FtV - The Adventures of John Capon Adams
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Hey there, Ryan Reynolds here. It's a new year, and you know what that means. No, not the diet. Resolutions. A way for us all to try and do a little bit better than we did last year. And my resolution, unlike big wireless, is to not be a raging a**.

Welcome, legendary listeners. Thanks for tuning in to From the Vault, a second look at some of our classic episodes. Look for a new episode every week. Now, can you go back and listen on your own at OurNewEnglandLegends.com? You bet.

But you won't get the added bonus of an After the Legends segment featuring new commentary about that episode from your old pals Jeff and Ray. So let's open up the New England Legends vault and revisit another legendary episode.

Welcome to the Vault. Welcome to the Vault. Glad you're with us. We're going to be talking about the adventures of John Capon Adams. Who's that? Don't tell him yet. We're not going to tell him. You'll find out if you listen. First aired May 31st, 2018. Enjoy. Another cemetery, Ray? This setting is becoming all too familiar. Some of New England's greatest legends come to these sacred grounds to rest. You can't deny that it's a great place to spin yarns about our legendary history here in New England. So what's this week's story about? Absolutely.

Action, adventure, the great outdoors, and the very short life of a circus performer. That sounds like every kid's dream, right? Today's kids couldn't handle this story, Jeff.

Hi, I'm Ray Ogier. And I'm Jeff Belanger, and welcome to episode 41 of the New England Legends podcast. If you give us about 10 minutes, we'll give you something strange to talk about today. And if you have your own strange story to share, or a question you'd like to ask us, go ahead and leave a message on our legend line. You can call or text us anytime at 617-444-9683.

If you listen past the music at the end of this week's episode, you'll hear a story from a legendary listener just like you. And thank you to all of our new patrons. If you visit our Patreon page at patreon.com slash New England Legends, you get access to special bonus episodes that no one else gets to hear. And plus, you can help this community grow. If you don't already subscribe to our podcast, do it. It's free. And

And do us a favor, post a review on iTunes. Those reviews go a long way in helping us move up in the rankings so others can find our show. All right, Jeff, welcome to Charlton, Massachusetts. Charlton became a town in 1775. They settled here because of the valuable brookside land where mills were easily built to assist in the booming farming industry. Charlton can almost be considered the center of Massachusetts as it neighbors the town of Rutland, which, geographically speaking, is the absolute midpoint of the state.

Okay, well, what are we doing in Bay Path Cemetery in the almost center of Massachusetts? Ghost sighting? Nope. Witch burial? No, try again. Tell me what you see. I see old headstones that date back to the 1700s for one. Well, take a look at this one specifically. Okay. Hiram...

Wait, is that Hiram Marble, the famous spiritualist we talked about in our very first podcast exploring Dungeon Rock? The same. Amazing. Thank you for this trip down New England Legends memory lane. Well, that's not the only reason we're here, Jeff. Walk with me. Do I have a choice? Well, for the sake of this podcast, no. Check out this headstone right here. What does it say?

John Adams. But that can't be President John Adams because the date's about 40 years after his actual death. And, of course, the president is buried in Quincy, Massachusetts, not Charlton. That's right. Now, if you look closely at this adjacent marker that the Charlton Historical Society installed in 1976, it'll all become clearer. Okay. It says grave of... Wait, wait, wait, wait. Not just yet.

Let's let this one marinate a bit before we reveal his true identity. It's a pretty cool story that resulted in a long-running television show, a movie, and a book by Charles E. Sellier Jr., loosely based on his life. This guy's story inspired countless boys to roam the woods in search of adventure and wild animals to tame. I know this historical figure spent many years out west, but what's the New England connection?

Well, John Capon Adams was born in 1812 and raised in Medway, Massachusetts, where he received little to no education. It seemed the outdoors occupied more of Adams' attention than the classroom. At age 14, his family placed him into the workforce as an apprentice in the bustling footwear industry, a family trade for generations before him.

