The Red Cloud chief., 1896-07-10

h"li''h wv WIN NAN, NI ii'i nut SdUl,
several years ago, says a Patchoguc o..
~ correspondent of the New YORK.
Herald. lie received this name owing
to the wild manner in which he lived
and his dislike of human beings.
He was a dcnizcn of the woods for
twenty years. He had no companions
and when any one accidentally came
upon him in ;hc woods he would "un
from sight.
His legs were wrapped In rags. He
seldom spoke TO a human being and
then only when IT was absolutely nee
rssary.
Hermit sam is supposed 20 have
buried Il big sum of money. lie al
ways had "a mania for hoa ding silver
in his younger days. when he occasion
ally worked. for of late years. when he
sold game or fish, he would not accept
bills in payment. The money had TO
he In silver, which was promptly
buried.
When he was being got ready Ivy the
officials for the trip 20 the county
house he asked to he allowed 10 dig
mp some money. Picking up a shovel,
he laburiously walked to another cor
ncr of the cave and began digging in
the earth. He soOr uncarthcd some
silver. More digging revealed several
hundred dollars in silver.
Nurio collectors have managed to gc'
hold OF some Of the hcrmit's silver.
Some Of the pieces are said to be very
valuable. One coin IL a silver dollar
Of great aEo. worth $500.
After sam had tied up his money he
said that If he must leave his cave and
the surrounding woods that had shell
tered him for years he was ready to go.
Tears filled his eyes for an instant as
he stepped from his odd home and
closed the door. Looking about him,
he said:
Il don't want to go. Mother died in
that house pointing to an Old-fash-
Toned, tumble-down house on "A hill)
years ago. She was the only friend !
ever had. ] have lived here for many
years, and kept my promise to her,
never 10 marry or desert the old place.
have kept my promise. and would
rather die here now, were I left alone
II was for fear that Hermit Sam
would become III and suffer that the
authorities decided to remove him to
the poorhouse.
He had a hatred of women that Dor
dcred on frenzy. II Is said he has
spoken 10 only two women in fifteen
years. He has always borne "A kindly
feeling toward Mrs. William Mott, wife
of his nephew, to whom he has spoken
a h~alf-dozcn times in the last ten
years.
Sam Is said 10 have had n sweetheart
years ago, OF whom he was passion
atcly fond and who Tilted him. From
that time he became a woman hator.
He would walk a mile to escape con
tact with a woman. OF men he was
almost equally afraid. There are not
a dozen men who have spoken 10 him
In years, and these are those whom he
trusted in his younger days. One of
his fears was that somebody would poi
son him.
Mott seldom visited Patchogue. and
then only 10 buy a few things at the
store he patronized for years. lie al
ways entered town very early in the
morning or just before dark at night.
He made his living by trapping and
fishing. Occasionally he sold game to
hunters, who would leave the money
on the ground near his home where he
could sec IT.. Then he would put the
game where the money had been left.
For years one ~storckeeper bought
cranberries of him in this manner.
One of Hermit Sans freaks a few
years ago was tn pluck long hairs from
the tail of a horse. Any horse with q
long and graceful tail was a particular
mark for his fancy. 1t Is supposed
he used the hair in making snares. lie
was a great hunter and caught many
raccoons and foxes, the skins OF which
he used for a bed.
Thc hermit was once a big and pow
crful man. One or two old residents
who knew him when he was young say
he was both a powerful and handsome
man. Now he has almost the appear
ancc of a hunchback. He and his
mother lived for years in a little old
fashioned house at the head OF a pretty
valley, just north OF Canaan, No man
was ever more attached To his mott or
than was Sam, He guarded her In
her old age and when she became III
asd helpless he was always at her side.
After she died he became morose and
refused to speak or associate with
The few persons with whom he had re-
tanned a speaking acquaintance.
He stuck TO the old homestead until
lis rotten timbers compelled him to
seek another abode. Then he selected
a drcary and cherries spot at the heaG
OF the Canaan valley, just east OF the
house whore he had lived with his
mother. A deep hole was dug in the
side of a hill.
A piece Of pipe protruding through
the top served him az a chimney.
There was only one entrance TO the
cave, which was strongly fortified by a
heavy timber dCor. !ic entered aud