The Arizona sentinel., 1896-05-16
"OLD MAN REAVISv IS DEAD
The Hermit of the Superstition Found
 Half Eaten by Coyotes.

Expectations" is dead. His body,
 half eaten by coyotes, was found last
 Thursday near his hut in the Super
 stitiOn mountains, twelve miles north
 of the Silver King. Whether death
 was natural or violent is only matter
 of conjecture, also the time when 1t
 might have occurred, for the hunger of
 the wolves had not left enough evil dence upon which to base an opinion.
 Of all men so widely known there
 was none in Arizona of whom so little
 was known as "Old Man Reavis." {"
 Much has been written about him by
 theEfevzaEise~ have visited him in his mqnns nsAin home, but it was generally produced by the imagination of the writers. It is said that the old re- cluse was driven into exile by disap
 pointment in love, but he never said so and nobody else has been found who could have said so.
 It is only known that he settled in
 the Superstition mountains nearly a quarter of 8 century ago. He never told anybody where he came from; ia fact he never told anybody anything.
 The Apaches were in full bloom in
 those days, but they soon learned to shun the cabin of the hermit whose unerring rifle first inspired respect and then sort of superstitious terror. The old man spent the most of his time in hunting and raising vegetable and fruit which were carried by burros to Glote and exchanged for proyi- fsions, clothing and ammunition. Twice in twenty-five years he visited Florence and once went so far as Mesa, Tempe and PhoS nix, where q tourist took snap shot at him with kodak The picture was finished, en- larged and made part of the Arizona exhibit at the Columbian Exposition where it was recognized by woman from California as her long lost brother. There was an attempt at correspondence and romantic story that the old man had left daughter in San Francisco whom he had educat ed and was secretly supporting. The only thing though that really resulted from the exhibition of the picture was threat sent down the mountain side by the hermit that if he ever met the amateur artist he would send bullet ! through his brain.
 His picture had, however, been. taken some years before. A nearly | life size of it hangs in Phoenix sa- loon. Itrepresents man whose face might have looked upon a century. The hair is long and matted and l crowned bya slouched and ragged hat. 1 A winchester lies across the left arm, the fingers of the right grasping the lever.
 On the occasion of Reavis visit to Phoenix he was entertained by couple of gentlemen who had been at lis home in the mountains. The involved a circuit of saloons. In one of them he was in to a concert hall singer. He vas a model Of courtesy, a reminis- ;ence of 8 former life somewhere But when he was asked 10 drink 8 glass of champagne with the painted finger he refused laughingly, politely put firmly. He would drink with the ,oys, but he had never learned wher- ,ver he had been to drink with a woman in d saloon.
 Nothing will likely ever be known ,f the old mans history.
 He rarely visited the civilized launts of men and utterly refused to ,nter house where there was or to allow one to come to his vierd home in the mountains. He vas d thorough scholar, great reader md possessed in his cave library of tandard books.
 He was no relative of the claiment 'f the so-called Peralta grant, though was at one time reported that they were cousins. To.men of all degrees le was most bospitably and gave of lis last crum to furnish meal and he cosiest corner of his rude home UT their entertainment. He was C peculiar in that he permitted his halr G nd whisllers to grow without q touch f the comb or shears, and was a c trange slght, especially when one P anne upon him in the fastness of the ! 
 We were well acquainted with the eceased. His full name was Elijah 1. Reavis and he arrived in Fl Monte, ear Los Angeles from BeardStOwn, Il. during the gold excitement in nat state. .,