Though he talked huge, he was a brief man about six ft tall and 4 inches tall. Some say it was his hat and several other layers of clothes that made him seem taller. Allegedly, a lacking chunk on his left ear was attributable to both a falling tree or a puma. He usually stated that he had discovered a puma whose entrance leg had been torn off by a bear. So he fitted the puma with a picket prosthesis and introduced it again to the forest. There, in accordance with Peterson, the puma beat the offensive bear to demise with its woody stump. Peterson had a knack for Davy Crocket-style exaggeration.
When authorities arrested Peterson for making moonshine, D. Elwood Caples, a Vancouver lawyer and chairman of the Democratic Committee, dropped the fees, saying Peterson solely shared his liquid flash with mates. Peterson overcame his dislike of the Democrats and cast an enduring friendship with Caples. He additionally discovered a penchant for store-bought whiskey over moonshine.
Shortly earlier than his demise, Peterson left a word asking a neighbor to purchase provides: “The river is operating low (provides) and my panther milk (whiskey) is drying up, so I am going to ship one other verify for one more Supply.”
Ultimately, the hearth caught Peterson. In 1953 a passing college bus driver noticed his cabin on hearth. She referred to as out Peterson, however he ran again inside. He got here out with extreme burns. Taken to Memorial Hospital in Vancouver, he by no means recovered, however stayed for a couple of days. As soon as whereas he was awake he grinned and stated, “I’d have come right here sooner if I had identified there have been such beautiful nurses.”
Martin Middlewood is the editor of the Clark County Historic Society’s annual journal. Attain out to him at ClarkCoHist@gmail.com.
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