Interesting saga indeed, here's the ending...
http://www.texasescapes.com/MurrayMontgomeryLoneStarDiary/Wild-Woman-of-the-Navidad-2.htm The wild woman struck fear into the hearts of the slaves back then. The referred to her as �it� or �that thing that comes.� It has been written that she could walk right past guard dogs, during the night, and they wouldn�t bark or disturb her in any way. She would go into a house and take bread and other food, always leaving half. If the creature took tools or any other item, she always returned them clean and in better shape than when she obtained them.
But just as had happened in the past, the question about the gender of the mysterious one came up again. It seems that in the severe winter of 1850, fresh tracks were found once more and this time the scent was fresh. The settlers put hounds on the trail and the wild being was forced to climb a tree. Looking down on his pursuers was a run-away African male � he was so frightened that he wouldn�t come down and the men had to climb the tree and take him by force.
J. Frank Dobie indicated in his book that the man�s tracks matched those found before � the same footprints that were thought to belong to the woman. The story goes that the �wild man� had been sold to slave traders by his parents and was shipped to this country. A passing sailor who knew the language of the man�s tribe was able to communicate with him and learned that he and another man had escaped from the ship somewhere near a large river. His companion perished at some point and he was left alone.
Folks estimated that he must have been brought across the sea between 1820 and 1830 � part of his youth was spent roaming the region around the Navidad and Sandies Creek. Slavery still existed after his capture and the wild man was sold at public auction. With the abolishment of slavery, he was set free and was said to have remained in his newfound home. The wild woman was never again heard of and the legend of her existence passed into history. Only part I'd question is that those two African guys never had regular contact with slaves. Seems like there HAD to be things that slaves kept secret from their masters. Active assistance from slaves would also account for their putative ability to "walk past guard dogs" on the nights when objects disappeared.
I'm wondering is the passing sailor mentioned in the account spoke Twi like I did somewhat, in their day the Ashantis were about the biggest slave traders in West Africa.
Birdwatcher
