Wildman Joe

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Evansville, Indiana A city on

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the river built on grit and

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change.

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But not every story from its

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past is found in the history

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books.

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Some linger in the shadows.

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Tales of survival against
impossible odds.

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Like the story of a man known as
wild man Joe.

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His life started in chains.

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Born into slavery on a North
Carolina plantation, he knew the

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harsh reality of being owned.

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Of a future dictated by others.

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The Civil War ended.

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That freedom came and Joe found

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a new life on the water, working

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the steamboats on the

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Mississippi and Ohio rivers from

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New Orleans all the way up to

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Evansville.

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The place he chose to call home
after the war.

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A taste of independence, of
making his own way.

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Then disaster.

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A steamboat boiler exploded.

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A blinding flash, scalding steam
chaos.

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Joe survived the blast, but he
was terribly burned, his entire

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body forever scarred.

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But Joe’s story wasn’t finished.

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Disfigured and struggling, he

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made his way back to Evansville,

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becoming a rag man, sifting

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through the discards of the

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city.

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A solitary figure carrying the
visible weight of his past.

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A figure living on the fringes.

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You might think historians
there.

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A life beaten down by
unimaginable hardship.

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But Joe carried something inside
him deeper than any scar, a

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refusal to be broken, and that
same spirit that survived

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slavery and fire would propel
him towards a chance encounter

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that led to a future no one
could have imagined.

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You’re listening to River City
Mystery, and this is the story

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of Wild man Joe.

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I see two horribly hideous
looking, little dog like

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creatures in this house.

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It was a disembodied voice.

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It was like a little child
trying to scare us.

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I don’t know what this was.

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I I’ve I’ve heard everything you
can think of.

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This was nothing I’m ever
accustomed to.

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Ever.

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It was terrifying because it was
like our.

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There were so many people.

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To where it was like, are we all
seeing this?

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So everybody is scared.

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The kids are crying.

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The women don’t.

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You know June’s about to lose
it.

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And what are they to do?

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These things will not die.

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Welcome to another episode of
River City Mystery.

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I am your host, Matt Deig.

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In this episode, we’re going to
look at how two incredibly

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different lives shaped by vastly
different worlds collided right

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here in Evansville.

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It’s a story about strange
twists of fate and the power of

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just keeping on.

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Our tale doesn’t begin in
Evansville, not initially.

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We start with Jeremiah Kohler.

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Dot Kohler, as he was widely

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known in the circus world, was a

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character as colorful and

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unconventional as the sideshows

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he ran before he became a

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traveling showman, Koehler had a

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different life, one rooted in

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the bustling, sometimes rough

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and tumble streets of Saint

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Louis, Missouri.

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There he was, a wealthy saloon
keeper running a flourishing

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establishment, and it seems
Koehler’s life in Saint Louis

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wasn’t without its problems.

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He became entangled in serious

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legal troubles, specifically a

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robbery case involving a mail

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carrier.

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While the evidence didn’t

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suggest Kohler physically

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participated in the robbery

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itself, he was implicated and

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eventually convicted of

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complicity.

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The prosecution argued that the

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proceeds from the robbery were

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divided at his saloon, and that

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Koehler was aware of what had

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transpired.

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This conviction led to a

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sentence of five years in the

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state pen.

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Beyond the world of saloons and
courtrooms, Jerry Kohler had a

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passion for the peculiar.

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A knack for finding and
presenting the extraordinary to

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a curious public.

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This led him into the realm of
sideshows, and, most famously in

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his early career, to his
celebrated flea circus.

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Yes, a flea circus.

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Kohler staged his flea exhibit
under strong magnifying glasses,

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allowing audiences to marvel at
the incredible feats performed

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by his tiny troupe of fleas.

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These weren’t just random insect
movements either.

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Collars.

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Fleas were trained.

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They pulled miniature chariots
made of gold and platinum,

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crafted by a jeweler.

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Rode in them, performed on tiny
aerial rings, and even went

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through wedding ceremonies.

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Kohler.

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The barker, would regale

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audiences with entertaining

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tales of how he acquired and

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trained these intelligent

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insects.

