September 25, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, JD Phillips tells the story of Ches McCartney, the man who traversed the United States in a ramshackle wagon drawn by a herd of Goats. His mission was to travel the country, spread the word of God, and have a few adventures (and misadventures) along the way.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, we
have the story of Chess McCartney, otherwise known as the
goat Man. You'll find out why shortly you were to
tell the story is JD. Phillips who runs the great
YouTube channel, The Appalachian Storyteller Take it away. JD.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Charles Chess McCartney was born on July sixth, nineteen oh
one in Sigourney, Iowa. Chess was your typical farm boy.
The sparestley populated town he grew up in meant that
there were more animals than people, and Chess spent his
days tending to him on the family farm. His favorite
(00:51):
animals were the large herd of goats that his father raised. However,
in nineteen fifteen, a traveling circus came to town, complete
with animals, freak shows, trick friders, and an assortment of curiosities.
And during one part of the show, a beautiful Spanish
knife thrower asked for a volunteer from the audience to
(01:14):
put a balloon on the top of their head so
she could throw razor sharp daggers at it. Taken by
her sheer, beauty, Chess immediately threw his hand in the
air and within a few moments he was tied to
the board with a balloon on his head. She flung
two knives at lightning speed through the air as the
(01:37):
crowd held their collective breath. Chess's eyes widened as he
caught a glimpse of the knives tumbling towards his head
before hearing a large pop and the eruption of the
cheers from the audience. That's how it happened. At age
fourteen years old, Chess left its family farm and ran
(01:57):
away with the circus, becoming a tar for the Spanish
beauty and also becoming her lover. The two were married.
Each night the couple would visit some tavern or bar,
where Chess would take down the dark board and his
wife would throw twenty five razor sharp knives at his head.
(02:18):
After four years of tour in America, the Spanish vixen
retired so that she could raise a family. Yet Chess
was just eighteen years old. No, he wasn't ready to
settle down, so one night, as his beautiful wife slept,
he grabbed his clothes and left her forever. Chess McCartney
(02:38):
returned home to Iowa, where he worked in logging camps
through the roar in twenties and the nineteen thirties. He
eventually remarried twice more and even had a son. But
it was during the Great Depression that a tragic accident
took place. Chess was cut in timber deep in the
forest for the Works Progress administration when he cut a
(03:00):
tree that fell in an unexpected way, landing on top
of him. When the search party finally arrived, they presumed
he was dead and took him to the local funeral home.
And as he was lying there on that cold metal table,
the mortician stuck the nbombed needle in Chess's neck, and
(03:24):
just then he suddenly sprang back to life. From that
moment on, Chess was a changed man. He dedicated the
rest of his life to telling anyone he met how
God had saved his life. So in nineteen thirty nine,
Chess set out to building a makeshift wagon. Here was
(03:45):
a homemade affair covered with tin, hold rubber, and tattered
dingy cloth, with ropes and broken harnesses tying it all
precariously together. Two or three kerosene lamps were tied around
the sides, with odds sigh reflectors tied together in clusters
around the sides, and a huge, dusty red flag attached
(04:06):
to it all. A peekan side disclosed a folding camp chair,
another wooden chest, a few utensils, and some bedding. As
for horsepower, well, Chess had tied up twelve goats to
the front and two spare goats trailing up the rear
of the wagon. His wife took one look at the thing,
and just like that, Chess was divorced. Thus free from
(04:30):
all the interference of women, Chess and his son set
out on the road, both dressed in goat skins. Indeed,
Chess was a sight to behold. His long, flowing beard
and rugged appearance made him look like a prophet straight
out of the Old Testament. The average traveling about three
to seven miles a day across America, traveling US highways
(04:53):
long before the Interstates and backing up traffic for miles.
