1912 report of man missing since October 1911 John Stevenson a lumber crusier "vanishes" after intendting to go from Chelais to Shelton Washington via the Quinault Reservation. {Aberdeen Herald July 22, 1912}
WA WA - John Stevenson, Chehalis/Shelton, October 1911
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glamourkitty1922
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I couldn't read the articles since my eyes are not that good, even at 175% magnification. I did notice that there were lots of cars being held up, I assume they mean robbed (carjackings?) I wonder if Mr Stevenson was murdered for his truck and lumber? I can't find anything on the internet.
John Stevenson, who went missing in October, 1911, was believed by his brother James Stevenson to have been traveling through the Quiniault Reservation mountain area from Puyallup to Shelton, WA, where he had intended to cruise lumber for the Page Lumber Company.
James believed that his brother John might have become a victim of an outlaw named John Tornow - also known as the "Olympic mountain wild man", who was at the time being pursued by several posses and believed to have taken refuge in the mountains around Shelton and the Puiniault Reservation. Tornow was believed to have killed 4 or 5 people, including twin brothers William and John Bauer (nephews of Tornow).
On 16 April 1913, a posse came upon John Tornow and a shoot out took place in which the outlaw as killed.
John Stevenson remains missing.
Photos (click on them to enlarge) taken after the Tornow shoot out on 16 April 1913:
This photo of Tornow propped on a bench was one of the original post cards concerning the shoot out.
Another photo of John Tornow holding his Winchester model 1895 Carbine in .30-30.
Posse members with the body of John Tornow.
LINKS:
Homeschoolers visit - johntornowoutlaw.simplesite.com
James believed that his brother John might have become a victim of an outlaw named John Tornow - also known as the "Olympic mountain wild man", who was at the time being pursued by several posses and believed to have taken refuge in the mountains around Shelton and the Puiniault Reservation. Tornow was believed to have killed 4 or 5 people, including twin brothers William and John Bauer (nephews of Tornow).
On 16 April 1913, a posse came upon John Tornow and a shoot out took place in which the outlaw as killed.
John Stevenson remains missing.
Photos (click on them to enlarge) taken after the Tornow shoot out on 16 April 1913:
This photo of Tornow propped on a bench was one of the original post cards concerning the shoot out.
Another photo of John Tornow holding his Winchester model 1895 Carbine in .30-30.
Posse members with the body of John Tornow.
LINKS:
Homeschoolers visit - johntornowoutlaw.simplesite.com
John Tornow – The Wild Man of the Wynoochee, Washington
Coming from a respected family that homesteaded near the Satsop River in Washington, John Tornow was born on September 4, 1880. From the time he was just a small child, he preferred the unexplored wilderness near his home as his playground. As he grew, he spent more time with wild animals than he did with people...
...Convinced he was insane, his brothers captured him and committed him to a sanitarium in 1909. However, the facility, located deep in the heart of Oregon’s wilderness, was not able to contain the large man, as some 12 months later, he escaped into the forest.
Nothing was seen or heard of John for the next year until he began to occasionally visit his sister, her husband, and their twin sons, John and Will Bauer. He refused to have anything to do with his brothers, never having forgiven them for committing him to the sanitarium.
Spied occasionally with tangled hair, a long beard, and ragged clothes, his legend began to grow as people described him as a giant gorilla-like man seen running through the forest. Loggers would tell that he appeared to be a large hairy “beast” that would seemingly appear out of nowhere before once again vanishing into the forest.
In September 1911, Tornow shot and killed a cow grazing in a clearing by his sister’s small two-room cabin on the Olympic Peninsula. While he was dressing out his kill, a bullet whizzed over his head and dropping his knife, he lifted his rifle and fired three times in the direction from where the bullet had originated. When he went into the brush, he found his two 19-year-old twin nephews lying dead on the ground...
...When the Bauer boys did not return from home, their family contacted Chehalis County...Deputy Sheriff John McKenzie. Soon, the deputy rounded up a group of more than 50 men to search for the brothers, who soon returned with the two dead bodies. Both had been shot in the head and stripped of their weapons.
McKenzie immediately announced that the shooting had to have been committed by John Tornow and a posse was rounded up to search for the wild man living in the forest. In no time, loggers and farmers making up the posse were roaming the Satsop area and the lower regions of the Wynoochee Valley, wary of the large man that they knew to have the intuition of an animal and the skills of an Indian.
The posse was skittish, terrified of the wild man, and when one group heard a sound in the brush, a shot rang out, killing a cow. Though the men were sure that Tornow was nearby each time they heard the slightest noise in the woods, they never spotted him.
