Clay Perry (Clair Willard Perry) was an American writer and outdoorsman. Born in 1887 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, he moved to western Massachusetts as a young man. A novelist, short story writer, and journalist, in the 1930s he worked for the Federal Writers' Project. He is best known as an amateur caver and as a writer on the caves of New England and the northeastern United States. He is credited with coining the term spelunker in the 1940s. He was also the author of a light verse on Israel Bissell, whose ride in April 1775 to warn the colonies of the Battles of Lexington and Concord was overshadowed in historical lore by that of Paul Revere. He died in 1961 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Waupaca is a city located in Waupaca County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. ... Poster advertising a Federal Writers Project publication. ... Caving frequently involves a lot of mud. ... Inside the cave at Cave Stream, New Zealand Caving is the recreational sport of exploring caves. ... 1776 reprint of broadside delivered by Bissell Israel Bissell (1752-1823) was a post-rider in Massachusetts born in East Windsor, Connecticut who alerted the colonists of the British attack on April 19, 1775. ... Combatants Militia of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, (Minutemen) British Army, Royal Marines Commanders John Parker, James Barrett, William Heath Francis Smith, John Pitcairn, Walter Laurie, Lord Hugh Percy Strength 75 at Lexington Green (Parker). ... Portrait of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley, c. ... Pittsfield redirects here. ...

External links

• Israel Bissell in Verse and Song (Hinsdale-Mass Forum)