Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-03-27
Leather Was His Ruin
a Noted Character in New
England Dead.
THE "oLD LEATHER MANS" STORY

1
"ower True Tale of the Life OF a Mem
dicant-He Loses His Anianced Bride
by Rash Speculate on and Makes Atone
m"nt by Dressing in Leather Scraps
and Living ON tk1 4 Inns of the Char
| liable.
| SING SING, N. Y, March 26 Jules Bourg-
| lay, well known throughout the east as the
old Leather Man, was found dead late Sun
| day afternoon by sotae boys near this city.
| they bad besn hunting and ventured into a
cave intending to bui d fire and cook their
supper. Alniest ut tie entrance they STUN
| Died over the body OF the eccentric old man,
who had frequently been seen in this vicinity
during the last fortnight They at once in
| formed the authoritie5 of their discovery and
The remains were taken TO an undertaken
Yesterday they wers buried in potter's field,
and though no one at the grave had known
Jules Bourglay, the ,tory OF bis life as mar
rated by the Rev. MI. Chadwick drew tears
from many ewes
Nearly twenty-five years ago man "all
clad in leather began to wander through
Connecticut and eastern New York. Whence
ne came or whittier he went no one knew, for
he not only kept the secret of his life, but re-
fused to speak on any subject His dress con-
sisted entirely of ather-bootlegs, tanners
aprons, and odd scraps fastened together
with thongs-and he soon became known
throughout New England as the "old leather
man" AT all seasons of the year he wan
dered from place 10 place, sleeping in
barns under haystacks and hedges, or
wherever else he might find shelter,
and eating such scraps of food as were
gwen him by the kiud-hearted housewives
rive years ago, while seated on a bench
munchlng crust of bread, Hartford pho
tographer took his pie cure, aud has since sold
thousands of them 3" people who had seen
the strange original Last December the
old man was arrested in Middetown at the
instance of the Conn scticut Humane society
and taken to hospitsl i'll Hartford whence
he escaped two days later and resumed his
aimless journeyings. He was subsequently
recaptured, however and after long and
earnest entreaties and believing that
death was near, he at last related the story
of his life
His name was Jules Bourglay and for
quarter of century ne did silent and sys-
tematic penan for T. disastrous foil go in
early life. He was oi French psrenta..e and
His father was WOO dealer, who gave him
liberal education. Young Bourglay be-
came acquainted with the beautiful and ac-
complished daughter of wealthy leather
merchant named LuI0n. They fell in love
with each other and became engaged before
the parents were aware OF the attachment.
NJ. Laron was greatly incensed when he
learned of the affair, / ut young Bourglay ar
gued his case in so able aud manly manner
as to soften the rich mans heart, and he
finally decided to take Jules into the leather
business for a year, and il he proved him
self energetic and poss ssssed of good business
qualities he was to Lave as a reward the
hand of the daughte,- in marriage IT, on
the other hand be proved unworthy of conf.
dence he must give W his suit and go awny
from Paris
Jules was soon insta He'd i'll the Office of his
prospective father -in- law as a confidential!
agent This was in 1857. Bourglay specu-
lated largely in leather and carried his opera.
tions to such an extent that the result was a
crash. Thousands OF men in the leather
trade were either ruined or thrown out OF
work and ules was found wandering about
the streets i'll n halter ized condition He be
came a raving maniac and for two years he
was confined in a mad house. From there he
finally escaped to this country, where all
trace OF him was lost for years
His relatives finally obtained information
of his whereabouts and wrote to the New
York authorities, giving his history, and di-
recting them to spare no expense in finding
out his condition boti mentally and phys
ically He was discovered travelling through
Connecticut as jourreyman plumber noted
for eccentric behavior and clad entirely in
leather. He never took anything but
fnN l,Rrr rob f..,, -
were informed that he was harmless and alb
horred the society OF men or the idea of re-
turning to France
Nothing more was heard of his relatives
and he continued his wanderinss until ar
rested last winter. IA escaped second
time and had since been undisturbed by the
authorities, Sunday he was found dead in
cave near Sing Sing So ends the strange
career of the "o.d leather man"