The following truthful description of the Man-Turtle is from Geo. M. Payne, of Wabash, Ind.: In the almshouse of Cass County, Michigan, is a most wonderful freak of nature. This human monstrosity has been the inmate of the poor-house for more than a quarter of a century. His parents were fisherfolk. One day, while in a boat fishing, the mother allowed her fingers to touch the water; a hugh turtle, attracted by the movements of the fingers, leaped through the water and bit them. The mother never fully recovered from her terror, and a few months afterward her child was born with the form of a turtle.

At first its resemblance to a turtle was not apparent, but became more and more visible as age increased. The first turtle-like action noticeable was its continual creeping long after it could walk. Upon examination it was found that the joints of the limbs were double, and turned outward like those of a turtle. As the horrible truth dawned upon the mother the child became loathsome to her, and the intense grief over her unfortunate child probably hastened her death, which occurred in a short time. The husband soon followed his wife, and the child was sent to the poor-house.

A gentleman who visited the poor-house states the following: "Passing through the lower story of the building I was ushered into a room in which the first object that met my gaze was Samuel Keene, the celebrated human Man-Turtle. Keene, at the command of the overseer, managed, with a side movement of the body, to take off his hat by means of his queerly-shaped claws, and to make a bow. We spoke to him, but the poor being had not enough of intelligence to give a sensible answer.

"As this human monstrosity stood before us bareheaded, ho presented the most wonderful specimen of an amalgamation between the highest and one of the lowest classes of animals that can be imagined. In stature he is a dwarf, being about four feet in height, thick-set, with short limbs, hands turning outward the same as a turtle's, and instead of fingers the widened palms ending in webbed claws. The feet are fashioned in the same manner, and he walks with a sidelong, ambling gait peculiar to a tortoise. The inside of his claw was of a yellowish color, as, also, were his feet and stomach. The skin on the other portions had the same color and the same ribbed appearance as the under portion of a turtle. His back consists of tough layers of cuticle, which are becoming harder as he grows older. The most startling feature, however, is the head, which seems to be a continuation of the neck; it is pointed something like a snake's, and the face is flat. The back portion of the cranium is perpendicular to the neck and covered with short, bristly black hair. The rest of the body is hairless with the exception of a few long, black bristles around the mouth. The nose is like that of a full-blooded negro. The mouth extends from jowl to jowl and contains a full set of white teeth. The eyes are black and extremely large and rolling, having small pupils, looking directly ahead with a wild, staring, yet fascinating glare, very sharp and peircing, and fairly glisten beneath the broad eyebrows."

In his actions and talk he has a slow, measured, jerking style; he is almost constantly moving his head, and his eyes are ever restless and snappish. He has a docile disposition, but is sullen, morose, and irascible when angered. He is not very sociable, scarcely ever speaks unless addressed, and when young never mingled with children nor engaged in juvenile sports.

His greatest delight is summer bathing, and he will remain under water for a very long time; he takes great pleasure with small children, also, and is especially fond of babies. He will eat anything set before him, but prefers vegetables, fish, and bread. During early childhood he was a constant care to his parents, as he was unable to feed himself, his claws, or fins, being too small to hold either spoon or knife.

He seemed to have no passions or affections, and cares no more for the female sex than for his own; he possesses but little emotion if any, and obeys a summons to a funeral of a fellow inmate as cheerfully as if it were a call to dinner.

He is now (1880) thirty years old, without a single idea of the world outside of the house and farm on which he has lived for the last twenty-seven years. It has been impossible to teach him anything but the few words which he hourly utters; he has no remembrance of dates or of incidents; he is ignorant of his age and everything connected with the past. All is blank; he exists only in the present, without a sorrow for the past or a thought of the future.