Not the fierce blizzard of 1888, the score of sub-zero nights, or the days blaze of a melting summer sun would break the routine of the Old Leather Man. His clothes were tied patches of leather – 60 pounds of dark, tough hide. Hands bloated, face weathered and wrinkled, eyes white, and the slow pace of his heap would petrify the townspeople as he crept through the night.
The Leather Man was a legendary nomad who lived in caves and walked in a circuit from Westchester County along the Connecticut shoreline, up the Connecticut River, across Litchfield County, down the Hudson River and back around. Every 34 days he would sloth through coastal villages and river towns, foraging for food, and living with the wild.
In Guilford he made himself a cave of railroad ties, in Clinton he lived in a cave on Morgan’s Landing, and along the river he would squat in abandoned mills. Many people offered him food and shelter hoping their goodwill would save them from his curse, but he would never accept the generous offerings from the towns people. On a dare, some of the older children would try to talk to him, but he would never speak. Like an animal he would only gurgle and grunt. To a child he was enormous and terrifying, and once you were locked into the stare of his white eyes you were surely fighting the pain of your tingling skin – your spine numb, mesmerized and frozen in fear. You could almost hear the collective pounding hearts of Guilford’s children as they screamed, “The Leather Man is coming, the Leather Man is coming!”
The Old Leather Man continued his cycle like clockwork along the shore, through the Valley and towns. In December 1888 the Connecticut shoreline never saw the Leather Man again. Campers to this day that have dared to spend the night along Leather Man’s trail have said on quiet, cold fall nights you can sometimes still hear the short drag of the leaves, and the crack of the woods as he moves through the night. His gurgles and grunts still burning through the crisp, October air. Don’t turn around, the Leather Man is coming!
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