George Pettingill, Wild man of Wise River, Montana Territory image, Very rare For Sale

George Pettingill, Wild man of Wise River, Montana Territory Extremely rare image of his dugout in Wise River. The image of him and Prof Knaub is not for sale. It is shared for reference only. George owned mining properties throughout Beaverhead County and Silverbow County. He was among some of the early miners during the 1870s. No one really knows what pushed George into reclusiveness. We do know he had a wife and children that he left back in the states. I am not sure if they passed away prior to George coming west to the mining camps. There is much written about George in local historical societies and newspapers. He was well known throughout the mining camps of Glendale, Melrose, Lion City, Hecla, Wise River, and along the Big Hole River and Wunderlichs.
Pioneers such as George Pettengill, the infamous "Wild Man" of Wise River. Colorful and mysterious Pettengill roamed the area for about 40 years. Said to be harmless, a hermit who shunned civilization for apparent personal reasons still he struck fear in the relative few he allowed to get close enough to get a look. No doubt many of his habits are more fiction than fact he reputedly ate his meat raw, loved the fruits of the forest, lived in a brush wikieup in summer, denned in a cave over winter and alleged to have staked a mine over the mountains near Twin Bridges. Once promised "all the raw meat and fruits you can eat" he was put on display in the window of a Butte drug store. But too shy to face the throngs of gawkers he soon fled back home to Wise River. Later, so the story goes, an enterprising visitor tried to lure him to Chicago to be put on display in "a cage eating raw meat" but supposedly he declined the offer. Tall, lean, barefoot, dressed in rags, long red dreadlocks down to his ass one thing hard to argue ol' George left a lasting impression--a local legend for sure.
Every generation has its own crop of characters, some are remembered while others just seem to be erased by time. One of the most famous but nearly forgotten character was the "Wild Man of Wise River."George Pettingill will be remembered by a creek bearing his name, which is a tributary of the Wise River drainage, eventually flowing into the Big Hole River. His real claim to fame was that he was known as the "wild man" who roamed the Big Hole for about 40 years.He was a recluse who shunned civilization, but would sometimes trail along behind and watch people who would be prospecting, or fishing, hunting or traveling through the country. If seen by anyone he would fade away like a ghost into the darkness of the forest. Few saw him close enough or long enough to actually describe him.
Each appearance he made was the same, he would suddenly appear out of nowhere, then if seen disappear the same way. His wild appearance was so frightening that no one ever attempted to do anything except to walk away. Although no one felt intimidated it was thought that some day in the future, he might become violent, so he was strictly avoided.In the summer he lived in a brush wickiup made like an Indian teepee of poles covered with brush with a rock fire circle inside. In the winter he denned up in a cave not too far from the small town of Dewey's Flat, along the Bighole River.Although he made no attempt to be neighborly, he did have a few friends. One was the butcher who operated a slaughter house in Dewey, whenever he stopped there he would feast on the offal of freshly killed animals. He would only eat raw meat and after killing any game he would devour it on the spot, then wipe his hands on his long hair which was loose and hung down to his waist. The long hair was uncombed and matted into a wild disarray of dread locks which resembled long bundles of rope.What is known about his past was picked up in bits and pieces over a period of time. His voice was very low and halting, and seemed to talk with difficulty. Because he was very timid and had so few contacts with people, it is possible that his difficulty was to remember words enough to carry on a conversation.
He had a few horses loose in the hills, occasionally selling one to buy ammunition for an old rifle and his few but simple wants. No one ever saw him ride any horses but traveled barefoot, running over sharp rocks and into rough country that horses couldn't reach.Upon occasions he would mention his mining property in the area. One of his few friends was local professor named Knaube. The professor was also a geologist, so they had a mutual interests. He was one of few people who had any personal knowledge about Pettengill.
Because of this friendship, and by going thru Knaube, he was asked to come to Butte to sit in the window of a drug store and eat raw meat, and be billed as the "Wild Man of Wise River". His love for fruit enticed him to take up the offer but didn't last long. He received a generous supply of meat and fruit, but then after the wrinkles were taken out of his belly the novelty was gone and he returned to the solitude of his home in the tall timber.
In 1892 he was again approached by a representative of the Chicago World Fair exposition, to appear as the "Wild Man from Montana." All he had to do was sit in a cage, eating raw meat in front of the crowd. He had the necessary required wild look and eating habits but was too timid to face such huge crowds.
Pettingill's story had become a local legend. Very little is known of his past, but it is believed that he had been a farmer from Wisconsin, married and with one son. He enlisted in the Civil War and was away from home for a long time, involved in much action. After peace was declared he came home to find he was replaced by another man. After a heated discussion, the two decided to have a duel back in a patch of timber, which was near by to shoot it out. When Pettingill emerged as the winner, the wife killed herself, so he took the boy and came west.
He was first know in Silver Star, an early day mining town, but soon moved over to the Twin Bridges area where he had his alleged mine. It was there that he buried his son who died of diphtheria. The Wise River area, a rough wild lonesome country, became his home until he died from over eating too much raw meat - another mystery of the mountains.