Year: 1877

throughout the Delaware Valley. Drifts
many feet deep formed in the Pike coun-
ty mountains, and the weather was Bit
ter cold. On Friday, persons living in
the northern part of Lehman township
found the cabins of number of hoop
pole cutters nearly buried with snow,
and the inmates almost dead with hun.
ger and cold. In ten-foot drift, uear
the top of one of the mountains, they
found the dead body of Austin Sheldon,
better known as the Hermit of Leh-
man." He had lived over forty years
in cave in the rocks, near the entrance
of which his body was found. Sheldon
was nearly 72 years old. He was dis
covered in his cave thirty years ago by
hunters. He said he had been living
there ten years, and had not seen any
human beings in that time. His cave
was nine miles from Dingman's village.
Nothing was known of the hermit's his
tory until year ago. Then some men
tion of him was made in New York
newspaper of his living as a hermit
The paragraph was seen by parties in
Stony Creek, Conn.,, from which man
named Austin Sheldon had disappeared
forty-four years before. A brother and
sister of the missing man, both wealthy,
started to look the hermit up. They
reached his cave one day about dusk.
The hermit was their brother, but he
could not be induced to leave his cave,
even with the offer of $4,000, and
luxurious home as long as he lived. 1t
was learned from the brother and sister
of the hermit that he had lost his wife
after brief married life. He disap-
peared the day on which she was buried,
and not word had been heard from
him until the item in the newspaper was
seen. His friends thought he had gone
to sea and died.


Before he took up his abode in the
Pike county cave, Sheldon says he roam
ed for five years through the woods of
Connecticut, Vermont and New York,
stunning civilization. At last he found
cave in which he concluded to live the
rest of his life. He did not know its
locality at the time, but found afterward
that it was among the Moosic Mountains,
in Wayne county, Pa. The great forest
that surrounded his cave soon attracted
the attention of the lumbermen, and he
fed deeper into the wilderness. After
cave in the wild region where ne died.
For over forty years he lived in this
hole in the rocks. Originally not more
than eight feet square. accumulation of
the rubbish of forty years reduced its
proportion SO that there was barely room
| to turn about in it. Sheldon lived on
game, fish, roots and berries. At the
time of his death his form was much
BENT The clothing that hung in rags
and tatters from his person had been
donned twenty-five years ago. and never
taken off. 1t was held together by hick-
ory withes He never washed. A thick,
gray beard that hung almost to his
waist, and hair of the same color hang
ing over his shoulders, was matted with
burrs and twigs, and had not been touch
ed with comb or brush for forty-fve
years. He never went far away from
his cave. A long staff and an ancient
Bible-the latter hanging from his belt
! were his constant companions. 1t was
his boast that he had read his Bible
through twice year ever since he had
been in the wilderness. He held daily
communications with God, he said, and
talked with the prophets of old. Several
times his cave had been surrounded with
forest fires, and almost every avenue of
escape cut off. but he calmly remained
in his retreat, reading his Bible, until
removed by woodsmen thoughtful of his
safety. Nearly every winter for years
he had been rescued from freezing and
starving. He never made any effort to
save himself. saying he was in the hands
of God The cave in which he lived was
permeated with so horrid stencil that
visitors could not remain in it, and the
hermit himself was covered with filth
and vermin. Sheldon was an educated


man. His family is among the leading
ones of Connecticut