Long ago on this land that you all call Camp Wildman there was a cabin out by the Beaver Pond. The outhouse still stands as the only reminder of the camp. One winter weekend three friends came out to the cabin to stay for the weekend to do some camping and to hike through the woods.
When they arrived at the cabin they found that there was no firewood in the cabin to make a warm fire, so they all went looking for wood. When they went out of the cabin a snow storm off Georgian Bay blew in with all its fury and they had to struggle to find wood as night approached.
One of the campers Tom Butler, however, became lost in the deepening night and swirling snowstorm. The next day the search was begun but even with dogs they were unable to find any trace of Tom.
Since that night so many years ago there have been several times that Cub and Scout groups have seen a strange man near their camp. One time a Scout Troop from Toronto came up to stay here at Wildman. They had a mysterious man who came and replaced their firewood during the night as it had been used up during the campfire that evening. The Scout Leader saw him and was scared to death at the sight of him. The man placed the wood he brought in a neat pile near the fire and vanished.
There have been many more times that the mysterious man has been seen not only at Wildman but other camps further away. Every time those camping had used all of their firewood.
The lesson to be learned by this is to leave your campsite with wood for a fire and never run out of firewood while you are camping or you too will have a visit from the lost winter camper.
LEGEND OF THE UNEXPECTED VISITOR