THE HERMIT OF SCIOTO. UNKNOWN.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 170, 18 September 1886, Page 3

THE HERMIT OF SCIOTO. UNKNOWN.

{i^N the road between Portsmouth and Clbillioothe, Ohio, aW\ft eleveri mil©! 'south 'Of-theslatter, place, iawhat ja known as the c^e off the. hermit of Scioto. , The,oay r e,was built jnuny yeara a^o, when the' surround* iiig 'ooufutryi w*us> an almost uninhabited' wilderness. ' Itisarude'lookitg structure,* 'fqrmed by successive layera of roughstone, u^ider a projecting rock,' which serves .as a backhand roof.. Over the cave is; a 'plain garble monument, now black with ago, and 'on which, appeara the follovring inscription : '? ' WILLIAM HEJWIT, : "" : The Hermit, :• • <■ i ■ ; Occupied .this cay« rourteen years, : * : while all wua wildorn-us arouuq ' , , , : him. He d ied in 1881, aged 7o y eara s :'[ ' ( • ,' .................. > But very little is known of the life. of Hewit. The old settlers now living have no very . distinct recollection' of him, except that he occupied the cave above described for a number of years,- and paid no attention _to the other settlers. ' One pioneer, how-, ever, told me that he knew; Hewit when he firftt canoe" 1 to that' part of the country, and, before he built the cave 'He said that Hewit had' such a peculiar demeanour that he ' was inclined to legard him suspiciously, ' but afterwards 'found him much of a man. Hewit, it was thought, was a I Virginian, and married early in life into a family of much respectability. Returning from n. journey rather unexpectedly one night he had ocular proof of his wife's Infidelity,killed her and her paramour, and inatantly fled to the woods, nover again to return or associate with mankind. Eventually settling in the Sciotic valley, he built thin cave, where he passed a life of absolute solitudo, his rifle furnishing him with food, 1 and clothing. The latter consisted of skins, and I am told was as varied as Joseph's coat, giving him an extremely odd appearance. Aa the country, graHually filled up and civilisation began to intrude on the solitude of his surrounding?, he became an object of curiosity to the settlers, who, in spite of his' reticence and evasions, urged association , with him. Occasionally he visited Chillicothe to exchange skins and furs for ammunition. His singular appearance attracted much attention and made him the unpleasant subject of remark. He was a large, muscular man ; his beard was long and unshaven, and hia eye? wild and piercing. In passing trom his cave to Chillicothe he always , took out of-the-way rou+es to avoid encountering any of his fellow-men. It is said of him that while trading in Chillicothe one day he crawled into a large box, which was standing in front of one of the trading poats, in order to avoid meeting a number of persons who were passing along tho street. After murdering his wife and her paramour in Vh'ginia he seemed to possess an aversion to social associations of any kind, and wonld never speak to a man unlesa compelled to. Like "Johny Appleseed," whoee peculiarities I have deecribed in a former letter, -Hewit wast an eccentric man, heeding the rights of others rather than his own. A physician passing that way one day in November, 1883, stopped at the hermit's cave out of curiosity, and pushing open the door found him lying on the ground. Near Rocky Fore, about four miles from Bainbridge, is another cave, which, through a natural one, has a history more interesting than ihat of the hermit. Few 'newspaper readers have forgotten the thrilling accounts of the daring and desperate deeds committed by Bob McKimmey, the notorious Western desperado and murderer, and his capture near Rocky Fork some years ago. McKimmey used all the natural recesses of Rocky Fork as places of refuge when the detectives were on his trail. The cave to which I have referred bears the name of McKimmey's Cave. It is reached by climbing down the precipitious sided of the cliff in a beautiful and romantic portion of the surrounding grove When a point fifty feet below the summit of the cliff is reached a huge rock is seen ; turning the corner of this rock abruptly, amid waving evergreens, moss and feme, a small hole in the rocks opens its dark throat to the sun. Entering, a small chamber in the living rocks is discovered, to pass through which it is necessiary for one to humble himself on hia hands and knees. Adjoining this is a second and pitch daik chamber. In this chamber is a small natural shelf in the rocky side of the cavern, near the roof, Bere a man could hold an army at bay with the simplest weapon. The wretched McKimmey is said to have lain here for hours', w t hile his pursuers were searching every foot of ground in the vicinity foe him. The rude utensils with which McKimmey cooked his coarse food are stilL shown. He was a member of one of the ! most daring bands of robbers which ever invested Ohio, with Allen Grandstaff, leader of the band. These desperadoes were a terror to a wide community, and many a ; ghastly tale of their deeds i* related with a shudder by the side of the quiet fireplaces in (ho lonely cabins in the mountains on winter nights. Of McKimmey's final capture, a former Postmaster ot Bainbridge gave me the following account : *'' "McKimmey ,wa» raised in this , vicinity," said be, "but committed no crimes until he went West to Wyoming and Colorado. While there he became one of the most murderous and daring outlaws in the whole West, his deeds were on every 'tongue : his murders made everyone shudder at the mention of his name. When he returned to Ohio he came back to the haunts of his boyhood and lost no time in joining a band of cutthroats here. Many a hundred dollars has that gang choked out of the farmers ir this vicinity. < Their deeds finally became so notorious and bold that eomething had to be done. Deteotive'Noxris of Springfield undertook the job of breaking up the gang. He worked up the' case in masterly style and finally compelled MGKimmey to leave the cave. 1 remember his capture well. One Thanksgiving Day the word went rdund from farmhouse to farmhouse in tho mountains that MoKimmey was in AHen Grandataff s s cabin, a lonely and desolate little log House in a clearing in the hills. Nearly '2oo farmers grabbed their guns and made up a party to capture him. Armed with every conceivable weapon, the members of the party formed a great circle round the cabin and gradually closed in on it. When they had completely surrounded it MeKimmey showed himself atthe door. One of the' party, a -yonn^ man named % Jones, who was intimately acquainted with 'McKimmey, volunteered to go and tell him how desperately small were his chances of escape. ' All held "their breath as the young man entered the cabin. Whenlre got fairly inside,- McKimmey, with one of those intuitions, one "of those flashes .of genius which criminals often have in critical emergencies, t suddenly seized him, with, a grip* of iron *arid held him 6loW to his own v bddy.' " He "then ; calmly walked, out of the T door, folding fast' to 1 Joriep, secure id the fact that 'no 1 one Would shoot' for fear* of hitting Jones;'. He walked" in tjbis way slowly towards the woods,' The army <6f pursuers 'followed. In the course of tho walk through the' wood,' a giant' oak

was reached. As MoKimmey and Jones for a shot. Just as McKimmey was walk- " in|j tyhitfdyWtftt&l anaj^hilf Johesfwaa *;g protected by it£ fc&nl^a^uritfer' bt f M&' •«* rang out, and McKimmey fell^struck by several bullets. f, ; ,JSej( w ( ap f j ( ogn l4 bpund and me ffifal ana cojayjiot^oiJ^isentoncea.tOftne „ OhiQjPe.niten^iary.jfor.jHfe^wKar.Qjhe'^ one of tlieipo)9{iD ( oied,con (^ictB^ V- t , '-,