The longer they searched and didn’t find the “ape-man” killer, the tales grew more and more exaggerated. Soon, the stories told of a cold-eyed giant constantly traversing the forest in search of prey, who soon earned such labels as “the Wild Man of the Wynoochee,” “the Cougar Man,” and “a Mad Daniel Boone.” With each telling, the story became larger and larger until the entire countryside was terrified. As the stories spread to the adjacent camps of Aberdeen, Montesano, Elma, and Hoquiam, no one felt safe...
...Sometime later, the wild man broke into Jackson’s Country Grocery Store intending to help himself to a few provisions. Often he was known to burglarize cabins and stores in order to get what he needed to survive. However, on this occasion, he found more than just flour, salt, and matches, but also a strongbox filled with some $15,000. The grocery also served as the town’s bank.
In no time, Chehalis county offered a $1,000 reward for the return of the stolen money and despite their fears of the “wild man,” the number of men hunting Tornow dramatically increased. The blasts of gunfire could be heard echoing in the forest and on February 20, 1912, a gunshot-happy hunter killed a 17-year-old boy, mistaking him for Tornow.
A few weeks later, a traveling prospector reported to Sheriff McKenzie that he had spotted Tornow at a camp in Oxbow. Together with Deputy Game Warden Albert V. Elmer, the pair headed out but found only a cold campfire at the point where Tornow had been spied. Sure that the money was buried somewhere close, the two began to look around. Though they were rewarded with two gold coins, they didn’t find the strongbox.
Sometime later both Sheriff McKenzie and Warden Elmer went missing and the reward was increased to $2,000. On March 16th, Deputy Sheriff A. L. Fitzgerald gathered up another posse to hunt for the “ape-man” in both Oxbow and Chehalis counties. Though they searched high and low for Tornow, what they found instead, were the bodies of Sheriff McKenzie and Albert Elmer. Both had been shot between the eyes and gutted with a knife.
Though the searches continued and Tornow was spied here and there, the mountain man continued to elude capture. A month later on April 16th, Deputy Giles Quimby, along with two other men by the names of Louis Blair and Charlie Lathrop, came upon a small shack made of bark. Sure that the crude cabin belonged to Tornow, Quimby wanted to head back for a posse, but the other two balked at having to share the bounty.
So, with guns ready, they approached the shack when a shot rang out, hitting Blair who fell into the nearby bushes. Lathrop returned fire but was immediately hit in the neck killing him instantly. Quimby, left alone with the marksman, desperately tried to negotiate with Tornow, telling him that all he wanted was the strongbox and promising to let the wanted man go free...
Finally, Tornow answered the deputy by stating, “It’s buried in Oxbow, by the boulder that look’s like a fish’s fin. Take it and leave me alone!”
Having retrieved the information from Tornow, Quimby didn’t keep his word, opening fire upon the foliage where John was hiding...
... Tornow was found dead leaning against a tree...
...Giles Quimby was proclaimed a hero for finally killing the feared “Wild Man of the Wynoochee,” so much so that he received offers to appear on stage to tell of his gruesome tale. Quimby politely turned down these offers....
Customary in the days of the early 20th century, photos were taken of the dead. This photograph of John Tornow’s corpse appeared on postcards the very day of his funeral.
LINK:
John Tornow – The Wild Man of the Wynoochee, Washington – Legends of America
Coming from a respected family that homesteaded near the Satsop River in Washington, John Tornow was born on September 4, 1880. From the time he was just a small child, he preferred the unexplored wilderness near his home as his playground. As he grew, he spent more time with wild animals than he did with people...
...Convinced he was insane, his brothers captured him and committed him to a sanitarium in 1909. However, the facility, located deep in the heart of Oregon’s wilderness, was not able to contain the large man, as some 12 months later, he escaped into the forest.
Nothing was seen or heard of John for the next year until he began to occasionally visit his sister, her husband, and their twin sons, John and Will Bauer. He refused to have anything to do with his brothers, never having forgiven them for committing him to the sanitarium.
Spied occasionally with tangled hair, a long beard, and ragged clothes, his legend began to grow as people described him as a giant gorilla-like man seen running through the forest. Loggers would tell that he appeared to be a large hairy “beast” that would seemingly appear out of nowhere before once again vanishing into the forest.
In September 1911, Tornow shot and killed a cow grazing in a clearing by his sister’s small two-room cabin on the Olympic Peninsula. While he was dressing out his kill, a bullet whizzed over his head and dropping his knife, he lifted his rifle and fired three times in the direction from where the bullet had originated. When he went into the brush, he found his two 19-year-old twin nephews lying dead on the ground...
