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our' ap-1 PASSING OP AN OLDa sfren-ve been sevenKANSAS LANDMARK,i might ty of a iris em-a clean s ago 'a ice of a several lile her she did mber of manner y stood i a dis-n those e estab-re and ic great in them hen the ock ex o years 190b disaster f nearly Ikat the capita ;e $317 ’or the m the C money is, pen. iges forReminiscence of Old Hugh,,Cameron, the Kansas Hermit,” One of the Oldest Settlers of State,E¥E1Peeyi8hNei lvn Iv w( mars They timeof in lawyefh.the c peevii prcse-mal’s forme ly da elephi mors.Pshaw”answer he user o their demandn aslassions. iful did ou have ; law,” e said, Some leading is hand t office in the “The vent to s godly it Ion-| about, me so it was it give sort of me the is your words r inde-rill ob-c-nterproacpossi-thsor ty-mparil-ngth.iss. at.bakin; wrence quality mtness er will . The . Bell s.. 515churchJecem-cy ar-l food i fromr gOOlt;‘: Beal.The death, of the “Old Hermit” marks the passing of another of the old landmarks of - Lawrence and Kansas. His unique figure, his blue army coat, for the General was patriotic above all things, his stocking cap, his sort of buck-skins and the every present staff lil e tliat of an old hermit of Biblical days, has been a common sight on the streets of Lawrence since the memory of man hardly, runneth back while his hermitage on the beautiful Cameron Bluffs named in bis honor, has been the mecca no which, practically every voung man and young woman who iias attended K. U. has made at least one pilgrimage.Hardy in his four score of years, the. Old General was a tireless walker and while each year his pace became just a trifle slower, he never entirely deserted his lonely country j ?*vlnt diabitutiou for town, although during the past two years he built him a nest in the trees on Pinckney street where he has spent much of his time. The General loved his country hermitage and for years and years he dwelt there, amid the trees, all alone, with the snow drifting in on him in the winter and the water tearing through his habitation when the spring thaw would come.The out of doors and fresh air were his two hobbies and perhaps never has a mortal in the past century lived iif queerer place than the old Hermit who died1 yesterday evening. On the Bluffs three miles north of town his camp was pitched. Between three tree, close together his last camp was built a kind of tepee of logs under which he kept his trunk and papers. His bed on a couch where ite could look out between the gaps in the logs at the stars and where all the fierce winds could blow over him, his home was truly a wonderful creation.And even more bizarre was his method of housekeeping. Cleanliness was not one of the Hermit’s virtue and lie would live in one spot until so much trash had gathered as to almost crowd him out. Then in-S'vad of having a general house eh'cuing day he would have a house mo- ing. He would move his papers and other valuables and set fire to his habitation atul pitch camp anew.Tiiis process was kept up for years and years and during the time he lived the lonely outdoor life of a hermit lie had more than a half dozen homes on his camp site.-Finely educated and with an intellect very keen, when lie could he Licit kept off certain subjects over which; claims he did not seem to have command of (animal himself, Many have been the eon-j C(, jectuves made as to why he became|- *a hermit.Sitting before a camp fire one Oelober night on a fallen log. while the Hermit stood silhouetted in the glow from the dying embers, a World reporter once heard his story from the lips of the old pntriareh.“Von read in the Bible of the prophets of old,” said the hermit—and bv the way Hugh Cameron studied the Bible and knew it as only a careful student knew it, “How to-become a seer, a prophet, one had to bury himself alone in the woods.Your old Scotch hards would often bury themselves in the mountains.” and the general, absent mindedly broke out into a quaint weird Ssotcii ballad, until his visitor had to bring him back to his discussion of how he became a hermit. “I wanted to he alone, I wanted to become a seer so I buried myself here in my woods.•Some day the vision may come.”Hugh Cameron died waiting in vain for the vision.Much has been said of the Hermit’s great walks to Washington to see the Presidents inaugurated.Cameron only walked all the way there once, although he frequently covered part of .the distance there on foot. His one big walk was when Benjamin Harrison was inne.igu-asked which also him. neck friem side t Aft party Mrs.' ly for a cag Ditmu that I dange laugh i slighti prove snake took them The ; every departRhcSo Cl TJpoAcarbon and si proteic and gc vast -the ox neatra, acid a: j other i Thes assimii proper] througl How fectlv vaiuabi ahsolut The stornac Hent ter daj arises ; stomae! some n Stua: dvspep: nubural the sjrated when the Hermit’s strange fig. j blood,
Newspaper Details
Lawrence Daily World
Lawrence, Kansas, US
Fri, Dec 11, 1908
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Shannon H.
USA 06 Jun 2025
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