From Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia
"On August 22, 1863, Robert Bishop and William Eldridge were working in a field overlooking the Bay of Fundy. A small vessel was noticed to heave to and lower a boat, which was rowed towards the land. As the little craft approached the shore it was hidden from view by the high bank that rose abruptly from the beach."
Several days later, a young man from the village found a man lying on the beach in a very bad condition and ran to fetch the Eldridge brothers who rescued the unfortunate fellow. He had been left with his legs amputated and only a few biscuits and water to sustain him. Jerome, as he was later named, was cared for by various communities for some forty-three more years -- during which time he never spoke or revealed his identity. Jerome died on April 19th, 1912 and Titanic (Hwy 7 Disaster Links) had just sunk not far off the coast of Halifax. His death went unmentioned in the newspapers.
There have been many versions of the Jerome story unfold over the years, and slowly, as such mysteries do, Jerome is becoming legend.
The version on Canadian Mysteries written by R. Baden Powell is purported to be accurate -- and a debunking effort of the others, so to speak -- but the fact is that Jerome's origin and the circumstances that deposited him on a Nova Scotia beach over a hundred years ago, remain one of Nova Scotia's great unsolved mysteries.
The Eastern Shore Current is an eclectic Blog for Nova Scotia's Highway 7 Online. Visit the website!
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