The Seal Man

R.T. Carr, Editor

Notes 6 months later

[Editor's reminder to self]

He never went to Harvard. Everywhere I turn is a blind alley. The Seal Man vanished without so much as a trace that Friday afternoon. I do not know if this story will ever be finished and tied up as neatly as Dusty's. As a parenthetical note: Dusty's story, and the resultant publicity generated by the e-books' mass circulation has brought a good deal of unanticipated help. The most helpful one is from one of those irrepressible UCSC students, Master Don Weis, who has located the trial records of Judge Walter Buchman! The records are on microfilm, the originals lost in a flood some time ago. They are in a small history museum's collection, the same place that has his hat.

Who knows what this will bring? Maybe another book? There I go again, getting all excited! After my initial period of elation, my hopes are not too high, since court records are as-is and unpredictable, microfilm hard to read and often out of focus. I don't know why I'm adding this to this disc except to have it down someplace. I wish myself luck...

Dusty sure has brought it, up until now...

A Grand Result!

To use the tritest of trite phrases: When you're lucky, you're lucky! I think I should set this up properly, just like Dusty would have. I'm going to tell a proper tale, sparing nothing but the suspense! I commuted down to San Jose on Cal Train and with my Ecopass went on the shuttle to Santa Cruz early one morning. Although on a different mission entirely, I was thinking as I often do about the Seal Man's story, wondering what piece I would eventually find, what fragment that would help me to give the story a conclusion. As it was it felt incomplete, half told at best. I have seen garden variety histories end up like this, just sort of 'Here's a dead end, that's all folks!' but I was determined not to just tie it off and give up.

Now I was back to a comfortably juicy topic, my old pard Dusty, with a new lead to follow. The Museum of Art and History, 705 Front Street (MAH) is just down the way from where the bus dropped me off. At the reception desk there was a very nice person named Mary Jo. I visited with her a while, finally being allowed access to a microfilm reader over at the public library a few blocks away. She with great seriousness walked me over, as all good archivists not quite willing to part with the material, I suppose. The copying portion of the microfilm was broken down, but I made do with notes. Sometimes when I can make noise I use a tape recorder. Luckily I was in a small room with no others using the 6 machines. I dictated and noted references as I went. There were seven full reels of documents. I realized this was going to take several days, but sometimes one must plod on.

As I expected the documentation was sketchy unless the clerk had an interest in the case. On 'important' matters there was a transcript of sorts, which was a narrative by the clerk in his handwriting. A list of evidence was catalogued at the front of each case, at least that is the order in which the sheets were microfilmed. Some files as I said were much more detailed than others. The clerk paid special attention to matters of theft, writing verdicts such as 'Guilty as Hell!' I wondered if the verdict was a speculation on the part of the clerk given before the verdict. There was just a bare minimum of information and enough to whet my appetite.

As I found the information to be very dull on the whole, I found myself evaluating cases by the evidence list and of course looking for pithy comment from Dusty as quoted by the clerk. Plus his marginalia...(FYI Name deleted...) I admit I found it a little hard to go through, but if there is one thing I've learned looking at documentation is that you do not learn anything if you don't read the information. So I confess found myself somewhat sleepily reading evidence lists, skipping rather freely along...I read one list and had started the next, just before I intended to take a break and go outside for a stroll around the Civic Center fountain.

I was already into the next case when my brain I suppose caught up with my almost automatic reading. I pushed the button on the microfilm reader and backed the microfilm up to the previous case. No luck on that one, was it the next previous? Yes, there it was. You could have cut the suspense with a knife! In the evidence list were the following pieces:

• Exhibit 1...1 Oilskin Seal suit
• Exhibit 2...1 Pr. shoes with 'flips' [Perhaps the clerk meant 'flippers'?]
• Exhibit 3...1 Metal spike with 3 tines.

The charge was assault: a very similar event to the encounter with the acrobat was recounted in some detail by the clerk. Incidentally my guess about writing the verdict in advance seems to be correct, since the clerk with some vehemence that even carried over to the microfilm, had crossed out and corrected the ultimate verdict.

The Defendant (Name deleted, as per agreement with the estate and family representatives), using his correct given name was arrested at his home on a complaint lodged by a Glen Worthey. The clerk made rather rude reference to his nickname: Shitkicker. There was no reason given for it, but in the interest of the truth I divulge it. In substitute for the man's name a capital S is used in the text of the clerks' comments. His profession was listed in quotes as 'hunter'. I am paraphrasing a great deal here and not quoting directly since these documents have now been sealed, by the museum after a generous donation to MAH by the family of the Seal Man, once I reported their existence. I feel I can do a good job of capturing the spirit of the case with the odd quote, of course not letting out any pertinent personal information about the subject.

The complaint detailed a physical assault upon S's person by the "Mad Seal Man' who brandished a metal fork-like weapon (Exhibit 3) while dressed in an 'outlandish Seal Costume' (Exhibit 1&2). The assault took place on Seal Rock on the Bay Headlands. (Now what is called 'Steamer Lane') The judge asked all the questions, since neither party had a lawyer present, the defendant waiving his right. This was a suit for damages, the District Attorney being unwilling to bring specific charges "due to it bein' an Election Year and bein' a bit of a coward", according to the marginalia of the clerk.