Folks said that the goat man's smell would roll into
town long before he ever did. Wherever he went, he
drew attention. As his caravan approached town, news would quickly
spread the goat man is coming. Folks would line in
the streets to get a glimpse of him and Some
(05:13):
towns would even cancel school classes so children would miss
the big event. Once the goat Man arrived in town,
he would find an empty field on the outskirts to
let his goats graze. Then he would start a large
bonfire of tires that he had collected off the side
of the road, and of course, the black smoke would
(05:36):
attract a large crowd. Before long, people would start pouring
in and adults would pause their daily routines to see
this strange curiosity. News journalists were always on the scene
to capture his story, and once he had a good crowd,
the goat Man would spring into action, mounting his wagon
and launching into a passionate speech about the coming of
(05:58):
the Lord, urging everyone to repent of their sins and
trust in the Lord with all their heart. When asked
how he made a living, he would immediately pull out
a stack of postcards from his overalls that featured pictures
of him and his goats, and he would begin selling
number one dollar each Heck, for fifty cents, you could
(06:18):
even get your picture.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Made with him.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Between the postcards, the pictures and selling scrap metal that
he found along the highway, or even donations, the goat
Man managed to purchase enough food to get by on
During the nineteen forties, as America faced rations on everything
from food to gasoline, the Goat Man crisscrossed America, and
(06:43):
during the nineteen fifties he visited Alaska, Canada, and went
up and down the eastern United States. Each winter, he
would spend it in Georgia or Florida, where it was warmer,
before setting out once again in the spring. Long before
Forrest Gump ever went for his long run, the Goat
Man roamed the highways in the byways of America, fueled
(07:07):
by little more than wonderlust. His fame and legend continued
to grow, and as might be expected, there were a
number of erroneous tales circulating about him. During World War Two,
rumors started that Chess was a Nazi spy who had
a short wave radio hidden in his wagon, and, as
silly as it sounds, a sheriff in Virginia searched that
(07:28):
wagon looking for the mystery radio. Others said that the
goat Man was actually a very wealthy man, with hordes
of money hidden in his wagon. Nonetheless, by nineteen sixty
the Goat Man was fed up with the direction America
was heading, so he threw his hat into the ring
to be nominated for the President of the United States,
(07:48):
even taking his goat parade to Chicago to the Democratic
National Convention. He promised that if he was elected, he
would quickly produce government spending. The first thing he said
he would do was fire all the White House gardeners
and replace them with his goats, and he would place
the Ten Commandments on the wall in the Oval Office. Remarkably,
(08:09):
the goat Man traveled all across America from nineteen thirty
nine to nineteen eighty seven, nearly a half century. It's
said that he traveled over one hundred thousand miles to
every state except Hawaii. However, most of his travels centered
around Appalachia. Even today, there are scores of people from
(08:30):
small towns in East Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
and Virginia who remember when the Goat Man came to
their town preaching about the coming of the Lord. The
roads he traveled were not just pathways through towns, but
through the lives of those who met him. For many
a glimpse of the goat Man was a cherished memory,
(08:51):
a story to be told and retold. Sadly, not everyone
loved the goat man, and throughout his travels, Chess McCartney
encountered numerous adventures and misadventures, from getting called in a
snowstorm on Peabody Mountain, to narrowly escape in a deadly
brewery truck accident that killed eight of his goats and
(09:13):
sent him to the hospital, the time he was mugged
in Los Angeles trying to visit actress Morgan Fairchild, and
that time in Oklahoma when his wagon was set on
fire with Chess sleeping in it, barely escaping death with
half his beard burned off. Chess finally came off the
road for good in nineteen eighty seven. He sold all
(09:34):
his goats to Disney World, and then he settled in
Twigs County, Georgia, where he purchased a few acres of land.
At first he lived in a small house that he
had built that was just as eclectic as a wagon
that he roamed America with, but alas it too was
burned by someone. After that, he lived in a school
of bus and he even preached at a nearby church
(09:57):
called the Free Thinking Christian Mission. By nineteen ninety age
had finally caught up with old Chess. Andy spent his
final years as a local celebrity at a nursing home
in Macon, Georgia. The goat Man Chess McCartney passed away
at the age of ninety seven, leaving behind a legacy
that continues to captivate the imagination.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
And a special thanks to J. D. Phillips who runs
the great YouTube channel The Appalachian Storyteller And what a
story you just heard. Americana at its best, The story
of the goat Man, He's born again experience and what
he did with it, how he evangelized in a caravan
of one pulled by goats. Here on our American Stories.
