Not many people have see the Wild Moon Man, but those who have say he's covered with hair and rusty mud.

Wild Moon Man doesn't like people much - Indians he don't like much and tybos ("whitest') he plain hates. But he's always looking for young men, special young men, him trying to get them to sit by the lake at night or come in skinny-dipping.

When he pulls you down, story goes he takes you to the bottom of the lake to his home, and teaches you how to breathe water instead of air. If you don't trust him and do what he says - you drown and they find you floating the next morning. But if you do trust him and do as he says, story goes, when you start breathing water, that muddy old hairy goat turns into a beautiful, strong warrior and he teaches you many secrets about the true power of being a man.

We were sitting by the fire, moonlight on the darkness all around us. Dellwood Barker told me, 'When the Wild Moon Man takes you underwater, to the hairy rusty mud, he's taking you to your asshole. ' Dell wood said, 'To the place that's as female as a man can get. You find your natural male power through your asshole, not your dick. You find your prostate. Fire down there under all that mud and hair and water. You find in yourself what most men love women for: their ecstasy, their hole into the other world. By receiving a man into you, by receiving a man like a woman, by being as female as a man can get, what you find -if you don't drown - is the beautiful warrior in yourself who knows both sides.

"Men like us are lucky," Dellwood said, "We've learned to breathe water.

"It ain't been easy, though - it never is.

"Even when you're accepted by your people -like with the Injuns -when the Wild Moon Man gets done with you, you're different, and when you're different you're different, that's all -and you and everybody else knows it.

"But don't get me wrong, with Injuns it was a great honor for a father to give his son to the teachings of a Berdache, and a greater honor to be chosen by the Wild Moon Man.

"But I don't care what you say - Injun, tybo, or whatever -a father wants his son to be like him. Simple as that.

"In most cases, though, the young men were different even before the Wild Moon Man swallowed them up. Why else were they sitting alone by the lake at night? Probably writing poetry or some damn thing.

"One thing's for sure -you'll never find a Berdache who's worth his salt with a dried - up prostate, I promise you that."

Free from woman's hole.

"P..R..O..S..T..A..T..E, Dellwood spelled. It means to put in front. To cause to stand."

Then he showed me where prostate was.

Wasn't long and I was breathing water .