This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we return 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. Here to tell the story is J.D. Phillips, who runs the great YouTube channel,

the Appalachian Storyteller. Take it away, J.D.

Charles Chess McCartney was born on July 6th, 1901 in Sigourney, J.D. Charles Chess McCartney was born on July 6, 1901 in Sigourney, Iowa.

Chess was your typical farm boy. The sparsely 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 animals were the large herd of goats that his father raised.

However, in 1915, a traveling circus came to town, complete with animals, freaked shows, tricked priders, 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 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 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 crowd held their collective breath.

Chess's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the knives, tumbling towards the at lightning speed through the air as the 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 14 years old, Chess left his family farm and ran away with the circus, becoming a target 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

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