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, we
have the story of Chess McCartney, otherwise known as the
goat Man. You'll find out why shortly you were to
tell the story is JD. Phillips who runs the great
YouTube channel, The Appalachian Storyteller Take it away. JD.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Charles Chess McCartney was born on July sixth, nineteen oh
one in Sigourney, Iowa. Chess was your typical farm boy.
The sparestley populated town he grew up in meant that
there were more animals than people, and Chess spent his
days tending to him on the family farm. His favorite
(00:51):
animals were the large herd of goats that his father raised. However,
in nineteen fifteen, a traveling circus came to town, complete
with animals, freak shows, trick friders, and an assortment of curiosities.
And during one part of the show, a beautiful Spanish
knife thrower asked for a volunteer from the audience to
(01:14):
put a balloon on the top of their head so
she could throw razor sharp daggers at it. Taken by
her sheer, beauty, Chess immediately threw his hand in the
air and within a few moments he was tied to
the board with a balloon on his head. She flung
two knives at lightning speed through the air as the
(01:37):
crowd held their collective breath. Chess's eyes widened as he
caught a glimpse of the knives tumbling towards his head
before hearing a large pop and the eruption of the
cheers from the audience. That's how it happened. At age
fourteen years old, Chess left its family farm and ran
(01:57):
away with the circus, becoming a tar for the Spanish
beauty and also becoming her lover. The two were married.
Each night the couple would visit some tavern or bar,
where Chess would take down the dark board and his
wife would throw twenty five razor sharp knives at his head.
(02:18):
After four years of tour in America, the Spanish vixen
retired so that she could raise a family. Yet Chess
was just eighteen years old. No, he wasn't ready to
settle down, so one night, as his beautiful wife slept,
he grabbed his clothes and left her forever. Chess McCartney
(02:38):
returned home to Iowa, where he worked in logging camps
through the roar in twenties and the nineteen thirties. He
eventually remarried twice more and even had a son. But
it was during the Great Depression that a tragic accident
took place. Chess was cut in timber deep in the
forest for the Works Progress administration when he cut a
(03:00):
tree that fell in an unexpected way, landing on top
of him. When the search party finally arrived, they presumed
he was dead and took him to the local funeral home.
And as he was lying there on that cold metal table,
the mortician stuck the nbombed needle in Chess's neck, and
(03:24):
just then he suddenly sprang back to life. From that
moment on, Chess was a changed man. He dedicated the
rest of his life to telling anyone he met how
God had saved his life. So in nineteen thirty nine,
Chess set out to building a makeshift wagon. Here was
(03:45):
a homemade affair covered with tin, hold rubber, and tattered
dingy cloth, with ropes and broken harnesses tying it all
precariously together. Two or three kerosene lamps were tied around
the sides, with odds sigh reflectors tied together in clusters
around the sides, and a huge, dusty red flag attached
(04:06):
to it all. A peekan side disclosed a folding camp chair,
another wooden chest, a few utensils, and some bedding. As
for horsepower, well, Chess had tied up twelve goats to
the front and two spare goats trailing up the rear
of the wagon. His wife took one look at the thing,
and just like that, Chess was divorced. Thus free from
(04:30):
all the interference of women, Chess and his son set
out on the road, both dressed in goat skins. Indeed,
Chess was a sight to behold. His long, flowing beard
and rugged appearance made him look like a prophet straight
out of the Old Testament. The average traveling about three
to seven miles a day across America, traveling US highways
(04:53):
long before the Interstates and backing up traffic for miles.
