1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: Gardening can be a relaxing and fulfilling hobby. From planting 7 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: flowers and vegetables to trimming and weeding, the end result 8 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: is something beautiful and sometimes delicious. My oldest daughter likes 9 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: to propagate succulents, while I am on the national do 10 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: not sell list for all Bonziye tree vendors thanks to 11 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: my black thumb. But to make our gardens even more inviting, 12 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: sometimes we hang wind chimes or place decorative fountain in 13 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: the middle, something that's pleasing to the senses. But while 14 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, another kind of 15 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: garden garnish became popular, one that required a bit more 16 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: care and maintenance than a set of wind chimes. Dublin 17 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: born Charles Hamilton was a man of Irish nobility and aristocracy. 18 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: He went to the finest schools traveled Europe after graduation 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: until finally becoming a member of Parliament in seventeen twenty seven. 20 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: He eventually moved to England, where he spent much of 21 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: his time, despite serving constituents back in Ireland. But in 22 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: seventeen thirty seven Hamilton acquired a parcel of land at 23 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: Haineshill in Cobbham, England, which he continued to grow to 24 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: over two hundred acres in size. His time touring Europe 25 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: had left a lasting impression on him, and he hoped 26 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: that one day he could recreate the sprawling natural gardens 27 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: that he had seen during his travels. But he chose 28 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: to abandon the standard gardening principles of the time, such 29 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: as geometric patterns and rigid layouts. Hamilton instead embraced the 30 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: landscape movement, which had begun in England a handful of 31 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: years early. This trend was more natural in practice, and 32 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: it led to a lush and vibrant ecosystem of plants 33 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: and animals cohabitating on the property. But there was something missing, 34 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 1: something unique. Hamilton was one of a relative few who 35 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: had the money to populate his garden with a different 36 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: kind of creature. In short, he wanted a living recluse, 37 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: a living, breathing human being to dwell within the confines 38 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: of his garden. His conditions were firm, but for the 39 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: individual who could adhere to the fully, there was a 40 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: hefty reward waiting for them. At the end, all a 41 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: person had to do was live alone on Hamilton's Painsill 42 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: estate for seven years. They had to remain silent and 43 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: not speak to the servants bringing them their meals each day, 44 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: not even a please or a thank you. They also 45 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: had to wear a robe made of goat's hair and 46 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: refrain from any kind of grooming such as haircuts, clipping 47 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: their nails, or trimming their beards. And they could not 48 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 1: wear any shoes. But above all else they could not 49 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: wander beyond the Painsill property line. If they were able 50 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: to live this way for a period of sar seven years, 51 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: they would earn a payout of anywhere from five hundred 52 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: to seven hundred pounds, roughly the equivalent of ninety five 53 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: thousand to one hundred and thirty thousand dollars today. These 54 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: people were known as ornamental hermits, and they were meant 55 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: to live a life of introspection, a virtue held in 56 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 1: high regard by the British elite. A man named Remington 57 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: was the first to answer Hamilton's request, although despite the 58 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: short list of rules given, they were apparently too much 59 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,519 Speaker 1: for him to bear. He was eventually disqualified after being 60 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: found at a nearby pub getting drunk. Some historians believe 61 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: ornamental hermits represented the simple life, devoid of problems like 62 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: day jobs, bills, and national politics faced by their rich benefactors. 63 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: They might have been living reminders of what was truly 64 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: important in life, the kinds of things property owners could 65 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: not pursue for fear of losing their own fortunes. The 66 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: homes of ornamental hermits varied in size and shape depending 67 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: on the property they were constructed upon, and could be 68 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: anything from a treehouse to a ship. The first garden 69 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: hermitage had been built by English antiquarian and physician William 70 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: Stukeley in seventeen twenty seven. His version was small and humble, 71 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: nested into the landscape, like, as he put it, a 72 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: cell or grotto. Another hermitage, built for King George the 73 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: Second's wife Caroline of Ansbach, was nothing more than a 74 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: pile of stones arranged in an octagonal shape, with some 75 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: moss and bushes strewn about. The practice of hiring strangers 76 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: to live on rich people's properties for years at a 77 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: time died out in the early eighteen hundreds. What had 78 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: started as a way to convey wealth and status dissolved 79 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: as abolitionists learned of the questionable living conditions of these hermits. 