The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1870-10-21

The HERMIT OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
A correspondent of the MOntrose Re
pubtican, who made pilgrimage into
the wildS OF Sullivan county on Il trout
ing expedition, thus speaks of an an.
Client settler in the wilderness
About thirteen years ago lunatic u
say lunatic, because | do not think he
could have had very good sense) of the
name of David Cooper, aged about fifty
years, bachelor, from the city of Phil.
adelphia, came in here with party OF
"spOrts," on deer hunt and trouting
excursion, and became so infatuated
with the utter wilduess of the place
that on returning home with his friends
he parted from them without a word
AS to his intentions, sold out his busi-
ness, aud with about five thousand dol
lars in gold, returned here and pur-
chased about 700 acres of wood land ly.
ing back of celestial City," part on
the top ridge of the mountain known
AS the "HOg's Back" and reaching
Sock" bounded on the left by the
"Staneberg Creek" and on the right by
"rhe Pole Bridge Creek" which de
rives lis name from the fact that it was
first spanne by pole bridge by Peter
The old sport paid cash, twenty-one
hundred dollars, for seven hundred
acres of land, and with help that he
hired, cut his way three and half miles
i'll from Celestial City," to n point of
land bounded by the three creess last
named, where he built him log house,
dismissed his help and became Il her.
nit. He lived here alone tor several
years, hunting and fishing, and some.
times working very hard at clearing
his land, of which he cleared nearly 80
acres. He made weekly trips on foot
five miles, to Laporte, TO lay in what
few provisions he required. In these
trips he had to pass through one corner
of Celestial City," and by the door OF
u widow named Taylor, where he used
to stop for cool drink of water in hot
weather, and to toast his shins in cold.
lie became tired of hermit's life, pro-
posed TO the widow, and was accepted
and straightway he went to work, got
out Lumber, and built him a large two
and half story frame house, few feet
from the old log house, came out to the
Holy City, married the widow and took
her to his hermitage. The bridal couch
is still there, the work of his own hands
hewn out of solid timber, with an ak.
1t is curiosity, well worth a place in
any museum, and far more useful there
than it would ever be rs bedstead.
Here they lived some months togeth
er, how happily the walls do not state,
though they do state almost everything
else. This lovely home he called Scoop
er's Retreat" and seemed very proud
of it, though the people in the country
around called it "Cooper's Folly" and
it is by this name it is known to day.
Some months after his marriage, he
went out after breakfast, as was his Gus.
tom, to fell timber, and not returning
at night, his spouse, after what must
have been terribly lonely night to her
went next morning in search of him,
and found him crushed 10 death by a
tree which had fallen on him. His body
WAS brought out to Celestial CITY,"
where it was coffined, and inferred at
Laporte, and afterwards removed to
Philadelphia by his friends.
The estate fell into the hands of his
widow, who left it soon after his death,
and the house has remained untenanted
ever since, except by trouting and deer
hunting parties, who use it for camp
The doors, walls, window panes, wains
coting, and every available spot are
literally covered with the names, drtes
and addresses of persons and parties
who have been in there, with the mum
ber of trout and deer killed. We found
room for the names of our party, and
put them down, together with the nnm.
Der of trout caught. AT the door is a
large spring house, covering spring of
water, SO cold that it numbed our hands
as we washed our trout in its water.