Leather Mans Caves

Midnightrider08

Midnightrider08

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Mar 9, 2008
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Re: Leather Man's Caves

just add ) to the end or cut and copy.....for some reason it didnt include that with the link
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

I have been in one of his caves when i was a kid. My dad took me there , i believe it was around Pound Ridge New York. I remember reading an article about him years ago. He traveled well more than a mile a day. He had a pretty long route and stayed in people barns and such. Interesting story. The article may of been in the New York times, or its magazine. I believe he also traveled into upstate CT. He always showed up at folks homes at a fairly regular interval so he must of traveled the same route over and over.
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

That's a heck of a long circle :o
Perhaps he just went as far as he felt comfortable (being able to locate caves for shelter and such, or just his little magical happy place) then just turned around and came back.
He may have been brain damaged or had some other sort of troubles, if he had a standing order at a store, maybe he walked his long route to the end, got his money for his purchases, turned around and came back for his goods, and repeated it all over again (sort of the way an autistic would)
Hard to say for sure, just some guesses tossed out there :wink:
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

He may have had caches along the way.
But it sounds to me like he had a small group of people he considered friends,
and went to visit them.

Maybe he just enjoyed the walk.

Thom
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

I couldnt get the link to open...but I found this article about him researching something else....am posting it here in case others cant open the one above

Article and photos by Jeff Belanger

Since 1862, many have heard the tale of a wandering vagrant who traveled in an endless 365-mile circle between the Connecticut and Hudson rivers. The strange man only spoke with grunts or gestures and dressed in crudely stitched leather from his hat to his shoes. The suit was made of heavy pieces of raw leather estimated to have weighed more than sixty pounds in total. It was a coat of armor the vagrant depended on to protect him from the sometimes harsh New England elements. "Leatherman," as he was dubbed by those who encountered him, would only sleep outside year-round -- and mostly in caves around Connecticut and New York.

Some claim old Leatherman is still making his endless journey today, through the woods, mountains, and river valleys of Connecticut and New York state.

A wandering vagrant is nothing surprising. American folklore has more of them than could fill a thousand railroad boxcars. What makes the Leatherman unique is his incredible precision in daily routine. He would arrive in the same location every 34 days.

Many different families took it upon themselves to feed the Leatherman. Since he arrived at precisely 34-day intervals, and at the same time of day, some would have a meal prepared for his arrival. He would grunt or make appreciative gestures and then quickly move along to keep his tight schedule.

The Leatherman was first seen in Connecticut in 1862, and all who encountered him wanted to know who he was and where he came from.


Jules Bourglay - The Leatherman
from The Lure of Litchfield Hills magazine
December, 1952


Lyons, France
The Leatherman's tale begins in Lyons, France in the 1820s. A young couple named Bourglay had a son, Jules. The Bourglay family's occupation was woodcutting, and the income from their labors afforded them a certain level of distinction. They were of a lower middle class during a time when your social station was all-important. Your family's wealth would determine your entire future: what kind of job you would have, who you would marry, and if you could go to school.

Young Jules Bourglay met and fell in love with Miss Margaret Laron, the daughter of a somewhat wealthy leather merchant. Jules approached Margaret's father to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage.

The marriage request was met with an objection, primarily due to the differences in class between the Bourglay and Laron families. After much pleading, and further meetings, it was decided that Jules would be given the opportunity to work in the Laron family leather business, and if he could acquire the trade and be successful, he would be granted permission to marry Margaret.

Jules Bourglay worked hard at the leather business and was quickly given more responsibilities, including the purchase of more leather on the open market. One day in 1855, Jules made a large leather purchase. Then, almost overnight, the price of leather dropped by 40% due to a new breakthrough in the tanning process. Prior to 1855, leather tanning had been done with tree bark and was extremely labor-intensive. The tanning industry discovered a chemical compound that could tan the leather in a lot less time and with less physical effort. Unfortunately, because young Jules didn't have his eyes on the technology breakthroughs in his industry, he was stuck with a large stock of leather that could only be sold at a loss.

