New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-31
AMONG THE SHAKERS.

CAL DISPOSITION AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
OF THE FANuLIEs-EQUAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES
FOR MEN AND woMEN-THEoRY AND PRACTICE
or CELIDACY-DEs RTIoN or THE COMMUNITY
BY THE YOUNG PEoPLE-AN OUTLINE OF THEIR
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.
IRON STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUSEg
SHAKER Village, Mount Lebanon, N. Y, July %.
Il have been nearly a week a guest among these
friendly people, listening to their conversation,
reading their books eating their healthful we'll
cooked food, looking into their shops and walking
about through their thrifty fields gardens and or
charls They are divided into six families, or
groups four here the mountain side, in the town
ship OF New-Lebanon, and two about three miles
distant in the township of Canaan One of the fam
lilies is snbdvd because of ITS size INTO two house.
holds known as the first and second orders.
The New Lebanon groups called respectively
the North, South, Second and Church families. the
latter occupying the centre of the settlement close
to the church and having the subdivisions l have
mentioned. Each family is a social and Industrial
unit, having its portion of the community'S lands
to till its cattle and horses, its dwellings, shops and
farm buildings and keeping its own accounts. The
title to all che land is hold however, by the trustees
of the united societies. cannot learn how numcr-
Gus the community is, nor how many acres of land
1t OWNS, how much its possessions are valued at
Although communicative enough all questions of
faith, the Shakers singularly reticent
one toucheson material facts. Outsiders give various
600. j presume there not far from
$50 in all the families. Their united wealth
in real estate, cattle and machinery must
amount to at least million and half. 1t repre-
sents, however century of we-drected industry
and careful economy. The Shakers seem to
be in hurry, but they patient, indefatgable
workers. "Work is worship" is of their
notices They always busy. High positions of
authority being no exceptions to the rule of steady
m labor Law Of IN
Giles Avery, of the four ministers who form
the hierarchy of the whole Shaker church in the
United States, dressed in tow blouse wheeling
mortar for new building Elder Evans, the head
of the South Family, at work pruning apple
trees when came. Promptly at 6 o'clock the fam-
lies breakfast and Immediately after the men go to
the fields and the women busy themselves with the
homework, the gathering and canning of fruit, the
making of garments and other suitable avocations
Dinner is at II and supper at 6. BY o'clock every
one is in bed and the lights are out. Everyt thing
goes like clockwork.
The family with which am domicied consists of
about sixty members. There perhaps a dozen
adopted children. Among the adults the
outnumber the men in the proportion of nearly two
to one There is not much strctness in regard to
dress as L expected to find. The form is rigdy pre-
scrbed, bat number of plain colors are worn.
Butternut dyes formerly used, but blue jeans
is the favorite material for the mems garments.
One OF the Elders mas coat or mOhalr OF q color
that is nearer red than anything else and Brother
Timothy, who takes of my room, puts ON
in the evenings, after his work is done,
pair Of handsome black trousers and a light blue
coat which gives him quite the air of being
"dressed up." The wear drab, gray blue
and butternut brown. Their costume is admirably
designed to conceal all beauty of form and face,
and makes them all look the same age as
possible. The waist of the dress is short and the
skirt is fastened To il nv numerous thick nlaits
Around the neck is worn big kerchief, crossed over
the breast and coming down to the waist. While at
work the kerchef is of some coarse dark material,
but Sundays and at evening meetings it is white
An apron reaches from the neck to the toes. A
quaint white lace cap hides the whole head except
the face, and when they go out of the house this is
surmounted by an ugly scoop bonnet of straw, with
e little blue cape hanging down the neck The
bonnet comes far forward that the face is hidden
within its cavernOus interior. If you come upon a
Shakeress face to face. and she does not look
down, she is almost sure TO do, you can Just
see that there is a face back under the shadow of
the projecting roof of the hideous headgear, and
that is all. In this costume a,rl of ten looks like
an old woman. The men wear broad brmmed hats
of straw felt. Their hair is combed straight back
behind the ears, and reaches down to the low coat
collar In some families shaving is discouraged in
others each follows his own preference in this
spect.
called, are by means bare and cheerless affairs.
They look somewhat barrack like, but not more so
than mot Neutrality-suspicious. and summer hotels.
Around them are well-kept lawns, beds of flowers
and plenty of fruit and shade trees. Some of the
bedrooms are neatly carpeted and the COM
fort of cushioned rocking is not de-
spised. All the interior walls staring white
and the woodwork is painted a distressing
dark yellow color but the exceeding neatnees
that prevails gives to every apartment bomelke
air. The sanitary conditions excellent Nothing
better could be desired in the way of drainage
ventilation, dry cellars, pure water perfect ceanli-
ness of rooms, beds and clothing, and careful re-
moval of all refuse and impurities likely to exhae
the germs of disease.
The Shakers no alcoholic drinks and no to-
baccO. The North Family are strict vegetarians.
In most of the other families some meat is eaten
but pork is tabooed by all of them, am told. With
their knowledge and practice Of the rules of health
ful living they would show remarkably favorable
death-rate it not for their practice of celibacy
They say this unnatural condition, prescribed by
their founder Mother Ann, the great essential of
real Christianity tends TO long life, but the records
OF monastic institutions against their theory
and believe their records would bo too if due
allowance were made for their regular and health
full habits in other respects.
The remarkable thing about Shaker ceibacv is
that-it is practised without any barriers between
the those of the ordinary customs of civil
lied society Men and women mingle together
freely in the ordinary ayocatons of the day eat in
the same rooms and sleep in the same buildings
with no partitions or locked doors dividing the
dwellings into male and female wings The dor
mitorios open upon Railways used by both sexes
There is. however, watchful oversight of the
IN "a fha init lxrt Oh ILL