The Hermit of Mariposa Key

By Bill Burger

What makes a man trade the comforts of society in a temperate climate for the hot, humid and bug-infested mangrove swamps of Tampa Bay? Well, it once happened because of a woman·

Harry Wailing of New York state was an accomplished engraver, designing and tooling leather for expensive book covers. He loved tramping the backwoods with well-trained dogs and exploring creek banks for arrowheads. But his wife, tending their two children, was apparently not as happy.

Over time, a new man in her life became brazen, visiting the Wailing home even when Harry was there. One evening, as the dogs lay in front of the fire, the interloper walked into the living room, swore at a dog and then violently kicked it. As the story goes, Harry left the room, returned with a gun, and put a bullet through the cheater. He then packed his bags and left New York forever.

No one knows why Harry came to Florida, but about 1920 he was living near Curiosity Creek, southeast of Ruskin. He worked for a Mr. Houghtaling and lived in a small shack. In 1921, he learned of land available on Mariposa Key, the island that forms the south side of the mouth of Bishop Harbor. Only accessible by water, this was a place where you could see anyone coming for a visit - official or otherwise.

Mariposa had seen human activity for thousands of years. Prehistoric occupations ranged from 1200 B.C. to 800 A.D. More recently, in 1908, Cubans set up a fishing camp and probably named the key "butterfly" in Spanish. It was purchased by James Wood and George Mendenhall in 1910-1912.

The fish camp was destroyed in a 1921 hurricane and Wood subdivided the island. Harry bought Lot 4 and built a one-room shack using salvaged lumber. After the 1928 hurricane, he took advantage of the abundant supply of drifting lumber to expand his home to seven rooms.

Why so many rooms for one man? Well, Harry was actually a very gregarious fellow and not a recluse by choice. People who knew him remember that you couldn't pass Mariposa without Harry calling you in for a cup of coffee and a chat.

One fisherman, Donny Mead, recalls visiting "Uncle Harry." While shooting the breeze, they heard one of Harry's dogs baying. They walked down the beach and found the expected raccoon treed by the dog. Harry looked at the dog and said, "Well, boy, go get my gun." The dog ran up the beach and then returned with Harry's rifle in his jaws.

After a time, Harry got word of his whereabouts to his father and the old man - a retired postmaster and veteran of the Spanish American War - would come down for visits. His cancer-stricken wife came to visit once, and his two children actually moved to Gillette, just inland from Bishop Harbor.

Harry occupied much of his time carving relief images of hunting scenes, dogs, horses, carriages and birds on pine planks. Intertwined vines and geometric designs were carved as separate, ornate bordering panels. Harry stained the carvings, using oil paints to highlight some of the images, then covered walls, doors and ceiling beams with the interlinked pieces.

In 1939, he got a neighbor, Wilbert "Shorty" Cook. A hook-and-line fisherman, Cook built a small shack on the adjacent beach and sold his catch at Charlie Hall's fish camp at the head of Bishop Harbor. Harry also befriended the Strickland brothers from Tampa. On weekends, the two men brought groceries and later bunk beds, chairs and other furnishings for the rambling home.

Some time after World War II, two Terra Ceia fishermen, Richard MacMillian and Louis Hobart, stopped at Mariposa on their way north. They found Harry very ill, unable to rise from his bed. Concerned, they offered to take him ashore to a doctor, but he adamantly refused. They brewed some coffee and left a cup on his bedside table. After net fishing at Piney Point, they stopped to check on Harry on their way back south. The cup of coffee sat where they left it, untouched, and Harry lay dead in his bed. His long exile was over.

Bill Burger is an archaeologist who lives on Terra Ceia Island and grew up near Bishop Harbor. Please contact him at 941-722-3403 if you have - or know who may have - a photograph of "Uncle Harry."

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