Adams held on for five long years until losing his footing in the family business, and that's when the real adventure began. Oh, I see what you did there. And I thought I was the only one who wrote cheesy puns. Okay, so Adams is 21 years old at this point, and most people his age are probably looking to settle down and start a family or a career. Is that part of the adventure? Well, not just yet. Adams decided that the shoe business wasn't for him. He just...

couldn't put his soul in it. Dude, really? One bad pun per episode, please. Sorry. Although Adams had a knack for crafting footwear, he knew he had to follow his dream of becoming an explorer and adventurer before his life got too stale. Combined with his love of entertainment, he signed on as a zoological collector with a team of showmen and headed for the mountains of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, where he honed his skills as a trapper, woodsman, and marksman. In

In the early days of the modern circus, producers of these shows would often travel into the wild with guides and trappers in search of new and exciting wildlife acts for their shows.

These expeditions would take months, while zoological collectors like Adams would attempt to train wild animals to obey commands and perform tricks. It's not the safest way to make a living. No, it wasn't. In fact, Adams had his share of scares, including a confrontation with an unruly Bengal tiger that wouldn't comply with his domestication attempts. On another occasion, while tracking a bear for the better part of a week, Adams finally got the upper hand when he cornered her along a steep mountainside ridge.

But the tables quickly turned, and Adams was left with serious back and spinal damage. Well, if that ain't enough to make a guy want to call it a day, I don't know what is. Yes, in fact, that's what Adams did. After a year of recuperating, he returned to his cobbler bench in Boston in 1836, got married, and had three children. The end? Well, not exactly. Believe it or not, this is where things really get interesting and somewhat unfortunate for John Capon Adams.

The monotony of life was weighing heavy on Adams as the years passed. In 1849, he schemed up a plan to cash in on the California gold rush by shipping $6,000 worth of footwear to St. Louis, where he would then sell his goods to the traveling 49ers at great profit.

Before Adams could meet up with his shipment, the famous St. Louis war fire destroyed the whole bounty, leaving Adams broke. And soon after, his father committed suicide. Many believed that he was a heavy investor in the plan. That's horrible. How do you respond to a tragedy like that? Well, once again, Adams' dreams got the best of him. The West was calling, and that old life as an outdoorsman seemed to be the only answer. Leaving his wife and children behind, he set off for adventure and fortune once again.

Following the Santa Fe and Gila trails, he followed the 49ers in search of gold. In true Adams fashion, he survived near fatal illness twice before hitting the coast in late 1849.

There he tried his hand at mining, hunting for profit, and trading, before finally finding success at farming and ranching in Stockton, California. And good old John Capon Adams lives happily ever after, showering in the rewards of his success? Well, not quite. Adams fell into some bad luck again when creditors seized his ranch. Man.

This guy just can't seem to catch a break. No, seems so. Okay, let me stop you there, Ray. This story is starting to sound familiar. A mountain man, taming animals, heading west. Is it? Well, most people don't know this guy by his name, John Capon Adams. He's better known as Grizzly Adams. Of course! Okay, back to the hit television show inspired by him. I vaguely recall a happy-go-lucky mountain man living in the wilderness with his trusty sidekick, Bambi.

Ben, how much of that is true? Well, after his failed attempts at a more civilized life, Adams did retreat to the mountains. With the help of a local Indian tribe, Adams built a cabin and stable and spent the winter of 1852 in the Sierra Nevadas. Being an expert hunter with cobbling experience, Adams was able to feed and clothe himself accordingly. This is where he becomes the TV version of the Adams that we remember.

And Ben, I always found that rather unbelievable about the television show. I mean, how does a man become friends with this wild beast that could open him up like a can of sardines on a whim? Well, in fact, Adams made many friends during this period of his life. There was Lady Washington, his first taming conquest. Lady Washington was only a year old when he found her. He quickly trained her to carry gear, pull a sled, and even carry Adams on her back on occasion.

In 1854, he retrieved a pair of two-week-old cubs. He named one of them Ben. Adams and Ben became very close. Ben even saved his life when Adams was attacked by a vicious mama bear, leaving both with scars that they would carry for the rest of their lives.

