The Leatherman

"The poor shall always be with you" say the Gospels.  The urban homeless of today had their counterparts in our rural past, surviving at the very margins of society.  English Common Law, the basis for most early American legal codes,addressed the issue of "masterless men" with vagrancy laws, making it a crime to "go without visible means of support." Puritan theology and Yankee industry condemned the idle and unproductive, and vagrants were often "warned-out" of communities and driven to the frontier of the settled lands. At the same time, towns in colonial New England had the legal responsibility to provide for the indigent, and there are even examples of Massachusetts laws assuming a degree of responsibility for the mentally ill.  One law dating from 1660 stipulated:

"Children, Idiots, Distracted persons, and all that are strangers, or new commers [sic] to our plantation, shall have such allowances and dispensations in any Cause whether Criminall [sic] or other as religion and reason require [sic]."

In the 19th century, there were some well-known vagrants and rural eccentrics whose presence was not only tolerated by society but even celebrated by it.  Last week I wrote about one of these, the reclusive hermit Sarah Bishop who lived for thirty years in a cave in the mountains at the boundary of Ridgefield, Connecticut and North Salem, New York. The generation after the Civil War produced another remarkable homeless person who also made use of caves and whose regular wanderings inspired great interest and a trove of regional folklore. His legend persists even today, and as recently as 1998 was even the inspiration for a song by Pearl Jam.

He was known as "The Leatherman" for the heavy suit of hand-stitched leather that was his only clothing.  His one known photograph was taken by 19-year-old James Frances Rodgers of Branford, Connecticut and while clearly "posed" it is a remarkably candid and disturbing portrait. He looks furtive and uncomfortable before the camera, his hand before his mouth and his body bulky and misshapen within his 60 pounds of patchwork leather.  He looks like the subject of a sideshow display, and indeed  there was at least one attempt to entice him to join a freak show. 

But the Leatherman was a benign and restless spirit, and though a creature of habit he did not remain more than one night in any of the communities he visited.  He did return, however, for the other exceptional think about this irregular person was the exceptional regularity of his peregrinations from town to town.  Every 34 days, he completed a clockwise circuit of 365 miles between the Hudson and Connecticut rivers.  Ghostvillage.com provides a rich trove of Leatherman legends, as well as this wonderful map of the Leatherman's route, which passed through the southern towns of the Litchfield Hills: 

There were many vagabonds on the rural roads of America following the Civil War, but the Leatherman was not an ordinary tramp.  He supposedly first appeared in 1862 in Harwinton, Connecticut, and was a fixture in the communities he visited until in 1889 he finally succumbed in a cave in Ossining, New York in 1889.  Very little is known for certain of his background, for he spoke little but was thought to understand French.  The historic marker on his grave at the Sparta Cemetery identifies him as Joules Bourglay although subsequent efforts to confirm his origins have failed. His past was greatly embellished in his own day and in New England folklore and remains largely an enigma today. 

Such an unusual person attracted great interest, especially from children who often escorted him in and out of the towns where he appeared.  People got so that they could pinpoint the day of his arrival and marked it in their day books and ledgers.  As a wonderful piece on the Leatherman at curbstone.org recounts:

"In each community he passed through, the Leatherman had identified a home or two where he knew friendly people would provide food whenever he appeared. A "host" family became accustomed to preparing a simple meal and setting it on the back doorstep for the eccentric tramp, every thirty-four days. For no matter what the season of year or the weather conditions, the Leatherman inevitably showed up -- virtually at the same hour -- according to that precise schedule, for a period of nearly thirty years! Only in his last few years did the schedule vary and the interval between visits increase, sometimes -- as during the famous "Blizzard of '88" -- to as many as forty days. But as late as 1884-1885 he made nineteen consecutive trips of exactly thirty-four days each. It was probably inevitable that such predictable behavior would make a lasting impression on folk living in the 'Land of Steady Habits.'"

He slept in caves, and cut and stored firewood before leaving so it would be dry and ready for his next visit.  Some of these "Leatherman caves" are known by that name today, and more than a few were the den sites of rattlesnakes that did not appear to phase him.  He was non-verbal - never known to speak a word of English - but made his wants known with gestures.  He had a strong appetite - known to consume at one sitting "two cans of sardines, a loaf of bread, a pound of milk crackers, a quarter-pie, two quarts and two cups of coffee, a gill of brandy and a bottle of beer", and sometimes he purchased supplies along his route.  This gave rise to the legend that he had  a small fortune secreted away in his caves, but fruitless treasure hunting failed to produce any evidence of this following his death.  In fact, there were numerous stories in the press after he died of ghostly sightings of the Leatherman, and even some copycat imitators wandering the roads of rural new England clad in leather suits.

With a few recorded exceptions, the Leatherman was not harassed and was generally treated with respect and fondness by the curious townsfolk whose lives he touched.  he became part of the fabric of the communities through which he passed, as regular as the seasons and as accepted as the other patterns of village life.  When he was found with frozen hands and feet near Hartford during the brutal Blizzard of 1888, the Leatherman was taken to hospital where it was learned that he was also suffering from cancer of the lip. He developed from the institution as soon as he was able but time and age were catching up with him and he died a year later.

