The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1888-02-25
ENFORCED ADDITIONS.


| over In tho town or Clinton. fcw
miles cast OF here. says the Boston
Globe, there exists character rs
strange In his way as '1he leather
man." or any other OF Connecticut's
freaks. Jabez Hurd is his name. and
Jabez is hermit He was Mt one time
In very comfortable circumstances as
Connecticut farmers 90, and may be
now for all any one knows OF him or
his affairs But Jabcz does not believe
In the cardinal principle that cleanli-
ness Is next TO goodness Some Of his
neighbors do. however. and that is how
II came about the other day that he
was given bath by Cllnton's Board Of
Health.
There's q bit OF romance In Jabez'
life. and that romance was what led up
to his becoming the hermit that he is.
Many years ago he met and loved
handsome young widow. who. SO say
the Clinton folks. was far and away
handsomer than any woman who had
ever lived in Clinton. He courted the
widow. and rs he was good-looking
man himself, he won her. That was
where he made the mistake Of his life.
SO say his friends. With married life
trouble began. for the widow with the
pretty face and the perfect form turned
out to be perfect shrew, and she
made Jabez' life burden. He couldn't
tame her by ordinary methods. and
was averse to trying the heroic meas
ures rcsortci to by Petruchio. rs re-
ported by one w. Shakespeare some
years ago. She ruled the roost with
an iron hand, and made her husband
understand perfectly that she was the
senior and ruling member Of their mar
ital partnership.
Jabez stood this sort of thing rs long
as he could we'll do SO, and then. find
ing life with shrcw wasn't worth liv-
ing. he deserted her. He chose for his
homo the commodlous barn belonging
to his brother. refusing that brothers
offer of home in his ample house.
and made the wcll-illed hay-mow of
the barn his bed. For long time he
kept out Of sight OF every one. and
maintained. as he has since continued
TO do. absolute retIcence about his af-
fairs. He would hold verbal cdmmuni-
cation with no one. but by n written
message expressed n willingness to eat
OF the food from his brothers table il
il was left in the barn for him. Every
one in Clinton knew. OF course, why
Jabez had abandoned all the gayety Of
life in that town. There was no secret
about that. In fact. IL was talked about
so much that the shrcwish wife immed-
lately left town. and just now no one
knows just where she Is.
Jabcz' brother, after the life In the
hay-mow had continued for some time.
objected to that sort OF thing. He tried
TO induce the hermit to return 10 civ
ilized form of life in his own house or
that OF his brother. But Jabez
wouldn't listen to such appeals. and
declined absolutely and with much
vigor TO leave the barn for more COM
Portable home. Finally a proposition
to build for him cabin hut near the
barn met with his approval and he
agreed to occupy IT, So the hut was
built. and there for several winters and
summers Hurd has lived. refusing 10
hold communication with any one and
apparently satisfied with the purely
animal existence he passed. His meals
were obtained from his brothers
house. Tue vlctuals were left. how
ever. just outside the kitchen door. and
Jebcz would sneak up from his hut
grab tho food as II Inc were stealing II,
and sneak back TO his cabin and de-
your IT,
That cabin wasn't the pink of neat
ness On the contrary, it was exactly
the opposite. So much the opposite. In
fact. that II became source of much
annoyance to the good people OF ClIn-
ton. Finally complaints about the hut
and its equally dirty occupant were
made to the Board OF Health of the
town. and they were asked to abate the
one nuisance II, possible and wash the
other. The board. after due delibera-
ton, for Jabcz was powerful man.
decided to try and fumigate the hut
and give Jabez q bath.
The absence from town Of Jabcz'
brother. who had put up with so many
years Of his idIosyncrasles, gave tho
Board OF Health an opportunity TO get