Wild Man Sparked Search for Gold

The "Manatee Wild Man" of Englewood set off an intense search for gold treasure in May of 1910, but nothing was ever found except the rotting carcasses of hogs and cows. Shortly after Herbert Nichols and his brothers platted Englewood in 1896 and built a general store there, a strange man came occasionally to buy cheese. He was dressed in animal hide, cave-man style, which smelled of decay. He went barefoot most of the time, but in cold weather he wrapped his feet also in animal hide.

The late Stuart Anderson as a boy helped his brother Clyde bring mail from Myakka River Landing to the Englewood post office in a corner of the Nichols store and remembered the wild man well.

The man had long, black hair and beard, densely matted. He avoided people and kept out of sight. He came to the store once a month when a schooner from Tampa brought a new supply of merchandise.

The hermit hung around the back door until there were no customers, then he would slip in fearfully and point to a new wheel of cheese. By gestures and grunts, the man would indicate his wish to buy the entire cheese, then untie a rag and produce a gold coin.

Nichols would never sell a whole wheel of cheese because he did not want to deprive his other customers. After weighing a large portion, Nichols would compute the price which always was less than the value of the gold coin. He would wave his arm around the store to invite his odd customer to take additional items.

The wild man would help himself to other foods until stopped by Nichols. Gathering his purchases, the man would slip out the store and trudge east on Yale street to its end in the pine and palmetto forest.

Folks were apprehensive about the wild man and took to the opposite side of the street when he passed by. Yet, he never molested anyone so was let alone. Once in awhile a curious person would try to track the man to his hiding place in the woods but to no avail.

There was speculation that the wild man had obtained his gold by murdering another man living on Manasota Key who was believed to have accumulated a gold horde. Gold coins were common in those days. Cuban butchers paid for cattle in Spanish gold, and Florida ranchers insisted on U.S. gold also from American buyers.

The wild man disappeared after a time, and people forgot about the eccentric. However, ranchers began to notice that an occasional animal was missing from their herds. When Stuart's father and uncle began to miss steers they suspected someone was engaged in personal butchering.

The wild man, with his animal hide clothing, was a prime suspect. Area ranchers formed a search party to comb the woods east of Yale Street. They caught the scent of rotting flesh and followed it cautiously to a clearing.

There they found the wild man squatting over a freshly slaughtered cow. A Tampa newspaper that reported the incident said the man was "gnawing away at a quarter of raw beef and going it like a boy would to chocolate drops."

Littered With Carcasses

The clearing was littered with carcasses. Apparently the wild man would kill an animal and eat it until filthy, at which time he raided another herd.

The ranchers seized the wild man and confiscated his dirty rag containing a few gold coins. They hauled the pitiful creature to the Manatee County sheriff at Bradenton --- Sarasota county had not yet been erected.

All efforts to identify the wild man were fruitless. He was unable to speak --- whether through a lack of ability or knowledge of English. Officials decided he was insane and sent him to the mental institution at Chattahoochee.

Stuart Anderson believed the man was a Cuban who deserted his ship that had come to Cattle Dock Point on the Myakka River. His gold probably was that meant to purchase steers.

However the gold was obtained, the possibility that the wild man had a large treasure trove somewhere in his woods sparked a frenzied "rush" to find it. Nothing was ever found, at least none that came to public notice.

The wild man died years later with his secrets still locked in his warped brain.

Author: Lindsey Williams