Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-10-08
IN HUTS LIKE SAVAGES.
An italian settlement aud its wigwams
A Very Jealous Husband.

| An italian Settlement aud its wirwams
A Very Jealous Husband.
Incidentally, recently. the Philadel-
! phla Times learned that a colony of
Italian emigrant laborers, mostly from
q part OF that city called Little
Italy employed by the PENNSYLVANIA
Railroad COMPANY, had settled in the
eastern portion of Chester county.
near Berwyn station. and had there
erected a series of habitations. some
what OF the picturesqueness of Indian
| wlgwams or of the huts of the Esoui-
maux in the frozen north.
Accordingly one pleasant day Rud-
iniville was investigated As the
train whirls through smiling Chester
county all variety of residences can be
seen from the car windows, ranging
from the handsome country homes of
| wealthy Philadelphiaus to the prini-
| tive log cabins erected couple of
hundred years ago by the first settlers.
! But the like of the Italian dwellings
has not been seen before.
After arriving at Berwyn, a pretty
| little station in the Chester valley, you
must cross the South Valley hill, from
| the summit Of which a beautiful view
is obtained OF the panorama of the
| Chester valley. ReacnIng at last the
base of the north slope Of the hill YOU
| find Rudiniville. situated on a level
| plain just at the spot where the road
! from Berwyn intersectS a new railroad
In the course of con ;tructiou by the
1 i
| to make shorter cut on the Pittsburg
| division. The residents of Rudini-
Vile are employed upon the construc-
ton of this road, and it was their en-
forced residence in this ueighborhood
| that ca ssed them to construct their
settlement.
The village has population of
about fifty persons. all of them italians,
except several Slavs who live in a
board shanty apart from the
rest Of the settlement. Altogether
| there are eleven residences in the VIII
| lage, and all Of them differ in design
and style of artichitecture from any
house ever seen within the confines of
Pennsylvania, and. in fact, unlike any
| dwellings, this side of the South Sea
Islands
All the dwellings face towards the
south When the reporter arrived at
the settlement the Inhabitants were
all at work except one, who seemed
at first inclined to eject the reporter
from the premises but was consider
ably appeased by asmall gift Of money.
He kindly volunteered to show the
town and point out the various objects
Of interest which he did with much
pride lie stated that tie dwellings,
regarding which the reporter expressed
considerable curiosity consumed but
little time in the course of cOnstruc-
ton and were exceedingly easy to
erect.
The ground plan for e:,oh structure
is about ten feet. After this was
marked off the ground YVES excayated
i to the depth OF about foot The
frame work of the structure. composed
of saplings or fence rails. Whichever
came handiest, was then raised, the
butts stuck in the ground and then
joined at the top with q ridge pole.
The whole structure was then covered
with two thick layers of sods cut from
the surrounding meadows.
Thus the house was finished eXceut
that in the centre sort Of rude fire.
place with stones was Put up and here
a fire is kept burning, the smoke es-
Gaping as best it can from a hole in
the top of the structure.
BY large odds the most pretentious
house in the settlement is one occupied
by a newly married couple This
dwelling has actually door and is
matched with straw. In connection
with the door Of this house it was said
that the young husband was of such
jealous disposition that before going
to work every morning he took the
precaution to shut and paddock it, fear
ing that his wife might elopc or be
stolen during his absence. One of the
houses was decorated with a number
Of slaves and oarrel heads. secured
by an old shirt and intended to block
up leak in the roof. In front of this
house is what might be called a tessel-
lated pavement, being several feet in
extent and composed of native m hle.
Besides the young married compile
there is another family in the settle
ment, but the great majority Of the in
habitants are men, and usually about
half Il dozen natives of sunny Italy oo-
cupied each one OF these houses. In
these dwellings they live during the
winter, and yet it hardly seems pos
sible that man could exist for twenty
four hours in such novels, alongside of
which the tepee of the Indian and The
hut of the Esquimau are palatial and
the burrows of the foxes aud wild ami
mails in the South Valley hill were
clearly and comfortable.