In fact, one of the vicious blows from the monster left Adams with a silver dollar-sized dent in his skull, which would forever cause him health issues. Yeah, a silver dollar-sized dent in the head will do that. The year is now 1855, and Adams and his companions are traveling through the West selling pelts and meats, clothing and footwear, and tools he fashioned on his own.

During his travels, Adams was often approached by curious folk interested in seeing just how trained his furry friends were. Okay, I think I know what came next. I was wondering when all the talk about entertainment was going to come into play. Yep, Adams set up impromptu shows throughout the West, showcasing the talents of Lady Washington, Ben, and the other animals he trapped and trained.

While Adams' health was deteriorating, he decided that the wilderness would surely kill him sooner rather than later. So he retreated to San Francisco, where he opened a museum called the Mountaineer Museum. And this would be a great time to wrap this up on a high note. I wish I could, but the success of the museum didn't last long as debt caught up with Adams and creditors shut him down once again.

Luckily, he was able to save most of the exhibits, and when the P.T. Barnum came calling, John Grizzly Adams started a short stint as a circus performer. So Grizzly Adams ran away to join the circus. He just waited until he was in his 40s to do it. What a great midlife crisis. Indeed, except Grizzly's 40s wasn't his midlife. It was much closer to the end.

At this point, Adams' health was declining from years of literally fighting wild animals. Many of his issues stemming from that tiger attack from his early days and the bear that nearly killed him, leaving a dent in his head. In 1860, Adams headed to New York with Barnum in hopes to raise enough money to send home to his wife and children to ensure them a comfortable life after doctors told him to get his affairs in order.

Adams produced a three-month show based on his wildlife exploits. Perhaps he could have continued that act if it had not been for a rogue monkey attack that led to the dent in his head being opened up, exposing brain tissue. Ugh, gross. You'd think he'd learned his lesson a hundred times over.

Again, there are safer ways to make a living. There are, but you've got to kind of respect it. I mean, that was Adams' calling. Whether safe or dangerous, successful or financially devastating, Adams lived on his own terms and lived a full life in just under 50 years. Adams made his way back home after leaving the circus to personally deliver his riches to a family he abandoned over a decade before. He died just five days after returning.

John Capon Adams was buried right here in Bay Path Cemetery in Charlton, Massachusetts. In 1976, the Charlton Historical Society installed a marker that reveals Adams' folk legend identity. What does it say, Jeff?

Grave of Grizzly Adams. In 1972, Charles E. Sellier Jr. wrote the book The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, which was turned into a hit NBC television series of the same name starring Dan Haggerty, all loosely based on The Life and Times of John Capon Adams. Very cool. And I think we can learn a lot from Grizzly Adams, Jeff. Just like those cool books we read as kids, you have to choose your own adventure in life. And remember that when all else fails, you can always go home.

Wow, Adam's lived quite the life. Makes you want to retreat to the woods and live a simpler life, doesn't it? Well, you know, animal attacks, frigid winters, disease, poverty...

I think I'll stick to electricity and domesticated pets, thank you. If you want to see some photos of Grizzly Adams' home in Medway, still standing by the way, and other historical treasures, go to our website at OurNewEnglandLegends.com and click on episode 41. There you can also subscribe to our podcast for free. Help us out on our Patreon page where you can get exclusive access to bonus episodes and learn more about the New England Legends television show.

Plus, you can call or text us anytime at 617-444-9683 and leave us a question, comment, or share a story or legend that you've experienced. Just like this week's story, which comes to us from Milford, New Hampshire.

Hi, my name is Mark. I live in Milford, New Hampshire, and I recently did one of my annual haunted events in the month of May at Thornton Graveyard in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and my special guest was psychic medium Amy Major. And we were videotaping this event during the day between 5 and 7 p.m., late afternoon to early evening, but still quite light out as we're getting close to summer.

