Filed under: Folk, Wilderness Heroes | Tags: Ches McCartney, Foxfire, The Goat Man
“Charles “Ches” McCartney, the legendary “Goat Man”, was a wanderer, who spent decades traveling across the country while guiding a massive iron-wheeled wagon loaded with pots and pans, pails, bails of hay, car tags lead by a team of goats.” via The Goat Man
He has said to have traveled over 100,000 miles and to every state in the continental US. He carried with him a copy of Robinson Crusoe which served as inspiration for dressing him and his son in goat skins along with a Bible from which he preached. He traveled the country living off the land and got by through the contributions and kindness of strangers, and of course his goats.
A few weeks ago Cold Splinters mentioned Foxfire, the publication dedicated to preserving the rural culture of southern Appalachia, if you are interested in more on the Goat Man they are the publisher a book about him.
For more excellent images of Ches visit this site.
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thanks for the pictures. i read in ‘the cracker queen’ about the goat man. i did an internet search to see if it was real. she wrote about men in her town killing some of the goats. interesting part of history.
Comment by lee August 18, 2010 @ 7:52 amWhat a lot of boots must have been worn out at least with all that road walking the goats hooves shouldn’t need trimming
Comment by Rita Margaret King November 5, 2012 @ 10:43 am