The Legend of the ‘Leatherman’

The story of a legendary vagabond, also known for wearing a suit from hand-made leather.

A legend was born one day after a vagabond gained fame for traveling between western Connecticut and eastern New York from 1857 to 1889; in addition to his fixed travel route, the Leatherman also became known for wearing clothing constructed entirely from hand-made leather. For this reason, he gained the nickname: “The Leatherman.”

Although the Leatherman always returned to the same towns, in the same order, like clockwork — so much so that the locals timed his appearances down to the minute — none were ever able to discern his true identity. Even the Leatherman’s origins remain a mystery, which deepened further over that whenever someone asked where he came from, he would abruptly end the conversation. Furthermore, although he had an apparent fluency in French, he did also speak in what was considered “broken English,” suggesting that origins were French-Canadian, though that cannot be concerned. However, his main form of communication consisted of grunts and gestures.
Another possible piece to his identity was that he always refused to eat meat on Fridays, suggesting that he was Roman Catholic.