The accused was apprehended in his home and his costume was found hanging on a peg on the wall of his bungalow bedroom.

I need to quote the documents directly here:

"Judge Buchman made a statement that he knew both parties in the case, and that if there was no objection he would not recuse himself from the proceedings, since the nearest judge was over in Watsonville. Both parties agreed. The same justification for a bench trial was given, since assembling a jury would delay justice in the matter. Both parties agreed.

The plaintiff rose and ruminated for about 40 minutes with a description of the incident. Judge B was visibly agitated by this display of rhetoric, muttering dire storm warnings under his breath. Storm lanterns out today, S! Lost track several times of his train of thought, as did us all I fear. Started to tick off the whereas', lost track of the therefores."

"The judge let him go to the bitter end. We all needed a little airing, so Judge B called lunch and we escorted the 2 principles over to Judge B's Boarding house, where the Judge in his customary largesse bought us all, clerk, defendant, complainant and Bailiff a trencherman lunch. Everyone behaved himself and ate heartily, drinking tea cooled in the San Lorenzo River as is the Judge's custom."

[Editor's Note: If I had any doubts as to the Judge's identity, it is now confirmed. Dusty made his tea just like that on shipboard.]

"The Judge did not comment on the case at table, and we ambled back to the Court House. Court was convened at 2pm, after the Judge's customary nap.

"The defendant had little to say except that he cared for the Seals and Sea Lions and believed them to be at peril from the plaintiff. Judge B appreciated the brevity of the statement. I could tell the Judge was about to make a point, so I listened and wrote this down verbatim: The judge had a question for each of the men. To the defendant he asked: "Are you eating well?" The defendant replied he was getting fat on perch, patting his stomach. Judge called for order, since this remark was very amusing to those assembled. To the plaintiff he asked: "How many times have you been taken in for poaching?" (Reply: "11 times, Your honor") "And how many times have I fined you or sent you to the hoosegow?" (Reply: "10 times, Your Honor. First time you let me go with a warning and a suspended sentence.")

"The judge thanked S for refreshing his memory, and he then just before he declared the case closed gave the following verdict: 'It is the decision of this court that this is a frivolous law suit that has already taken up too much of the court's valuable time. S, you are fined $50 in court costs, and if anyone is disposed in future to shoot you or otherwise harm your person during the commission of one of your heinous deeds, such as this might have been, without the intervention of the defendant, I hope they are brought before me, since I'll give them a medal! Now no offence is meant here, but if you were a horse thief I would have strung you up long ago, and supplied the rope! Case dismissed. S, pay the clerk or serve 30 days at what must be your alternate address. Be it known to all present, without any bias or compunction that if I ever see you in this courtroom again, even for a leash law violation, though I know no dog that would have you as Master, I shall toss you in a cell and throw the key in the Pacific Ocean! Property seized as evidence may be returned to the defendant. Go back to your swimmers, gentle friend of nature!

Note is added: Fine was paid in lieu of $ in the form of 2 venison, most likely poached, considering the source. Judge B. paid the fine in cash and we had venison! Rec'd and case closed 5/13/90.

[Then in the same handwriting] See also Coroner's Report May 25th 1914 and June 7th 1910). It is entered with a more modern pen. My assumption is that the clerk in later years cross-referenced a few cases for an autobiography or some sort of history, no trace of which exists, as yet! So I had another lead, or rather more accurately, two in this case.

The Coroner's office also had microfilm archives and I found after a mornings looking and a bit of eye strain a single entry for June 7, 1910. There were no other entries for that day. It is a death certificate for Glen Cameron Worthey. He was killed in mid poach of an ewe by an irate farmer in Freedom, California. There was an insert also microfilmed giving a few particulars, in the clerk's handwriting: "He was cut in half with a shotgun blast and was killed instantly, and permanently it seems. Thus he came to the prescient end of his life as foreseen by the judge, in flagrante delicto with a sheep!" Another note appended he had recently served time for burglary and was known to have said it was harder to find game to poach. His brother stated to authorities that he had been out of jail exactly 11 hours at the time of the shooting. Poor Shit kicker!

A day later I found an entry on May 25th 1914: a report of a drowning later identified as that of the seal man. Just a few details were appended in the same manner. He died of natural causes while swimming back from his daily visit to seal rock, wearing his most unusual bathing costume. He had been spotted on the rock earlier in the day. His remains had washed ashore in Capitola at the mouth of the creek, still in his seal suit. He had lain there for several hours, those that spotted him thinking he was a dead seal. According to the death certificate his body was claimed by Judge Buchman, and it was picked up by Ferguson's Mortuary. Their early records were destroyed in a flood in 1953, so the trail seems to end here, finally with the final fate of the seal man. This death certificate has been sealed at the request of the family, again as soon as I reported it to them.

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