And I felt something run into, like, my right arm, my right elbow, like something touched me, and I moved the camera as I was filming her. And then all of a sudden, she reacted, too. And maybe, like, five, ten seconds later, she's like, something either just touched me or just pushed me.

And I put this video of what I filmed on Facebook, Twitter, and on my YouTube channel. And you can clearly see something transparent fly from me after I reacted, running into me, flying into her, disappearing, and then her reacting as well. And we did have paranormal equipment that day to pick up on voices, but we actually heard with our ears a woman calling out to us, trying to get our attention.

And that was just recently, this month of May at Thornton Graveyard in Merrimack, New Hampshire. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your story with us. We want to hear from you, too. Call us anytime on the Legend Line at 617-444-9683. Our theme music is by John Judd. Until next time, remember, the bizarre is closer than you think. All right, we'll break it down right after a word from our sponsor.

Hey there, Ryan Reynolds here. It's a new year and you know what that means. No, not the diet. Resolutions.

A way for us all to try and do a little bit better than we did last year. And my resolution, unlike big wireless, is to not be a raging a**hole and raise the price of wireless on you every chance I get. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited. See mintmobile.com for details.

Grizzly Adams. That's right. It was Grizzly Adams. Now you know. Now you know. What a tease, though, through the whole thing. Written by? Well, partially. Ray Ogier. Yeah. Yeah. I came up with it, and then you said, hey, what if we did this? And I said, oh, the writer wants to make changes. Jerk.

No, but collectively, I'm proud of that one. Yeah, for sure. Because it was Charlton, right? Charlton's where he's buried. Right. He's from Medway. That's right. Yeah. But I'm from the Charlton area, I guess. Sure. Me too. And Medway is right next door. I was born in Southbridge. Oh, that's... Yeah. Well, we both were. It's the Harrington Hospital, right? Harrington Memorial Hospital. Yeah. Oh, now people can figure out and go back, get the gift certificates, birth certificates. Yes, birth certificates. Shoot, I just outed us. You mean for the birther legends that were not from New England? Yeah.

Like, those guys aren't from here. Could you imagine that conspiracy? They're from Wyoming. That's funny. Yeah, we were both born in Harrington Memorial Hospital. Yeah. So, yeah, Charlton's close by. I grew up in the Brookfields, and Medway is right next door to us. Right. Which is kind of cool. Yeah. And it was, I mean, I'm a huge pop culture TV fan. Grizzly Adams was a huge show in the 70s. Of course. Maybe early 80s. Yeah. Based on a real guy who did real things, like The Outdoorsman. And I...

You know, hey, Bear Grylls. Yeah. Right? I mean, come on. Grizzly Adams characters. It all started with that. Yeah. He was, you know, Bear Grylls. Grizzly Adams was the original, right? You think we'd have Bear if we didn't have Grizzly Adams? Because obviously that was an idea that people ran with. Like, let's find a guy that's like Grizzly Adams. So as a person who works in TV, I always, like, you know, I was...

sometimes I can see the cracks in the wall. One of my favorite scenes was Bear Grylls was like, all right, this is a really steep hill. The way I'm going to deal with it is just go full force. And I know what he's talking about because I've done this. You can't slow down. Right. Because if you slow down, you're going to fall. Mm-hmm.

So he's running down the hill going, this is so dangerous. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. And I'm like, you know what's 10 times more dangerous than what you're doing right now? The cameraman holding the camera doing exactly what you're doing. Nobody talks about that guy. But keeping you in the shot. He is twice the outdoorsman that you are. And chances are he might be going backwards, too, trying to film the front of there. Think about that. He's holding a camera, filming you, keeping you in the shot, and navigating all the same stuff you are. And you just have to look down and glance at the camera once in a while.

I think that's why I love Mike Rowe. He will point out when a cameraman is in danger. Like, I'm doing this, but look at what he's doing. Yeah, he's hanging by a thread here so he can get the shot. He's actually under the bowl. Yeah. And I'm just milking the thing. Well, we don't milk a bowl. No, we don't. Well, you can, but it's very dangerous. That's for different reasons. That's for different reasons. Husbanding, I think, is what they call it. That's what it is. I wish I think he's done before. Yeah, I believe he had dirty jobs. But yeah, so Bear Grylls. Now that we say Bear Grylls, I feel like we're sort of due for another one.