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Claiming he had imported fifty

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fleas from Berlin because only

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German fleas had the necessary

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intelligence, he described the

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tedious process of training,

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keeping them swaddled and

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handling them with tweezers,

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allowing them to feed for just

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five minutes at a time on his

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own arm.

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Kohler act was so convincing he
even got hauled into court once

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by a rival who accused him of
stealing a star performer, a

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royal blooded flea named Prince
Henry, supposedly the only one

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of its kind to juggle.

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This led to a truly unusual
court appearance, where Kohler

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had to defend himself by
bringing his entire flea circus

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before the judge.

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He had to prove to the judge
that Prince Henry wasn’t the

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only flea that could juggle.

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In a scene straight out of a

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sideshow tent, the court peered

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through magnifying glasses as

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collars.

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Fleas impressively demonstrated

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their juggling skills, proving

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his innocence and securing his

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release.

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However, just when it seemed

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that Doc had won the strangest

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legal battle in the world,

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tragedy struck his tiny

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performers.

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A sudden pestilence swept
through his collection

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overnight, tragically killing
every one of the trained fleas,

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bringing the curtain down
permanently on Doc Coachella’s

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renowned flea circus.

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The show was over, but Doc

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Kohler, he was just getting

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started.

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Oh, and if you’re wondering if

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he actually did steal Prince

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Henry, he later admitted that he

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did.

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Now let’s turn to the other life
in our story, one that began in

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a place and circumstance starkly
different from Saint Louis

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saloons and flea circuses.

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This is the life of Jo Rettig.

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Jo was born into slavery on a
plantation in North Carolina.

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His early years were defined by

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a life of forced labor

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deprivation and the constant

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threat of violence and family

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separation.

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It was an existence designed to
strip away identity and hope.

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Yet Joe endured.

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The end of the Civil War brought

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a seismic shift, offering the

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promise of freedom and

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self-determination.

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Like hundreds of thousands of

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formerly enslaved people, Joe

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left the South seeking

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opportunity and safety in the

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North.

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His journey brought him to
Evansville, a growing city in

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the Ohio River.

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Here he found work on the
steamboats that were the

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lifeblood of commerce and travel
in the region.

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This was a step towards
independence, a chance to earn a

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wage and build a new life.

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But the rivers, while offering

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opportunity, were also fraught

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with danger.

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Steamboat travel in the
nineteenth century was perilous

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and boiler explosions were
terrifyingly common occurrences.

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Joe was aboard one such
steamboat when disaster struck.

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The boiler exploded in a
violent, scalding blast.

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Joe survived, but the explosion
left him horribly and

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permanently scarred His face and
body were severely burned,

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leaving disfiguring marks.

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The black skin on parts of his

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body was burned away, healing

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into a reddish white scaled

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surface.

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Bearing these severe and very

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visible scars, Jo returned to

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the familiar streets of

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Evansville.

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In the years that followed, he
made his living as a rag man.

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This meant sifting through the

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city’s garbage, collecting

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discarded items like paper,

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rags, scrap metal, anything that

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could be sold for a few pennies

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to survive.

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It was a life on the margins, a
difficult, often solitary

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existence marked by poverty and
the stairs that his

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disfigurement likely attracted
in a society that often shunned

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those who looked different.

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His life seemed defined by

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survival, hardship and living in

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the shadows.

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And this is where the universe

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Speaker:
and its mysterious and often

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Speaker:
unbelievable way brought these

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Speaker:
two incredibly different lives

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Speaker:
together.

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Speaker:
Jerry old Doc Kohler, the
showman with a past of Saint

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Speaker:
Louis saloons, legal battles,
and a deceased flea circus found

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Speaker:
himself in Evansville and he
spotted none other than Joe

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Speaker:
Rettig, the rag man, the
survivor of slavery in a

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Speaker:
horrific steamboat explosion
whose body bore the undeniable

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Speaker:
dramatic evidence of his past.

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Speaker:
Kohler saw Joe not just as a

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Speaker:
man, though, but as a potential

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Speaker:
attraction.

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Speaker:
He saw the scars, the unusual

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Speaker:
appearance left by the Burns,

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Speaker:
and immediately conceived of his

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00:08:31.829 –> 00:08:33.870
Speaker:
next exhibit, A Wild Man

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Speaker:
captured from the west coast of

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Speaker:
the Philippines.