...When the Bauer boys did not return from home, their family contacted Chehalis County...Deputy Sheriff John McKenzie. Soon, the deputy rounded up a group of more than 50 men to search for the brothers, who soon returned with the two dead bodies. Both had been shot in the head and stripped of their weapons.
McKenzie immediately announced that the shooting had to have been committed by John Tornow and a posse was rounded up to search for the wild man living in the forest. In no time, loggers and farmers making up the posse were roaming the Satsop area and the lower regions of the Wynoochee Valley, wary of the large man that they knew to have the intuition of an animal and the skills of an Indian.
The posse was skittish, terrified of the wild man, and when one group heard a sound in the brush, a shot rang out, killing a cow. Though the men were sure that Tornow was nearby each time they heard the slightest noise in the woods, they never spotted him.
The longer they searched and didn’t find the “ape-man” killer, the tales grew more and more exaggerated. Soon, the stories told of a cold-eyed giant constantly traversing the forest in search of prey, who soon earned such labels as “the Wild Man of the Wynoochee,” “the Cougar Man,” and “a Mad Daniel Boone.” With each telling, the story became larger and larger until the entire countryside was terrified. As the stories spread to the adjacent camps of Aberdeen, Montesano, Elma, and Hoquiam, no one felt safe...
...Sometime later, the wild man broke into Jackson’s Country Grocery Store intending to help himself to a few provisions. Often he was known to burglarize cabins and stores in order to get what he needed to survive. However, on this occasion, he found more than just flour, salt, and matches, but also a strongbox filled with some $15,000. The grocery also served as the town’s bank.
In no time, Chehalis county offered a $1,000 reward for the return of the stolen money and despite their fears of the “wild man,” the number of men hunting Tornow dramatically increased. The blasts of gunfire could be heard echoing in the forest and on February 20, 1912, a gunshot-happy hunter killed a 17-year-old boy, mistaking him for Tornow.
A few weeks later, a traveling prospector reported to Sheriff McKenzie that he had spotted Tornow at a camp in Oxbow. Together with Deputy Game Warden Albert V. Elmer, the pair headed out but found only a cold campfire at the point where Tornow had been spied. Sure that the money was buried somewhere close, the two began to look around. Though they were rewarded with two gold coins, they didn’t find the strongbox.
Sometime later both Sheriff McKenzie and Warden Elmer went missing and the reward was increased to $2,000. On March 16th, Deputy Sheriff A. L. Fitzgerald gathered up another posse to hunt for the “ape-man” in both Oxbow and Chehalis counties. Though they searched high and low for Tornow, what they found instead, were the bodies of Sheriff McKenzie and Albert Elmer. Both had been shot between the eyes and gutted with a knife.
Though the searches continued and Tornow was spied here and there, the mountain man continued to elude capture. A month later on April 16th, Deputy Giles Quimby, along with two other men by the names of Louis Blair and Charlie Lathrop, came upon a small shack made of bark. Sure that the crude cabin belonged to Tornow, Quimby wanted to head back for a posse, but the other two balked at having to share the bounty.
So, with guns ready, they approached the shack when a shot rang out, hitting Blair who fell into the nearby bushes. Lathrop returned fire but was immediately hit in the neck killing him instantly. Quimby, left alone with the marksman, desperately tried to negotiate with Tornow, telling him that all he wanted was the strongbox and promising to let the wanted man go free...
Finally, Tornow answered the deputy by stating, “It’s buried in Oxbow, by the boulder that look’s like a fish’s fin. Take it and leave me alone!”
Having retrieved the information from Tornow, Quimby didn’t keep his word, opening fire upon the foliage where John was hiding...
... Tornow was found dead leaning against a tree...
...Giles Quimby was proclaimed a hero for finally killing the feared “Wild Man of the Wynoochee,” so much so that he received offers to appear on stage to tell of his gruesome tale. Quimby politely turned down these offers....
Customary in the days of the early 20th century, photos were taken of the dead. This photograph of John Tornow’s corpse appeared on postcards the very day of his funeral.
LINK:
John Tornow – The Wild Man of the Wynoochee, Washington – Legends of America
Attachments
William and John Bauer, twin brothers shot to death by John Tornow. Was it murder or self defense?
Deputy Giles Quimby was a member of the posse which hunted down John Tornow. Quimby shot and killed Tornow.
LINK:
John Tornow – The Wild Man of the Wynoochee, Washington – Legends of America