80 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: It became uncouth to pay someone to live in squalor 81 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: in your garden. Today, though anyone with a little bit 82 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: of money can't rent a cabin in the middle of 83 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: nowhere and commune with nature. The whole industry has been 84 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: built around the concept. They just don't call you an 85 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: ornamental hermit for partaking in it anymore. They call you 86 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: an Airbnb customer. Life can seem overwhelming these days. The 87 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: climate is changing, the world is constantly at war, and 88 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: the politicians we elected to represent our best interests aren't 89 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,280 Speaker 1: doing much to earn their votes. It's enough to make 90 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: someone want to pack up and move away from civilization, 91 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: but it's so much less feasible today, given our dependence 92 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: on electronics and well indoor plumbing. But in the late 93 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: eighteen thirties, one man found a way to live off 94 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: the grid in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, 95 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: a location that is both serene and a little bit dangerous. 96 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: His name was Francis Abbott, and he had come to 97 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: Niagara Falls, New York, from his home country of England 98 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: in June of eighteen twenty nine. Abbot was a worldly fellow, 99 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: having been to a number of different countries, including Greece, Spain, 100 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 1: and Asia, but he was also a bit of an eccentric. 101 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: He didn't talk much. In fact, he carried with him 102 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: a slate which he would write upon to convey his 103 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 1: thoughts rather than verbalize them with others. He also had 104 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: little to his name. When he arrived in New York. 105 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: He was wearing a long brown robe and was carrying 106 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: books that he borrowed from the library, along with the 107 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: flute and some blankets. He was gaunt in his appearance, 108 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: looking in need of rest and perhaps a few decent meals, 109 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: and he found those exact things in the home of 110 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: a nearby family. They rented him a room, but he 111 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: asked for several considerations beforehand. For one, no one else 112 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: was to share the room with him, and second, only 113 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: a portion of the food he consumed was to be 114 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: made by his host family. He stayed for a week, 115 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: during which time he purchased a violin. When his stay 116 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: was over, he returned his books to the library. But 117 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: he wasn't ready to leave Niagara just yet. You see, 118 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: he had fallen in love with the place he wanted 119 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: to stay, but in a home of his own, so 120 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: he asked the owner of nearby island if he could 121 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 1: build a cabin for himself, but was quickly rejected. Instead, 122 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,239 Speaker 1: he inhabited a log cabin at the head of Goat 123 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: Island with only his dog and his meager belongings. His 124 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: time there was simple. He would wander the island at 125 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: night near an eight foot long piece of timber extending 126 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: out over the falls. On some occasions he would crawl 127 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: out to the edge of the limb and just sit there, 128 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: his feet dangling over the churning waters. Other times he 129 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: would hang from the timber like a leaf in the wind. 130 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: Abbot lived on Goat Island in solitude for two years 131 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: until he decided to build himself another cabin closer to civilization. 132 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: He was spending more time near the other villagers now, 133 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: but he didn't interact with them much. He almost never 134 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: spoke to any of them, but he wasn't rude either. 135 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: He was rather affable, and once drawn into a conversation, 136 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: he could be quite charming. One of the few people 137 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: that he ever spoke to was George de Vaux, who 138 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: he would get into debates and arguments with on all 139 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: kinds of topics, most often theology. Abbot would also regale 140 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: him with tales of his travels over or play music 141 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: he had composed himself, and if any tourists came to 142 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: visit the falls, he would perform a balancing act on 143 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: that pier to entertain them. He had ingratiated himself within 144 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: the community, and he was known by almost all of 145 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: his neighbors, who also had come to learn of his 146 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: daily habits. For example, he was often seen scribbling away 147 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: in various books in his possession, enough to fill a library. 148 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: In fact, he would also bathe in the river a 149 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: little ways up from Horseshoe Falls. Now it's not clear 150 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: exactly how it transpired, but on the afternoon of June 151 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: tenth of eighteen thirty one, Abbot waded into the river, 152 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: where he drowned. His body was recovered eleven days later 153 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: by the townsfolk, who carried him back to the village 154 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,599 Speaker 1: to give him a proper burial among the trees and 155 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: wildlife he loved so much. In his cabin they found 156 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: his flute, his violin, pages of music scattered all over 157 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: the floor, and his dog. What they didn't find was 158 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: his writing. Apparently he only ever wrote in Latin, and 159 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: when he was finished, he would cast the pages into 160 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,839 Speaker 1: a fire to be destroyed. Francis Abbott, the Hermit of Niagara, 161 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: didn't live there long, but he made a lasting impression 162 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: on the locals, so much so that they named the 163 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: cascade where he usually bathed Hermit's Cascade in his honor. 164 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,079 Speaker 1: Francis may have lived by himself, but he was certainly 165 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: never alone. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 166 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 167 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 168 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 169 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 170 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 171 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 172 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: over at the Worldolore dot com. And until next time, 173 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: stay curious.