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Speaker:
It was a classic sideshow trope,

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Speaker:
playing on the audience

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00:08:39.230 –> 00:08:41.029
Speaker:
fascination with the exotic and

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00:08:41.029 –> 00:08:42.950
Speaker:
the savage.

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Speaker:
Kohler approached Joe with an
offer.

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Speaker:
And just imagine that
conversation you’ve got like

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00:08:47.509 –> 00:08:51.909
Speaker:
this season showman, smooth
talking, presenting a life

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00:08:51.909 –> 00:08:55.629
Speaker:
dramatically different from
sifting through trash and offer

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00:08:55.629 –> 00:08:59.669
Speaker:
to leave behind the alleys and
step onto a stage and offer to

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Speaker:
turn the very disfigurement that
marked him as an outcast into

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00:09:03.350 –> 00:09:05.629
Speaker:
the source of his livelihood.

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00:09:05.629 –> 00:09:08.509
Speaker:
Joe Rettig accepted.

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00:09:08.509 –> 00:09:13.980
Speaker:
And so Joe Reddig the Ragman was
transformed into Wild Man Joe.

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00:09:13.980 –> 00:09:15.379
Speaker:
The act was a complete

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00:09:15.379 –> 00:09:17.460
Speaker:
fabrication, a performance

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00:09:17.460 –> 00:09:18.580
Speaker:
designed purely for

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00:09:18.580 –> 00:09:20.139
Speaker:
sensationalism.

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00:09:20.139 –> 00:09:23.500
Speaker:
But Joe’s physical appearance, a
result of actual trauma, gave it

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00:09:23.500 –> 00:09:25.379
Speaker:
a disturbing authenticity.

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00:09:25.379 –> 00:09:28.700
Speaker:
For the role, Joe’s head was
often shaved, leaving only a

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00:09:28.700 –> 00:09:31.860
Speaker:
small tuft of hair standing
upright over his forehead.

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00:09:31.860 –> 00:09:33.779
Speaker:
He wore large rings in his ears

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00:09:33.779 –> 00:09:35.080
Speaker:
and nose and a minimal,

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00:09:35.080 –> 00:09:36.620
Speaker:
sometimes described as scant or

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00:09:36.620 –> 00:09:38.299
Speaker:
grassy costume.

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00:09:38.299 –> 00:09:40.879
Speaker:
His skin was sometimes smeared
with many colors of paint to

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00:09:40.879 –> 00:09:43.860
Speaker:
enhance the savage look.

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00:09:43.860 –> 00:09:46.600
Speaker:
Ole Dot, Kohler and the other
barkers would deliver elaborate,

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00:09:46.600 –> 00:09:50.419
Speaker:
often outlandish spiels to the
waiting crowds outside the tent.

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00:09:50.419 –> 00:09:53.620
Speaker:
They claimed Wildman Joe was a
ferocious savage, captured by

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00:09:53.620 –> 00:09:56.860
Speaker:
explorers in remote jungles from
the west coast of the

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00:09:56.860 –> 00:10:00.379
Speaker:
Philippines to the wilds of
Borneo or Madagascar.

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00:10:00.379 –> 00:10:01.799
Speaker:
They’d spend tales of him being

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00:10:01.799 –> 00:10:03.340
Speaker:
acquired at a very high price

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00:10:03.340 –> 00:10:04.379
Speaker:
from the Smithsonian

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00:10:04.379 –> 00:10:06.019
Speaker:
Institution, claiming he

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00:10:06.019 –> 00:10:07.419
Speaker:
thirsted for human blood and

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00:10:07.419 –> 00:10:09.460
Speaker:
lived on raw meat inside the

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00:10:09.460 –> 00:10:10.059
Speaker:
tent.

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00:10:10.059 –> 00:10:13.990
Speaker:
Joe would be presented in a pit
or behind bars, often chained

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00:10:13.990 –> 00:10:17.330
Speaker:
hand and foot, for the
audience’s perceived safety.

