National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1874-01-30
A Pair Of Brlltes,

,, A Pair Of Brutes.
Remarkable and Horrible History OF .
0 wild Human Family.
William Parks, aged about twenty
one years, has been lodged in Jail q
Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, for re-
! peated attempts to take the life Of hi
rather, Stephen Wells Parks, of thu
town of Monroe. This brings into
prominence the history of the Parks
family, known as the "Wlld Family o.
} Monroe" which, without exceeding the
: bounds of truth in the least, is one o.
the most singular on record.
In the fall of 1871 party from Pitts
ton were hunting in the mountains. Ir
a wild, lonely spot, miles from any
habitation, one OF them, hearing Q
rustling in the leaves and bushes or
one side of him, was astounded to see Q
young woman, perfectly nude, digging
among the leaves, apparently for beech
nuts. She was on her hands and knees,
and was not aware of the hunters
presence for some time. When she saw
him she uttered harsh cry and started
off like q deer through the woods and
was soon out of sight. Determined, il
possible, to find out something more in
regard to this singular apparition, the
hunter summoned his companions TO-
gether, told them what he had seen, and
proposed that they follow in the direc.
ton she had taken, and endeavor to
learn where she had come from.
The party walked for about mile
through the woods and came to small
clearing. In one corner of this clear
ing was a miserable howell, built of logs
and with roof of straw. They went
towards it. Before they reached it the
girl who had been seen by their COM
panion came out of the door, and fol-
lowing after her was a boy, also en-.
tirely naked. They jumped about the
door, as if playing, on all tours, pick
ing up something from the ground &C.
casionally and eating it. The hunters
stood for moment speechless with sur
prise at the most singular spectacle,
and then approached nearer. They
were soon seen by the wild beings-for
wild they surely were-who at once ran
swiftly off and hid in the woods.
Coming up to the door of the hut,
the hunters looked in. On bench in
the middle of the room sat an old man,
reading from large book which rested
on his knees. His clothing was scant
and ragged, and evidently made by
himself. A long white beard reached
nearly to his waist, and, like his hair
was matted and unkempt. There was
no furniture in the room, except the
bench. In one corner some straw was
scattered about as if for bed. The
bare ground formed the floor. Near
one end of the room hole was dug, in
which there was fire. Over this was
an iron kettle in which something was
boiling. Everything betokened the
most abject wretchedness; filth and
dirt were on every side.
The old man arose when the strangers
came to the door. He was below the
medium height, and had asharp, bright
eye and an intelligent face. He invited
the gentlemen into his house, and asked
them, in polite terms, the nature of
their errand. The hunters were at a
loss at first to explain, but finally told
the old man what they had seen in the
woods and about his door, and expressed
u w hAOW VIII uuu WAuU u4C
strange beings were.
The old man laughed and said:
''Those are my children, William and
Melvina-brother and sister. They
appear peculiar to strangers, no doubt,
but I'm used to 'em. Clothes are of
not much account, anyhow, here in the
woods"
The old man then stepped to the door
and gave peculiar shout. Very soon
his children were seen to emerge from
the woods and come stealthily toward
the house, gesticulating and chattering
a strange gibberish, and now and then
laughing idiotically. They came near
enough to afford sufficient scrutiny.
Both were we'll formed, with the excep.
ton of the lower limbs, which were dis.
torted. The girls face, although lack
ing any sign of intelligence, was not
unprepossessing. The boys features
were repulsive. Their heads were small,
the foreheads slanting far back. Long,
matted hair hung from their heads, and
their skin was nearly black with dirt
and exposure. While the strangers
were looking at them, the boy, with no
apparent provocation, struck his sister
blow in the face, uttering a peculir
cry. She ran across the clearing and
the boy followed her, Selling a stick
that lay on the ground. The father
started after them, shouting, "Let her
alone, Bill! Let her alone, I say !"
"Bil" did not catch his sister, how
ever, and ran off in another direction.
The old man returned to his guests,
who could not repress their astonish-
ment and disgust, but solicited an ex-
PLANTATION of the extraordinary and
almost incredible scenes which they
beheld.
The old man, without any hesitation,
told them the history of himself and his
wild children. His name, he said, was
Stephen Wells Parks. He was born in
Luzerne county, Pa, and was fifty
years of age. When he was twenty five
years of age he married, and moved,
with his wife. to the farm where the
hunters found him. His wife's health,
he said, was poor, and her mind very
weak. His daughter Melvina was born
in 1850. She never had any care from
her mother after she could walk, and no
except cloth wrapped about
her when it was cold. William was
born two years afterwards, and was
treated in the same way. Parks and
his wife believed that it was useless to
clothe their children out in the wilder
ness where they lived. Neither of the
children ever spoke word beyond
their strange gibberish, which they APP
parently understood. They ran wild
in the woods, living on roots, beech
nuts, berries, and sometimes killing
and eating snakes and toads. Walking
30 much on their hands and knees,
hunting their food accustomed the dis