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<strong>the</strong> sorts of places where it’s nearly impossible to generate all your own food.<br />
To feed <strong>the</strong>mselves, several Desert Fa<strong>the</strong>rs wove reed baskets, which <strong>the</strong>ir assistants sold <strong>in</strong> town, us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>the</strong> proceeds to buy rations. In ancient Ch<strong>in</strong>a, hermits were shamans and herbalists and div<strong>in</strong>ers. English<br />
hermits took jobs as toll collectors, beekeepers, woodcutters, and bookb<strong>in</strong>ders. Many were beggars.<br />
In eighteenth-century England, a fad swept <strong>the</strong> upper class. Several families felt <strong>the</strong>ir estate needed a<br />
hermit, and advertisements were placed <strong>in</strong> newspapers for “ornamental hermits” who were slack <strong>in</strong><br />
groom<strong>in</strong>g and will<strong>in</strong>g to sleep <strong>in</strong> a cave. <strong>The</strong> job paid well, and hundreds of hermits were hired, typically on<br />
seven-year contracts, with one meal a day <strong>in</strong>cluded. Some would emerge at d<strong>in</strong>ner parties and greet guests.<br />
<strong>The</strong> English aristocracy of this period believed hermits radiated k<strong>in</strong>dness and thoughtfulness, and for a<br />
couple of decades it was deemed worthy to keep one around.<br />
Knight, of course, felt that anyone’s will<strong>in</strong>g assistance ta<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>the</strong> whole th<strong>in</strong>g. Ei<strong>the</strong>r you are hidden or<br />
you’re not, no middle ground. He wished to be unconditionally alone, exiled to an island of his own creation,<br />
an uncontacted tribe of one. A s<strong>in</strong>gle phone call lett<strong>in</strong>g his parents know he was okay and suddenly <strong>the</strong>re<br />
would be a connection.<br />
<strong>The</strong> cab<strong>in</strong>s around <strong>the</strong> ponds, Knight noted, had m<strong>in</strong>imal security measures. W<strong>in</strong>dows were often left<br />
open, even when <strong>the</strong> owners were away. <strong>The</strong> woods offered excellent cover, and with few permanent<br />
residents, <strong>the</strong> area would soon be empty for <strong>the</strong> off-season. A summer camp with a big pantry was nearby.<br />
<strong>The</strong> easiest way to become a hunter-ga<strong>the</strong>rer here was obvious.<br />
And so Knight came to a conclusion. He decided to steal.