The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-04-26
LIVING IN SOLITUDE.
STRANGE HERMlTs WHO HAVE At
TANNED NOToRlETY

The singular Creature who rrequ snts the
wiids Of Pike County. Pa.-Beri Coun-
ty's Female uermit-Hermit CO Of ahe
Bowcry.
Here have lived for ~ years, q ld here
hope 20 die want no other e mpany
tlan these woods and mountains ye me.
sll ask Of my fellows j. that ey will
leave me 70 f0llowin peace my own eires."
The man who spoke in this curl Is way
was Austin Sheldon, the famous h. -mit of
Pike county. Pa, the place, the trance
to his home. "a small and gloomy ave In
the deusc,y wooded mountain g dozen
miles or SO from Dingman's, the leepy
/ little village 80 well known to Low, Of the
stream and chase.
4 curious and striking figure is rs old
/ hermit, now far past so; feature tharp,
/ form thin and still erect, ewes X. u and
glittering and hair and long flowiu beard
! rs white rs the midwinter snow. / ia now
/ s. years since he made his appear noe in
| Pike county and purchased sma farm
near Blooming Grove. No one kne, ,rhere
! he came from. and as to his past hc iniself
was as silent as the grave. He had no Wis
| itors. he lived alone, and his brief sits to
Milford were few and far between.
Those who came in contact VITA him
found him n man Of education and perior
intelligence. but he quietly repelleS all at
tempts 10 break in upon his soliti y lie,
and at the end Of few years sold h farm
and went TO live in n cave on the afi iacent
mountainside Here upon time party
Of hunters found him one cold winters
tday stricken with fever and slowly starry
ing The good people Of Dingman's,
whence he was taken. gave him tender
care. and when he recovered he went back
to his home on the mountainside.
Here, after the lapse of many years, he
was found by relatives from Connecticut,
who had long sought for him in vain. They
besought him TO return TO his old eastern
home but without avail, and after provid-
| Ing for his wants they left him to follow
his strange and solitary life undisturbed.
Before they left they told the inquirers the
! touching story OF Sheldons life. Married
to n beautiful girl whom lac tcnderly loved,
/ her sudden death few weeks after their
wedding day made him henoeforth
changed man lie grew silent and morose.
and after "A few months sold his property in
/ Connecticut and disappeared
| In the wilds Of Pike county he fourd the
! solitude and let he so much desired, AMI
there. with his Bible rs his only companion.
save for one brief period, he has since re
sided. Eight years ago be again fe'l sick,
and, found as before by hunters, wus taken
70 Dingman's His sister came from Con-
necticut to nurse him, and when his health
was restored persuaded him to accompany
her home But the longing for his cave and
| the forest solitude soon proved too strong
to be resisted, and few months time found
| him back in his oddly chosen home, whicl,
/ he said he should never leave again. and
thus far his resolution has been faithfully
| kept
Pennsylvania had until few years ago
two female hermits. One of these was
! Sallie Ketner, who lived In the mou' tains
near Bernville, Berks county. She n Cned
the age of 81, and for As years lived { life
Of hermit, residing all that tim, n n
tumble down hovel. the falling tint rs OF
which finally produced the injuries 'lich
caused her death. She had loved ano been
loved in return, so the story goes b. a
handsome young sailor who left her with
the promise that in five years he wou j re-
turn and make her his bride
This promise was never fulfilled. 7 the
sailor lover. impressed into the serV CO OF
another country, died in a French ison
before the time set for return. His yeet-
heart kept his memory ever green, ould
never have anything TO do with mer aud
In her bosom when she was dead was iund
the last letter from her lover, faded With
age. written Just before he died 81 was
a fine shot, and during the winter m,1 his
her hut hung full of game brought own
by her unerring rife. She lived in Il 2 40
ciety of her cats and dogs, of which sh had
a goodly number, and often was no, zen
for months. Her rude life made her he lthy
and strong.
Four or five years ago the people Of Sew
York talked for day about the ste OF
Hermit Coo Of the Bowery and then + rot
It. A dozen years before Leonard Coe, Lat
being the name he was known b., had
taken up his residence in a Bowery lod ing
house. He seemed very poor, but pal his
rent promptly and spent a few cents ach
day for food He was morose and tacii lrn.
could seldom be drawn into conversi ion
and rarely left his room. When he di, he
always carried with him n brown p per
package. Finally he fell sick and was Ia Ken
to n hospital.
When told that he could not recover. lie
sent for John Haller, a former fellow lodg-
er, and informed him that his real name
was Baer and that he had relatives living
in Lancaster, Pa. He also made a will,
naming Haller as his executor, and intrust-
ed to his keeping the brown paper package
he had so long guarded with jealous care
The day following his death Hallcr opened
the package and found, to his Gstonish-
ment, that II contained over S24,0oO in
greenbacks
An examination Of the hermit's papers
showed that he was graduate of Yale col
lege and had studied both law and medi-
cine. Later he had engaged in the publish
ing business with his brother, but had in
time retired with a competence and had
finally drifted to New York. There, for
some unknown reason, be had sunk bis
identity under the name of Coe and adopted
the squalid life Of a hermit of the slums.-
Chicago Inter Ocean.