http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%2003-01-2011%20(2).mp3
As much as we romanticize the Leatherman, Connecticut's most famous vagabond, we should remember too that the post Civil War era -- his era -- was a time of tramp laws, meant to discourage exactly the sort of person he was.
A New York Times editorial from 1879 complains of "ragged, filthy, villainous-looking men, sneaking ruffians, the tramp nuisance."
The Leatherman himself was sometimes pelted with produce and rocks. Over time, people seemed to sort him out as somehow different from other vagrants. It became common to leave him food, money and scraps of leather. The man, however, remained a mystery. He was an American Kaspar Hauser -- a person with no back story. And now the world is once again impinging on the Leatherman.
His grave may need to be moved, which means there's a chance of unlocking some of his secrets. But should we?
Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
