Hermit's Cave

Hermit's Cave. . , "He appears rather an intelligent man, speaks nine different languages. He has lived a Hermit some thirty five years... Last winter he lived five months in a hollow tree near Westport, Mo. He refuses to eat bread or meat; his food consists of corn meal mixed with water or milk without cooking. , - Council Grove Press , April 27, 1863, Down the steps and under the rock in front of you is a small recess. For a few months in 1863, it was home to a religious mystic. Born in 1801 in Novara, Italy, he was known locally as Father Francesco. In his travels through Europe and the Americas, he used other names, including Matteo Boccalini, and his birthname, Giovanni Maria de Agostini., Son of a nobleman, he received a fine education in preparation for the priesthood, but reportedly was forced to leave Italy after falling in love with a young lady., He left Council Grove with a wagon train owned by Don Eugenio Romero and captained by Dionicio Gonzalez, walking the entire 550 miles to Las Vegas, New Mexico. There, he is said to have performed miracle cures, which attracted crowds. He retreated to a nearby mountain. Initially called the Hermit of El Porvenir, he lived in a cave on what came to be known as Hermit's Peak. The citizens of Las Vegas soon built him a small cabin, where he carved religious emblems, which he traded in town for cornmeal., The Hermit left for southern New Mexico and the Organ Mountains in 1867. He was mysteriously murdered in 1869.