARTICLE]

Wild Man Excitement Quieting Down.

There has not been much doing in wild man circles the past few days, though occasional reports of his still being seen are yet circulated. The old deserted floral hall building out on the old fair grounds has lately been more or less reliably reported as his lodging room and ‘reception parlor, combined, and for which its location and size very well adapts it. The last time he is reliably reported to have been seen was in that vicinity on last Tuesday, by some boys out there after cows which are pastured there. Wednesday afternoon Jack Montgomery and Mose Leopold were out that way in an auto and took a look at the old floral hall, and when crossing the river north of there they heard a single shot, at some point which sounded up in the jungle. Pappv Platt, who was at the bridge heard it also, and it sounded to all of them like the wild man might have fired the shot. They hurried round to the stock farm and down to thp river back of it where they fonnd Messrs Ellis and Vick still so busy catching the Mayor’s big salmon, that they had not heard the shot. More than ever convincedthat the cunningwild man fired it, and in such a way that it sounded in only one direction, they plunged into the jungle and searched it as thoroughly as their small number would permit. As usual they missed the wild man, but they found an old party fishing in the the river, and he also heard the the shot, and said it sounded up stream towards where the Mayor and party were. Going back there they found the big fish landed and that the fishers had al had time to remember that Christie had fired the shot they had heard, from the repeating rifle of Vern Marshall who was with them. And thus ended one more wild search for the wil d man.

A Circumstance of interest in i-uis connection was the great |number of fresh muscle shel s noticed by the Mayor and party, thrown out on the bank of the river, along t here, and which led to the suggestion that the wild man may have taken to a diet of raw clams.