Folks said that the goat man's smell would roll into
town long before he ever did. Wherever he went, he
drew attention. As his caravan approached town, news would quickly
spread the goat man is coming. Folks would line in
the streets to get a glimpse of him and Some
(05:13):
towns would even cancel school classes so children would miss
the big event. Once the goat Man arrived in town,
he would find an empty field on the outskirts to
let his goats graze. Then he would start a large
bonfire of tires that he had collected off the side
of the road, and of course, the black smoke would
(05:36):
attract a large crowd. Before long, people would start pouring
in and adults would pause their daily routines to see
this strange curiosity. News journalists were always on the scene
to capture his story, and once he had a good crowd,
the goat Man would spring into action, mounting his wagon
and launching into a passionate speech about the coming of
(05:58):
the Lord, urging everyone to repent of their sins and
trust in the Lord with all their heart. When asked
how he made a living, he would immediately pull out
a stack of postcards from his overalls that featured pictures
of him and his goats, and he would begin selling
number one dollar each Heck, for fifty cents, you could
(06:18):
even get your picture.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Made with him.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Between the postcards, the pictures and selling scrap metal that
he found along the highway, or even donations, the goat
Man managed to purchase enough food to get by on
During the nineteen forties, as America faced rations on everything
from food to gasoline, the Goat Man crisscrossed America, and
(06:43):
during the nineteen fifties he visited Alaska, Canada, and went
up and down the eastern United States. Each winter, he
would spend it in Georgia or Florida, where it was warmer,
before setting out once again in the spring. Long before
Forrest Gump ever went for his long run, the Goat
Man roamed the highways in the byways of America, fueled
(07:07):
by little more than wonderlust. His fame and legend continued
to grow, and as might be expected, there were a
number of erroneous tales circulating about him. During World War Two,
rumors started that Chess was a Nazi spy who had
a short wave radio hidden in his wagon, and, as
silly as it sounds, a sheriff in Virginia searched that
(07:28):
wagon looking for the mystery radio. Others said that the
goat Man was actually a very wealthy man, with hordes
of money hidden in his wagon. Nonetheless, by nineteen sixty
the Goat Man was fed up with the direction America
was heading, so he threw his hat into the ring
to be nominated for the President of the United States,
(07:48):
even taking his goat parade to Chicago to the Democratic
National Convention. He promised that if he was elected, he
would quickly produce government spending. The first thing he said
he would do was fire all the White House gardeners
and replace them with his goats, and he would place
the Ten Commandments on the wall in the Oval Office. Remarkably,
(08:09):
the goat Man traveled all across America from nineteen thirty
nine to nineteen eighty seven, nearly a half century. It's
said that he traveled over one hundred thousand miles to
every state except Hawaii. However, most of his travels centered
around Appalachia. Even today, there are scores of people from
(08:30):
small towns in East Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
and Virginia who remember when the Goat Man came to
their town preaching about the coming of the Lord. The
roads he traveled were not just pathways through towns, but
through the lives of those who met him. For many
a glimpse of the goat Man was a cherished memory,
(08:51):
a story to be told and retold. Sadly, not everyone
loved the goat man, and throughout his travels, Chess McCartney
encountered numerous adventures and misadventures, from getting called in a
snowstorm on Peabody Mountain, to narrowly escape in a deadly
brewery truck accident that killed eight of his goats and
(09:13):
sent him to the hospital, the time he was mugged
in Los Angeles trying to visit actress Morgan Fairchild, and
that time in Oklahoma when his wagon was set on
fire with Chess sleeping in it, barely escaping death with
half his beard burned off. Chess finally came off the
road for good in nineteen eighty seven. He sold all
(09:34):
his goats to Disney World, and then he settled in
Twigs County, Georgia, where he purchased a few acres of land.
At first he lived in a small house that he
had built that was just as eclectic as a wagon
that he roamed America with, but alas it too was
burned by someone. After that, he lived in a school
of bus and he even preached at a nearby church
(09:57):
called the Free Thinking Christian Mission. By nineteen ninety age
had finally caught up with old Chess. Andy spent his
final years as a local celebrity at a nursing home
in Macon, Georgia. The goat Man Chess McCartney passed away
at the age of ninety seven, leaving behind a legacy
that continues to captivate the imagination.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
And a special thanks to J. D. Phillips who runs
the great YouTube channel The Appalachian Storyteller And what a
story you just heard. Americana at its best, The story
of the goat Man, He's born again experience and what
he did with it, how he evangelized in a caravan
of one pulled by goats. Here on our American Stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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