In the 1860s there was a man who would make a round of every 34 days to visit the same homes. He would travel around 365-mile walk from Connecticut to New York. He went through towns like Danbury, New Fairfield, Watertown, Middletown, and Canaan into Westchester, New York then back to Danbury. Typically this trip would take around 34 days. He would stay in caves and visit homes he was welcomed to for food. Some of these homes he would visit for more than 25 years.
Now, what was the name of this mysterious traveler?
No one knows. People had noted him for his unique fashion and called him Leather Man since he wouldn't say his name. He wore clothes that were stitched together pieces of leather made from old boot tops. He would wear this outfit all year round even during the summer. It was estimated that his jacket alone weighed 60 lbs.
He would not hunt or fish on someone's land without permission. He also kept the caves on his path neat with a pine bough or leaf bed. He would have wood stocked up for the next visit. He preferred to sleep in the caves rather than in people's homes. People were generous and would give the man tobacco, food, and pennies. In some towns, school was let out for Leather Man day so that the children could visit with him and give him pennies.
It seemed that he was fluent in French and spoke broken English. He would mostly talk in grunts and movement. When people were to ask him personal questions it seemed that he would avoid questions and leave the conversation. He carried around with him a bible written in French. It could be possible he was French Canadian or just French.
After a bad winter in 1888, the Leather Man began to have a growth on his lip. Which turned out to have been cancer. He didn't get treated or help with the growth and in 1889 the Leather Man was found dead in one of the caves in Ossining New York.
There have been many theories on who he was. But for the most part, the theories are tales spun to give him some sort of background. None of them have been proven to be true.
Another mystery appeared in 2011 when the grave of Leather Man had been dug up. Other than a few nails there was nothing in the coffin. Leather Man's body wasn't in the grave and no one knows where it had gone.
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