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00:10:17.330 –> 00:10:18.610
Speaker:
Joe’s performance involved

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00:10:18.610 –> 00:10:19.809
Speaker:
acting the part of the savage

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00:10:19.809 –> 00:10:20.730
Speaker:
captive.

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00:10:20.730 –> 00:10:22.870
Speaker:
He would snarl, growl and roar

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00:10:22.870 –> 00:10:24.409
Speaker:
sounds that Koehler noted sent a

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00:10:24.409 –> 00:10:25.450
Speaker:
shiver through many in the

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00:10:25.450 –> 00:10:26.370
Speaker:
audience.

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00:10:26.370 –> 00:10:27.610
Speaker:
He would eat raw meat, poke

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00:10:27.610 –> 00:10:28.529
Speaker:
through the bars with a

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00:10:28.529 –> 00:10:29.529
Speaker:
pitchfork.

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00:10:29.529 –> 00:10:30.889
Speaker:
Kohler candidly admitted that

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00:10:30.889 –> 00:10:32.529
Speaker:
they often gave Joe bad whiskey

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00:10:32.529 –> 00:10:34.009
Speaker:
because it made him actually

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00:10:34.009 –> 00:10:35.009
Speaker:
wild.

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00:10:35.009 –> 00:10:36.409
Speaker:
When the whiskey made him sleepy

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00:10:36.409 –> 00:10:37.529
Speaker:
and less performative, they

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00:10:37.529 –> 00:10:38.649
Speaker:
would sometimes prod him with

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00:10:38.649 –> 00:10:40.409
Speaker:
pitchforks to get him to act up,

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00:10:40.409 –> 00:10:41.450
Speaker:
Koehler recounted with

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00:10:41.450 –> 00:10:41.929
Speaker:
amusement.

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00:10:41.929 –> 00:10:43.490
Speaker:
How audiences would cringe and

308
00:10:43.490 –> 00:10:46.110
Speaker:
turn pale, honestly fearing Joe

309
00:10:46.110 –> 00:10:47.450
Speaker:
might break his chains and

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00:10:47.450 –> 00:10:48.690
Speaker:
attack them.

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00:10:48.690 –> 00:10:52.210
Speaker:
It was a performance built on
exploitation, fear and a

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00:10:52.210 –> 00:10:55.809
Speaker:
completely fabricated narrative,
using Joe’s real scars as the

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00:10:55.809 –> 00:10:58.409
Speaker:
primary authenticating element.

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00:10:58.409 –> 00:10:59.409
Speaker:
But despite the ethically

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00:10:59.409 –> 00:11:00.889
Speaker:
questionable nature of the act,

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00:11:00.889 –> 00:11:02.049
Speaker:
joining the circus changed the

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00:11:02.049 –> 00:11:03.289
Speaker:
trajectory of Joe’s life

318
00:11:03.289 –> 00:11:04.529
Speaker:
dramatically.

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00:11:04.529 –> 00:11:06.409
Speaker:
He didn’t just perform for Doc
Koehler.

320
00:11:06.409 –> 00:11:10.210
Speaker:
Briefly, Joe Redick became a
professional sideshow performer

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00:11:10.210 –> 00:11:11.559
Speaker:
known as Wildman Joe.

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00:11:11.559 –> 00:11:15.159
Speaker:
For many years he traveled with
various circuses, leaving behind

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00:11:15.159 –> 00:11:16.240
Speaker:
the life of a rag man.

324
00:11:16.240 –> 00:11:18.120
Speaker:
When the show called, he joined

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00:11:18.120 –> 00:11:19.879
Speaker:
circuses season after season,

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00:11:19.879 –> 00:11:21.480
Speaker:
earning a salary that, while

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00:11:21.480 –> 00:11:23.320
Speaker:
perhaps not large, one report

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00:11:23.320 –> 00:11:24.559
Speaker:
mentions twenty five dollars a

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00:11:24.559 –> 00:11:25.519
Speaker:
week at the time, which was

330
00:11:25.519 –> 00:11:26.799
Speaker:
about eight hundred dollars in

331
00:11:26.799 –> 00:11:27.360
Speaker:
today’s dollars.

332
00:11:27.360 –> 00:11:28.440
Speaker:
Not bad.

