The Daily Telegram (Clarksburg, W. Va.), March 14th 1903
Wild Man Near Weston
People of Lewis County Very Much Agitated Over Appearance of Strange Man.
May Be an Escaped Lunatic, as He Appears to Be Perfectly Harmless and Inoffensive.
Weston, W. Va., March 14. – On the water of Sugar Camp run, a branch of the West Fork river, which flows into the main stream near Crawford, this county, the people have been wonderfully excited for the past ten days by the occasional appearance of a wild man, as he is called, though he is generally supposed to be a lunatic, who has escaped at some time from one of the state insane hospitals.
He has not offered to do violence to any one, but there is a general uneasiness that will not likely down until he is captured. The schools of the community have almost been broken up on account of the fear existing among the children.
Disclaimer: This 1903 newspaper article was published prior to 1931. Under United States copyright law (specifically the 95-year rule), this work has entered the public domain and is thus free to use or republish. It is presented here as an interesting and folkloric newspaper oddity.
Context: “Wild Men” or “Wild People” were purportedly “feral” people who lived in the wilderness in European folklore, representing nature. They were often depicted as tall and hair-covered. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s, stories of encounters with people in or from the wilderness including hermits, houseless people, or people going through a mental health crisis, were often reported in American newpress and labeled “Wild Men” as a popular newspaper curiosity genre.
Source(s): https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85059715/1903-03-14/ed-1/?sp=3
[ Special thanks to: Theresa of Theresa’s Haunted History of the Tri-State for locating this article within the Library of Congress online archives. ]
Categories: Newspapers, Wild People