HERMIT OF THE PEAK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12609, 25 June 1904, Page 2 (Supplement)

HERMIT OF THE PEAK.

ECCENTRIC RECLUSE OP DERBYSHIRE WOODS. The people of the Peak district of Derbyshire are reported to be much perturbed by the eccentricities of a man who has been roaming about the* woods on the hillsides for some time past. Eye-witnesses declare that his wardrobe is limited to a pair of of boots, a shirt, and a silk hat. He first surprised a party of lady golfers. They had just reached the summit of one of the hills over which the links extend when they saw confronting them a shivering and gesticulating individual. He was evidently not less discomfited at the - informal introduction than were the ladies, for as they ran off towards the town, } a mile distant in one direction, he scampered into the ! woods beside which the links are laid out. These woods, which are on the estate of the Duke of Rutland, are situated behind Haddon Hall, and are about a mile from Chatsworth. On * second occasion another party of lady golfers were terrified at the sudden appearance of this curious individual. They gave the alarm, and the golf club's professional, with a companion, at once went in pursuit. They were hot on the heels of the unclothed interloper, but, with almost superhuman agility, he scaled the precipitous heights, swung from tree to tree, and quickly outdistanced his pursuers. The police were afterwards informed of the circumstances, and since then they have been on the look-out for the strange intruder, but without success. A Bakewell tradesman is said to 'have surprised the "wild man" (as he is termed locally) while he was indulging in a dip in the river, but the weird stranger darted off into a neighbouring dump of trees. He is evidently no ordinary tramp, for he has repeatedly displayed a liking for water. Tin's love of cleanliness, however, does not appeal favourably to the inhabitants of Bakewell, for it is stated that the stranger has been swimming in the reservoir that supplies the town with water. Three or four hundred people scoured the woods one day hunting for the "wild man."' They were armed with stout sticks, and in one or two instances firearms were carried. This latter precaution nearly ended in a tragedy. A young fellow, taking advantage of the excitement of his fellowtownsmen, put a shirt over his clothes, and suddenly showed himself in a distant part of the wood. Chase was at once given after the supposed " wild , man," and there was a great hue and cry. The pursuit Listed for » long time, and some of the more reckless, of the party were injured in their tumbles over the rocks. The counterfeit " wild man" was at last brought to bay in a clearing of the woods, and just as one of his pursuers was taking aim with his gun the identity of the quarry wa? revealed, or there might have been a more disastrous termination to the practical joke. There is abundant evidence of the presence of the real " wild man" in the woods, and one of his habitations has been discovered. On the top of one of the hills there is a stone wall, forming a boundary to pasture, land that extends for several mile;*. Sheltered by the wall from the keen winds that sweep this lofty plateau, a roughly fashioned hut was found. Branches of trees and pieces of rock form the walls, while the roof is principally composed of bracken, which grows in great abundance in the neighbourhood. Since the discovery of the hut the hermit seems, however, to' have deserter it. As neither pineapples nor cocoanuts grow in the woods the marvel is how this unwelcome Robinson Crusoe supplies his commissariat.