Sam Anderson

They said he was immune to rattlesnake bites. The more he walked, the more fascinated people became. Year after year, the old Leatherman was like a song stuck in the whole region's head. As residents compared notes, as newspaper coverage snowballed, some actual facts became clear. For one thing, it turned out that the old Leatherman was traveling great distances.

They said he was immune to rattlesnake bites. The more he walked, the more fascinated people became. Year after year, the old Leatherman was like a song stuck in the whole region's head. As residents compared notes, as newspaper coverage snowballed, some actual facts became clear. For one thing, it turned out that the old Leatherman was traveling great distances.

His network of caves spanned at least 100 miles. Also, his wanderings weren't random. They were regular and repetitive. In an effort to map his route, people set up sting operations in the woods. They tailed him from town to town. Finally, in the mid-1880s, people realized something astonishing. The old Leatherman was walking in a giant loop, roughly 365 miles around.

His network of caves spanned at least 100 miles. Also, his wanderings weren't random. They were regular and repetitive. In an effort to map his route, people set up sting operations in the woods. They tailed him from town to town. Finally, in the mid-1880s, people realized something astonishing. The old Leatherman was walking in a giant loop, roughly 365 miles around.

It stretched from the Hudson River in the west to the Connecticut River in the east, from mountains in the north to beaches in the south. Along the way, it passed through something like 50 towns. One full circuit usually took him 34 days. His coming can be calculated with almost as much certainty as that of an eclipse, one newspaper wrote.

It stretched from the Hudson River in the west to the Connecticut River in the east, from mountains in the north to beaches in the south. Along the way, it passed through something like 50 towns. One full circuit usually took him 34 days. His coming can be calculated with almost as much certainty as that of an eclipse, one newspaper wrote.

Another said, So regular are his habits that it is often said that he is the only sure thing that farmers can depend upon in this age of uncertainty. Soon, the old Leatherman became a full-blown media phenomenon. The Hartford Globe published a front-page article complete with a timetable of his travels. In small towns, people lined the streets to watch him pass.

Another said, So regular are his habits that it is often said that he is the only sure thing that farmers can depend upon in this age of uncertainty. Soon, the old Leatherman became a full-blown media phenomenon. The Hartford Globe published a front-page article complete with a timetable of his travels. In small towns, people lined the streets to watch him pass.

School teachers let their students out of class to give him treats. A shop offered promotional old Leatherman postcards. Artists produced woodcuts and paintings. Photographers hid cameras in doorways or behind hanging laundry to capture his image. The old Leatherman never sought the attention. If anything, he avoided it.

School teachers let their students out of class to give him treats. A shop offered promotional old Leatherman postcards. Artists produced woodcuts and paintings. Photographers hid cameras in doorways or behind hanging laundry to capture his image. The old Leatherman never sought the attention. If anything, he avoided it.

He went out of his way to skirt the region's big cities, Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and if a homeowner got too inquisitive, he would walk away and never come back. Once in Woodbury, Connecticut, someone presented the old Leatherman with some recent articles about him. He grunted over them, the newspaper account read, but showed no enthusiasm at finding himself famous. Who was he?

He went out of his way to skirt the region's big cities, Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and if a homeowner got too inquisitive, he would walk away and never come back. Once in Woodbury, Connecticut, someone presented the old Leatherman with some recent articles about him. He grunted over them, the newspaper account read, but showed no enthusiasm at finding himself famous. Who was he?

Why was he doing this? People were obsessed. But try as they might, no one could figure it out. One of the most noted philologists in the state spoke to him in a half dozen different languages, the New York Times reported in 1884. He could get no reply but a guttural sound which meant nothing and which was more animal than human in its character.

Why was he doing this? People were obsessed. But try as they might, no one could figure it out. One of the most noted philologists in the state spoke to him in a half dozen different languages, the New York Times reported in 1884. He could get no reply but a guttural sound which meant nothing and which was more animal than human in its character.

In the absence of real information, people were happy to invent things. Theories emerged. The old leather man, one man claimed, was disguising himself to evade police. He was, quote, a fugitive from justice and a Negro. Or he was a wealthy businessman brought low by a fire, mourning the death of his fiancée. In the end, one origin story conquered all the rest.

In the absence of real information, people were happy to invent things. Theories emerged. The old leather man, one man claimed, was disguising himself to evade police. He was, quote, a fugitive from justice and a Negro. Or he was a wealthy businessman brought low by a fire, mourning the death of his fiancée. In the end, one origin story conquered all the rest.

It appeared in 1884 in the Waterbury Daily American under the headline, The Mystery Solved. Although it was fiction, it spread so far, so fast, that it came to be accepted as truth. In this version, the old Leatherman was a Frenchman named Jules Bourglet. As a young man, he fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy leather merchant.

It appeared in 1884 in the Waterbury Daily American under the headline, The Mystery Solved. Although it was fiction, it spread so far, so fast, that it came to be accepted as truth. In this version, the old Leatherman was a Frenchman named Jules Bourglet. As a young man, he fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy leather merchant.

But the merchant disapproved of the match, and so he issued a test. Jules could marry his daughter only if he joined the company, and over the course of one year, proved himself. Things went great until near the end, Jules made a big investment right before the market crashed. The company was ruined. The marriage was forbidden.

But the merchant disapproved of the match, and so he issued a test. Jules could marry his daughter only if he joined the company, and over the course of one year, proved himself. Things went great until near the end, Jules made a big investment right before the market crashed. The company was ruined. The marriage was forbidden.