As we approach Hallowe'en, there are likely to be stories in our local papers retelling the legend of the Leatherman.  His eccentricities may have been madness, but of a comfortable sort to those who marveled at his endurance despite his afflictions and who looked forward to his next visits.  No wonder his restless spirit shuffles through our modern imaginations.

Comments

[Joel Hickmann]

When I was a teenager I lived on Old Farm Road, Pleasantville, NY, with woods that bordered Chappaqua and Armonk. The Leatherman's routes in the 1860's apparently included these areas also...The story I was always told was that he really died of a broken heart, from a woman back in France?? I first became aware of the story as a student at HC Crittenden School, then later at Byram Hills High School, in History class.

[Dan DeLuca]

The goal is not to determine his identity; “The Old Leather Man” will always remain as he lived a mystery.

The OLM’s grave is the most visited grave in the cemetery and is very close to the highway, there is a danger that someone may be hurt viewing his grave. For public safety and to show respect for the OLM, his grave will be relocated to a proper and safer resting place within the cemetery. At that time a sample will be taken to learn more about him, he will be treated with up most respect and a proper gravestone installed.

The Old Leather Man is entitled and deserves his rightfully place in history as Johnny Appleseed, Mark Twain, The Headless Horseman, Daniel Boone, and Paul Bunyan of American Folklore

After I started researching “The Old Leather Man,” and uncovered that he was not Jules Bourglay and he walked his famous circuit of 365 miles every 34 days from 1883 until he died on March 20, 1889. I also discovered before 1883 he was all over Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and it has been said Canada, I had a number of goals I wanted to accomplish.

1. Have the gravestone changed and have the name Jules Bourglay taken off, he has never been identified. When the name was put on the stone, the mystery of who he was; was declared solved, and researchers stopped researching him. I wanted to have him declared a mystery and an unknown, so researchers would begin researching him again. I am not interested in knowing his name, only more about him and his life.

2. To make sure his artifacts, and photographs etc, are preserved in historical societies and museums.

3. Collect as much information on him before it is lost forever and publish my research so my research will not disappear like so many researchers before me.

4. Rekindle the interest in him and pass his mysterious history and legend on to children, grandchildren and future researchers.

5. To encourage other’s to help in the research.

6. And to “Keep the Legend Alive”

If anyone has any information, wants to help in the research or has a question please email me danwdeluca@aol.com

[Dan DeLuca]

The

The newspaper said his remains will be removed to determine his identity, this is not true!

The goal is not to determine his identity. The Old Leather Man will always remain as he lived a mystery.

The OLM’s grave is the most visited grave in the cemetery, there is a danger that someone may be killed viewing his grave because of it's location next to the highway. The goal is to keep the public safe and to show respect for the OLM, his grave will be relocated to a safer resting place within the cemetery. He will be treated with up most respect and a proper gravestone installed.

“Keep the Legend Alive”

[Don]

I have always been fascinated by this story. Did you hear that there are plans to dig up the Leatherman's grave, and perform research on his remains to determine his identity? http://leavetheleathermanalone.com/

[Local]

This is weird! I stumbled on your site via google because I was looking for a map of Connecticut. It brought me to your map showing the Leatherman route. Ironically, just a few weeks ago there was an article in the Valley Gazette weekly featuring the Leatherman! Thought you'd like to see the link (since me finding your blog on the same topic can't be a coincidence)!

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/thevalleygazette/news/localnews/42345-old-leather-man-takes-on-new-life.html

[Joel Hickmann]

I remember my 6th grade Social Studies teacher, Mr. Urso, in Armonk, NY, (in the 1960's) telling us stories about the Leatherman.. I belive the cave behind the Armonk Bowling lanes (still there?), and what used to be the site of the old Log Cabin restaurant , was one of leatherman's caves...J. Hickmann..Jan,2009

[GreenmanTim]

I believe recent evidence - or critically, lack of confirming evidence - reenforces the view that the Jules Bourglay identity of the Leatherman is false.

At the link you provided, Matt, there is Ray Wilson's Connecticut cave list that names many Leatherman caves in CT. The only one that I know of with a map is in Mattatuck State Forest in Thomaston.

[matt]

Another researcher claims the story of Jules Bourgay was false. His name is Dan Deluca and he claims to have been researching this for 20 years... more info on that here: http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/leatherman.html

Does anyone have any maps to specific caves? I visited the one in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Pound Ridge NY, but am looking for maps to the others in Westchester, including Briarcliff, Armonk and Bedford Hills (I found a trail in Bedford Hills called Leatherman's Ridge, but couldn't find the cave off of those trails)>

[Al Mollitor]

I love stories about such unusual characters. John Hanson Mitchell talks about a modern-day wildman in the woods behind his house in Littleton, Massachusetts in one of his books ("Ceremonial Time," or, "Living at the End of Time.").

That is where I first read about the Green Man. It has become one of my favorite legends that has taken on a life of its own in my mind.

[GreenmanTim]

There are many Leatherman caves in these parts, and I got curious. There is a rich, regional folklore in these hills, but fewer of us are aware of it. The other post on Sarah Bishop included material from my own collection of regional history and family genealogy. I happened to have copies of many of the old texts I cited, as well as the image of her cave...