The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-08
BRONI PARKS HERMIT.
He is Known as "Crazy Billy" and Has
Lived In Den for Twenty Years.

Lived In Den for Twenty Years.
There is an exhibit in the New York Zoolor-
ical Park at the southern end Of Bronx Park on
which nothing is said b. the officials The cx-
hibit is a hermit who has lived twenty years in
. rocky retreat which Supt lo-naday would
consider cruel TO offer to wild hcasts for dwelling
place. II Is a mere hollow formed at the foot Of a
rocky mound by the iall OF several slabs Of stone
broken from the main ledge by the action OF the
elements big slab forms roof over two other
slabs. The hollow thus formed is barely high
enough for tall man to sit in, and is jus, long
enough for a tall manic curl up in TO sleep For
tunatoly the hermit is not very tall He is rugged
and muscular in build. He drifted into the village
OF West Farms some twenty years ago and was
CLASSIFIED promptly as one OF the tranps who had
begun TO pass through the village in large num-
beTs on their way TO town 10 spend the winter
Some of the villagers offered the man a meal
and he proved his worth by refusing to cat il until
he had u Job about the garden 10 pay for it, lilo
cleaned up the fall wreckAssc in the grounds and
then fell TO ana ate the neal as one VINO had tasted
long. This DONE he again surprised people by
disappearing in the forest All that week he
was about the village, or less and did enough
odd Jobs TO supply his small rs to food and at
the end OF the week some nquisitive boys traced
him 10 his den Year in and year out the man
who. when first seen seemed TO be about fifty years
old. slept summer and winter. in his rocky den,
with no other protection than the surplus clothing
given him from time 10 time additional pay
ment for work Al the approach of winter he
gathers blushwood and broken branches and
leans them against TIC opening Of the hollow.
They anurd s.iehi obstruction 10 the wind.
although toward tlc end Of the season the coiicc-
ton often reaches MY feet from the mouth Of
the den. lie talks little, and not at all 10 stran.
lii haG k.., L..
life.
He answers to the name OF Billy and at one
time said his namo Lee The village boys
promptly dropped the name OF Lee and appended
the adjective crazy" and the old hermit is known
20 ali the old residents Of West Farms as Crazy
penny when entrusted with money To make small
purchases iOr his few patrons, but unable TO r.cl-
lect more than one thing at time. II n list ID
made out for bin he viii purchase all he is sent
after and invariably returns tho proper change.
The oly thinE h' accepts freely without work
Is tobacco Food and old clothes he Prefers 10
Billy told some of his oldest friends the Low
eths, who live on kingSbridgc Road, that ho was
Irish, but tle Engllsn name of Ice seems To con
tradict this He also spoGc OF having nod a WHO
and children but a few minutes later conlraGiuteI
tie story. He seems to be anlc 10 read AMI lies
to pore over papers and books nut no Que has
them or not The boys SGT fire TO the brush hu
hal collected once and destroyed his surplus
stock OF clothing, Since then he wears ~ many
remainder wherever he goes Once he wander
ed up TO Pelham Manor and was arrested aud
lock-d up for vagraucy As soon as he was RS
leased he returned TO his old haunts and cannot
be Undue q ~ wander in the direction oil the Manor
again Hs spent tbs week Of the blizzard Of
1888 in the woods, and when Mr.. Loweth man.
aged TO reach his retreat expecting TO find him
dead, Billy seemed no worse ior the exposure.
just how he managed to keep from freezing no
one was ever able To discover, lire might nave
helped him, but after tho boys burned him out
he was never known 10 build fire near his bur
row for fear Of burning himself out
For years the local authorities did not inter
fere with Billy, but since the advent Of the Zoo
thu police have tried To dispossrss him and think
that they have succeeded partly, especially ar ~
late Billy has consented 10 accept heller from the
few whom he has learned TO trust. He simply
goes home later than he used to ana those familiar
enough with tho PARK TO discover the hermit
retreat will still find the Imprint Of his form IN the
soil which scantly covers the rocky buttom and
will see that he has already begun the accumu.
lation Of the brushwoOd shield against the bitter
blasts of winter Ills home iS hard Ia find and is
approached only by foot path worn principally
by his own !e't II is in the very heart Of the
woods near BrOnXdalp