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Wild
Woman of the Navidadby
Murray Montgomery |  |
| The
Navidad isn’t really much of a river, as rivers go – it’s not very famous and
can’t be compared to the stunning Guadalupe or majestic Colorado, when it comes
to beauty. But the little old Navidad just might have a claim to fame that the
others can’t equal. You see, the Navidad has a past of mysterious and wild creatures,
of the two-legged variety, living along its winding path. |
Oakland
Bridge on Navadad River
Vintage Photo courtesy of Nesbitt Memorial Library |
| In the early days
of Texas, settlers living near the banks of the Navidad, southeast of Hallettsville,
were subjected to visits by beings of unknown origin – several hairy and stealth-like
individuals roamed through the brushy bottoms of the river – witnesses indicating
that there was a male and female. |
Many
folks back then were convinced that the male half of the duo had died and only
the female remained. She became known as the “Wild Woman of the Navidad.”
In
his book Tales of Old-Time Texas, well-known author J.Frank Dobie hints
that there might have even been three of the creatures running together. But many
of the old timers agreed that there had been only two from the beginning. There
were many who speculated on the origin of the “never-seen” beings. Some thought
they were run-away slaves. But as Dobie writes, “To settlers living against the
deep woods and dense brush along the Navidad River no explanation was conclusive.” | |
From about
1836 through 1845, folks were still unsure if the surviving creature was male
or female. One settler, Samuel Rogers, saw three sets of tracks in the spring
of 1845. Indicating that instead of one person, as previously thought, there might
have been three individuals of suspicious origin.
So now there was a group
of “wild people.” Rogers had a hired man by the name of Hall who also had misadventures
with the creatures. Hall claimed that they had taken one of his trace chains.
Shortly after this incident, only one set of tracks were seen in the area and
again folks began to speculate that two of the wild people had died. From the
size of the remaining tracks, they decided that the living subject was a male.
The
wild man would take what he needed from the farms in the area. He would slip into
the fields and steal potatoes. In his journal Rogers wrote, “When the corn was
in roasting ear he would come nearly every night to get a supply.” Rogers along
with some of his neighbors came close to catching the wild creature once and during
the chase he dropped a basket containing various items. Rogers added this entry
in his journal, “This [basket] contained a shirt of mine, a novel, a Bible, and
many other articles taken from the house. The shirt had been torn and then the
rent sewed up as skillfully as any woman could have sewed it.”
After
the near capture of the wild man, the settlers decided to get serious about hunting
him down. Eight of them searched along the junction of the Navidad and Sandies
Creek. They didn’t find him but they did find places where he had been hiding
out. “One of them was a live oak that forked about 30 feet above the ground. This
fork formed kind of a flat place on which he could lie down and sleep,” said Rogers.
Depending
on what source you are reading, you will find back-and-forth opinions on whether
or not the wild creature was male or female. I think many like to believe that
it was a woman for some romantic notion and the like. In J. Frank Dobie’s book,
he indicates that in the late 1830s there were reports that the being was indeed
a woman. According to Dobie, settlers on the lower Navidad began to see tracks
of two human beings. Indications were that one was male and the other a female
with small delicate feet.
Various sources indicate that these individuals
avoided any real mischief and stayed secluded. They only took small portions of
food and the settlers tolerated this practice. Dobie includes in his book a narrative
by one of the residents living along the river who came in contact with the wild
people. next
page
©
Murray Montgomery
Lone
Star Diary September 13, 2005 Column
More
Texas Ghosts and Folklore |
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