333
00:11:28.440 –> 00:11:29.720
Speaker:
It was a consistent income

334
00:11:29.720 –> 00:11:31.200
Speaker:
compared to the uncertainty of

335
00:11:31.200 –> 00:11:33.240
Speaker:
collecting scraps.

336
00:11:33.240 –> 00:11:35.080
Speaker:
Joe’s career took him far.

337
00:11:35.080 –> 00:11:37.600
Speaker:
He performed for prominent
circus owners.

338
00:11:37.600 –> 00:11:39.360
Speaker:
His travels as Wild man Joe even

339
00:11:39.360 –> 00:11:40.559
Speaker:
took him across international

340
00:11:40.559 –> 00:11:41.559
Speaker:
borders.

341
00:11:41.559 –> 00:11:42.960
Speaker:
He performed for a circus in

342
00:11:42.960 –> 00:11:44.799
Speaker:
Canada, standing before massive

343
00:11:44.799 –> 00:11:45.399
Speaker:
audiences.

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00:11:45.399 –> 00:11:47.200
Speaker:
Imagine that a man born into the

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00:11:47.200 –> 00:11:48.840
Speaker:
utter powerlessness of slavery

346
00:11:48.840 –> 00:11:50.399
Speaker:
in the American South, surviving

347
00:11:50.399 –> 00:11:51.799
Speaker:
a horrific accident that left

348
00:11:51.799 –> 00:11:54.000
Speaker:
him disfigured, scraping by as a

349
00:11:54.000 –> 00:11:55.720
Speaker:
rag man, eventually finding

350
00:11:55.720 –> 00:11:57.379
Speaker:
himself on a stage before thirty

351
00:11:57.379 –> 00:11:58.480
Speaker:
thousand people in another

352
00:11:58.480 –> 00:12:00.039
Speaker:
country.

353
00:12:00.039 –> 00:12:04.159
Speaker:
The story of Joe Rettig wild man
Joe is undoubtedly difficult.

354
00:12:04.159 –> 00:12:07.200
Speaker:
It forces us to confront the
harsh realities of post-Civil

355
00:12:07.200 –> 00:12:09.279
Speaker:
war life for African Americans.

356
00:12:09.279 –> 00:12:10.519
Speaker:
Yet beneath the layers of

357
00:12:10.519 –> 00:12:12.080
Speaker:
hardship and problematic nature

358
00:12:12.080 –> 00:12:14.070
Speaker:
of his act lies a story of

359
00:12:14.070 –> 00:12:16.110
Speaker:
astounding resilience.

360
00:12:16.110 –> 00:12:19.429
Speaker:
Consider the path Jo walked from
the chains of slavery, where his

361
00:12:19.429 –> 00:12:23.309
Speaker:
very identity was denied through
the sudden trauma of a steamboat

362
00:12:23.309 –> 00:12:26.830
Speaker:
explosion that left him scarred
for life, to the difficult,

363
00:12:26.830 –> 00:12:30.870
Speaker:
anonymous existence as a ragman
scraping by to survive.

364
00:12:30.870 –> 00:12:33.870
Speaker:
Any one of these challenges
could break a normal person.

365
00:12:33.870 –> 00:12:36.110
Speaker:
But Jo, he endured.

366
00:12:36.110 –> 00:12:40.149
Speaker:
And when a bizarre, unexpected
opportunity arose, born from a

367
00:12:40.149 –> 00:12:43.309
Speaker:
chance encounter with a showman
whose own life was a series of

368
00:12:43.309 –> 00:12:46.710
Speaker:
unpredictable turns, Jo took it.

369
00:12:46.710 –> 00:12:50.750
Speaker:
He leveraged his very scars into
a means of survival.

370
00:12:50.750 –> 00:12:52.269
Speaker:
He stepped out of the shadows

371
00:12:52.269 –> 00:12:53.789
Speaker:
and onto the stage, performing

372
00:12:53.789 –> 00:12:55.269
Speaker:
for thousands.

