Little Manitou Island, Lake Michigan, July 11, 1868. A wild man has been discovered on Little Manitou Island in Lake Michigan, and efforts are being made to capture him. Mr. J. R. Anderson, who is spending the summer on one of the Manitous, wrote the following on the discovery.
Some ten days ago one of our party took his boat and started for the Little Manitou, one of our group of islands about four miles distant from the one on which we are encamped. He returned about 8′ o’clock in the afternoon and related that after he had landed upon the island, he heard what he supposed was a man hallooing loudly as though in distress, then he proceeded to the spot from whence the noise seemed to come, and when within ten or fifteen feet of it he said he saw a form that had an appearance of a man, at least eight feet tall, entirely naked, with his body covered in hair. Hi face had the appearance of intellectuality, his brow being quite high.
His beard descended nearly to his stomach, and his hair was disheveled and coarse. As the monster saw the approach of my informant, he gave a loud shriek, and at once fled. Knowing that it would be impossible to overtake him, my fried returned to his boat, and came home. After relating his story, we held a consultation, and decided to make up a party on the next day, return to the island and hunt the monster up. At ten’ o’clock we landed on the island, and commenced our search. In choosing our positions I took that which would lead me to the west, on the shore of the lake. I had not proceeded far, when I beheld the unknown sitting upon the beach, washing his feet in the pure water of the lake. I approached him gently, and hoped to be able to capture him without trouble, but when within at least twenty feet of him, he heard me approaching, and at once springing to this feet and commenced to run. I fired upon him with my gun, but failed to bring him down. I then endeavored to overtake him, but my efforts were fruitless.
The rest of the party were not able to get sight of him, and it is as yet unknown where he succeeds in hiding. We start out tomorrow again in hopes of catching him, and, if possible, in finding out who he is. There is a story afloat among the older fishermen of the island that some twenty years ago a woman lost a child here about four years old, that every effort was made to find it, but all the efforts were unsuccessful, and the bereaved mother at last came to the conclusion that her boy had been stolen and carried off by some one of the wandering tribes of Indians then inhabiting the islands. As I said before, we start out tomorrow in search of the strange character, and I will as soon as possible give you the result of our trip.”