Some new personality that's like... I mean, the survivalist shows, there's a bunch of those where they're like, hey, we drop you somewhere. Naked and afraid. Yeah, you're given like a pocket knife, like a pack of matches. Compass. Yeah, you're given like a handful of things and you got to build a shelter, find food, like do all the things. Yeah. And which is like...

It's fun to watch those shows sometimes because that's one of those things where I'm like, oh, that'll never be me on that show. Watch someone else go through it. You tell yourself like, well, when the zombie apocalypse hits, I'll get some good tips. That's it. Like if I have to do this, all right. For now, I'm comfortable on my couch. Yeah. Right where I am. I'll watch you build a shelter out of logs and branches and shiver yourself to sleep. Which I did as a kid. I remember building huts and stuff. I think I could. I think I still could.

But what Grizzly Adams did, which is take it... It's one thing to survive within nature, which is still amazing, but sort of like to commune with it. Yeah. Right? To sort of be in some sort of sync with it, with the animals, right? Like when... Remember Tarzan could talk to the animals. Sure, yeah. And every... We've seen cartoons in different shows where you were so in tune with nature that the animals respected you as like one of their own. Right. And...

I love that. I love that romantic idea that we are animals, we are primal. And if we can get down to the right level, you know. Which we were a lot closer to that level years ago, right? You had to be. We were one in the same. You had to be in tune with the animals because you needed to hunt them to eat. So that's an instinct that we still have. I think so. We've just grown far away from it. Now our instinct is like, ooh.

Eat the animals. Two for one burgers. Exactly. Processed and full of cheese and all that other stuff. Yeah. But yeah, no, that's... But I love that, you know, hey, every character came from somewhere. And this guy got his... Even though he blew up in the West Coast in California, Grizzly Adams got his start right here in New England. And that's where he's buried. And that's where he's from. And...

Who knows when we're going to see the next iteration of it, be it Bear Grylls or some new character that's going to be like, hey, remember this, folks. We got to get back to nature. Kind of similar, but have you seen the guy that does motivational speaking as he's falling down a hill in the woods? Have you seen that guy yet? No, but I love it already. He's just talking about motivational stuff. Sometimes it's funny. Live your dream!

but he's falling down the hill as it's a steep hill in the woods. Yeah. And I don't know if that's the same thing, but I, whenever I get a chance to tell somebody about that, I don't know how you'd look it up, but look for a guy falling downhill. I'm going to guess you too. Motivational. Yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely. Or reels. They were, they come up in reels. Yeah. Right, right,

If you know what that is, if you're young enough. I'm old enough. No, young enough is TikTok, old enough is Reels. That's true, yeah. It's the old person's TikTok. Yeah, whenever I show my daughter Sophie a Reel, she's like, yeah, I saw that two months ago on TikTok. And I'm like, right, sorry, I forgot. Always late to the game. She's just like, yeah, if you're watching Reels, you're old. If you're watching TikTok, you're young. It's pretty much that simple. I'm like, got it. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. By the way, side note, our buddy Fitch will pay $20 to slap a corpse.

We talked about that last week. He messaged me and he burst out laughing at that whole thing. So I think he'd be first in line. Well, 20 bucks, slap a corpse. Anyone with a funeral coming up, if you want to get $20 off, call our buddy Fitch. Also, one other quick announcement. Zombie Prom's coming up February 22nd. It's about a month away. Yep. We're going to have links to buy tickets. 25 bucks goes to benefit the Community Harvest Project. It's going to be in Milford, Massachusetts, Saturday, February 22nd.

Those links are already up. Yeah, the links are all up, and it'll be in the episode description right here, so you can click on it right there and find out how to go. So thank you so much, and thanks, Grizzly Adams.