Connecticut western news., 1876-03-03
LIVING AS SAVAGES.
A Brother and Sister who Naked in the
 Forest Ran--A Lesson to Humanity.

FOfest han..A Lesson to Humanity
 For two years the authorities of the neighboring county of Wyoming, says Pittston correspondent, have been in dilemma over g case that probably has no parallel in jurisprudence, and cer- tainly none in morals, and have at last been relieved from responsibility in the matter by the decision of court of t,t,aatico inqa4irendo. The case was that of William Parke, the "wild mute of Monroe township" who, in conjunction with his sister, Melvina, also 8 "wild mute," murdered 8 child which was born to the latter, and to which crime William subsequently added that of the murder of the sister and attempted murder of his father, Thomas Wells Parke. The facts in this unparalleled family history, as gleaned from official sources, are as follows:
 Early in the fall of 1871 @ party of gentlemen were hunting in the noun tains in the southern part of Wyoming county. The section is wild and sparse ly populated, there being no villages within several miles, and only occasional clearings. While traversing the very deepest portion of this wilderness. one of the hunting party was startled to see 8 girl, entirely naked, jump from a clump of bushes near him and run with great speed, on all fours, of into the woods and disappear. The hunter saw the strange being but moment, and curious to learn something more in re- gard to her, if possible, he called to companion who was near, and relating to him what he had cen the two started in the direction taken by the wild girl After proceeding about quarter of mile they came to 8 small clearing in the woods-a space covering few acres in the center of which was miserable barnlike hut. Near the door of this hovel stood not only the nude girl whose appearance in the woods had startled the hunter, but another naked being, in the person of boy nearly grown. The two, as the hunters approached the hut and were discovered, ran swiftly away to the woods, both uttering wild, harsh cries, as of terror.
 The two hunters looked in at the door of the hut. A man was crouching down on the ground-there was no door-ap- parently cooking something in fire, | which was built in 8 hole dug in the ground. He arose at once and came to | the door. He was a man about fifty years of age, thin and wiry. Long, matted hair, nearly white, covered his head and face his clothing was scant and ragged, and his hands and face had | evidently boen long unwashed. To his | inquiry as to what the visitors wanted, 1 they made known what had drawn them thither, and asked him if he knew any | thing about the strange creatures they had seen. The man answered, with laugh
 "Why, they're my children, William and Melvina."
 The man was very loquacious, and the hunters entered his hut at his invita- tion, and, without much inquiry on their | part, the following extraordinary family | history was elicited from him
 His name, he said, was Thomas Wells Parke. He was born in the township of | Exeter, Luzerne county, in 1920, where he lived until he was fifteen years old. Since that time he had lived in tho hut in the wilderness of Wyoming county. His father and mother both died there, aud Parke buried them in the woods with his own hands. For twenty years thereafter he lived with his wife m the hut, having married at twenty-six a woman named Mary Searles, sickly woman of twenty, subject to spells of insanity. She lived with him until March, 1871, when she ran away, leaving her husband with the two children the hunters had seen. Parke said the girl was twenty-two years old and the boy twenty. Their mother being too deli cate to take care of them, from the time they were old enough to get about they had been obliged to look out for them selves. Up. to the time the hunters called neither of the children had ever had garment of any kind on their bodies. The man said his wife used to say that they didn't need clothes out there in the woods. In the winter some times they would have cloth of some kind tied around their shoulders with strings, and with no other protection they roamed the forest in the most rigorous weather. Neither of the chill dren had ever spoken an intelligble word. They climbed the highest trees with ease and no sign of fear, and lived in the summer and fall on nuts, roots, berries, etc.. and the father had reason to know that they hunted ground moles, field mice and other animals, which they caught, killed and ate raw. Long accustomed to digging for roots and hunting nuts, they had acquired the habit of walking on all fours, and ran with great speed in that position, al though they were equally agile and fleet on the foot alone.
 In the winter these beings-human, yet with all the instincts of the brute creation-shared the daily meal of their father, which consisted entirely of pota- toes and other vegetables, which he raised on his "farm." But not the deepest snow nor coldest weather could force them to remain in the house, and they roamed the woods, eating whatever they could find, and digging with unerr- ing instinct down through the snow for hidden roots. The girl was more ven turesome than the boy, and frequently remained days and nights in the woods in the most rigorous weather. The boy had been named William and the girl Melvina.
 While Parke was relating the story of his wild children they had both returned cautiously from the woods. and at first peered stealthily in the hut door; but finally growing bolder, they stepped in, all the time uttering the strangest cries and apparently talking to one another in a harsh gibberish. By alternate coaxing and threats the father of the ''mutes" pre- vailed on them to approach the hunters. There was 8 strong resemblance between the two. Their faces were sharp and pinched, and had an old, worn expres- sion. The cheek bones were high, mouths large, noses prominent and fore heads receding. The eyes were small aud restless, but bright and piercing. The same semi-idiotic smile character l ized both countenances, and broke not infrequently into harsh laugh. The l head of each was small fJr the body, and was covered with an abundance of long } zallouish 1rhita hair matted with hurs