373
00:12:55.269 –> 00:12:56.950
Speaker:
His journey is a powerful

374
00:12:56.950 –> 00:12:58.190
Speaker:
illustration of how the human

375
00:12:58.190 –> 00:12:59.169
Speaker:
spirit can find a way to

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00:12:59.169 –> 00:13:01.490
Speaker:
persist, to adapt, and even find

377
00:13:01.490 –> 00:13:03.009
Speaker:
success in the face of

378
00:13:03.009 –> 00:13:05.350
Speaker:
unimaginable adversity.

379
00:13:05.350 –> 00:13:06.509
Speaker:
From the confines of a

380
00:13:06.509 –> 00:13:08.230
Speaker:
plantation to the spectacle of

381
00:13:08.230 –> 00:13:09.509
Speaker:
the sideshow.

382
00:13:09.509 –> 00:13:13.299
Speaker:
Jo Reddick’s life is a testament
to an unbreakable will.

383
00:13:13.299 –> 00:13:16.940
Speaker:
a man who, against all odds,
never gave up.

384
00:13:18.700 –> 00:13:20.179
Speaker:
And as far as what became of Joe

385
00:13:20.179 –> 00:13:21.980
Speaker:
Rettig, wild man Joe, there are

386
00:13:21.980 –> 00:13:23.460
Speaker:
no records that I could find

387
00:13:23.460 –> 00:13:23.860
Speaker:
that show.

388
00:13:23.860 –> 00:13:24.940
Speaker:
What became of him?

389
00:13:24.940 –> 00:13:26.419
Speaker:
If you have any information,

390
00:13:26.419 –> 00:13:28.179
Speaker:
feel free to share on my discord

391
00:13:28.179 –> 00:13:31.299
Speaker:
at riverCityMystery.com/discord, or you can

392
00:13:31.299 –> 00:13:32.980
Speaker:
just contact me at rivercitymystery dot

393
00:13:32.980 –> 00:13:34.259
Speaker:
com.

394
00:13:34.259 –> 00:13:36.539
Speaker:
I’d love to hear what
information you have.

395
00:13:36.539 –> 00:13:38.019
Speaker:
An old dot Kohler.

396
00:13:38.019 –> 00:13:40.940
Speaker:
He passed away in February of
nineteen nineteen.

397
00:13:40.940 –> 00:13:43.659
Speaker:
An article written at the time
says that he was buried at the

398
00:13:43.659 –> 00:13:45.539
Speaker:
Oak Hill Cemetery in Evansville.

399
00:13:45.539 –> 00:13:46.740
Speaker:
The article states that he left

400
00:13:46.740 –> 00:13:48.259
Speaker:
no relatives but a host of

401
00:13:48.259 –> 00:13:49.299
Speaker:
friends made by cheerful

402
00:13:49.299 –> 00:13:50.620
Speaker:
disposition.

403
00:13:50.620 –> 00:13:52.019
Speaker:
Kohler could laugh the hardest

404
00:13:52.019 –> 00:13:53.379
Speaker:
when his pockets were empty and

405
00:13:53.379 –> 00:13:55.139
Speaker:
a feed seemed the remotest

406
00:13:55.139 –> 00:13:56.340
Speaker:
possibility.

407
00:13:56.340 –> 00:13:57.820
Speaker:
The article says that the old

408
00:13:57.820 –> 00:13:59.340
Speaker:
circus man was fifty six years

409
00:13:59.340 –> 00:14:00.899
Speaker:
old, and prior to his circus

410
00:14:00.899 –> 00:14:02.259
Speaker:
days, ran one of the biggest and

411
00:14:02.259 –> 00:14:03.539
Speaker:
most flourishing saloons in

412
00:14:03.539 –> 00:14:04.460
Speaker:
Saint Louis.

413
00:14:04.460 –> 00:14:05.940
Speaker:
At one time he was wealthy.

414
00:14:05.940 –> 00:14:08.019
Speaker:
He died penniless.

415
00:14:08.019 –> 00:14:10.139
Speaker:
And that brings this episode to
a close.

416
00:14:10.139 –> 00:14:13.100
Speaker:
I hope you enjoyed listening to
the story of Wild Man Joe.

417
00:14:13.100 –> 00:14:14.379
Speaker:
Until next time.

418
00:14:14.379 –> 00:14:15.220
Speaker:
Take care.