Laron's leather firm was ruined at the hand of Jules Bourglay and too ashamed to go back to his own family, the disgraced Jules became a homeless wanderer in Lyons, France. He quickly became the ward of a local physician who took care of his basic needs for almost two years. One day, without notice, he disappeared from Lyons and was never seen in the city or the country again.

There are some missing years in the story of Jules Bourglay. One could speculate that he simply wandered Europe as a beggar, then finally made his way onto a boat bound for the United States. The fact is, someone fitting his description and background showed up in the town of Harwinton, Connecticut in 1862.

The Leatherman Arrives in Connecticut
Immediately upon arriving, he began his approximate 10-miles-per-day, 365-miles-per-month clockwise trek between the Connecticut and Hudson rivers. From Harwinton, Connecticut, his route took him to Bristol, Forestville, Southington, Kensington, Berlin, Middletown, and south along the westerly side of the Connecticut River to the shore towns. He then traveled west to Westchester County in New York state, coming within a few miles of the Hudson River and then back east into Connecticut. From Danbury, Connecticut, he went north to New Milford, through Roxbury, Woodbury, Watertown, Plymouth, and back to Harwinton, completing his one-month cycle.


The green trail shows the Leatherman's 365-mile route.

A true outdoorsman, The Leatherman didn't survive on handouts alone. Through his experience he knew how to deal with everything mother nature threw at him. Though he would be invited to sleep indoors or in barns by good Samaritans, he always chose to sleep outside or in one of his many caves.

Bourglay tended to the finest details before leaving each day's sleeping location. He would gather wood for his next fire and safely store it in the cave, so when he returned he could quickly get a fire started with timber that had been stored under the cover of rock for 34 days. His fires would quickly warm the small cave by heating the rocks around him to a comfortably warm temperature, even on the coldest winter nights. His bed was made of the rocks by his fire, and of course his thick leather suit added some additional padding.

For almost three decades, Jules Bourglay made his journey through heat, rain, drought, and bitter New England winters. The Leatherman's routine would suffer only one setback. The harsh blizzard of 1888 slowed his cycle by four days. Bourglay, now in his mid-60s, would never recover from the hardship. The weather, combined with his age and hard life, made him ill. He made it through the rest of the winter but finally expired in a cave on the George Dell farm in Briarcliff Manor, New York.
 

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Re: Leather Man's Caves

Wow, that is quite an interresting story. Thanks for sharing.

Ray
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

Thanks Christy,
for the rest of the story.

Sounds like a good place to do some feet on the ground searching and researching.
Someone is bound to find something.
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

Read a story about this guy some years back. Gypsys article is excellent more info than I remember from what I read.

The thing that got me was his pictures always reminded me of Jackie Gleason in the early days. Now I wonder if the UFOs cloned him ???
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

The "Leatherman" was certainly a unique figure but why do we insist on
attaching "treasure" to these legends? The fact that he endured so much
harship is worthy of our admiration but what I have heard so far doesn't
add up to a "cache in every cave" notion. lastleg
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

This man spend a lot of time in Connecticut. I believe it is a waste of time, looking for his money. But, best of luck to you.
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

Great comments from #6. Many people had seach his caves in Connecticut but found no money. I believe that the man has serious mental problems.
 

Re: Leather Man's Caves

good story had never heard it b4, the first link is a good read, he tries to sort
the facts from the fiction

leatherman by dan w deluca/ good read
http://books.google.com/books?id=-67gAT3A0PQC&pg=PP16&dq=dan+w+deluca&cd=1

leatherman a wheel barrow of gold, from
Buried treasures of New England: legends of hidden riches, forgotten war ... By W. C. Jameson
http://books.google.com/books?id=rVSUVR2wI2cC&pg=PA168&dq=J+U+L+E+S+++B+O+U+R+G+L+A+Y+,&lr=&cd=17

http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/briarcliff/leather.html

a list of towns visited
http://en.allexperts.com/e/l/le/leatherman_(vagabond).htm
 

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