The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-09-13
4 Queer Family.
At the mouth of a coal bank in Mes

shamrock township, six miles from
New Castle, Pa, stands little two
roomed cabin, built mainly Of logs and
plastered with mud. The roof is made
Of clapboards and the one door of the
cabin is plank that swings on a pair
of rude wooden hinges. Everything
about the cabin has an air of antiquity,
says the New York Advertiser.
The occupants are miners and their
appearance is in keeping with their
surroundings. The father, John
Lewis, is a widower, seventy-three
years Of age, little stopped by his
continuous work in the mine, but still
enjoying good health. There is moth
ing about his appearance to indicate
eccentricity, except his long beard,
which reaches below his waist While
working he keeps it tied in knot,
and on coming out Of the coal bank
his first attention is given to his beard,
and he never ceases washing and
scrubbing at it until it is as white as
snow. For over fifty odd years razor
has never come upon his face and he
regards his whiskers assalmost sacred.
Mr.. Lewis has four sons, who are no
less odd in appearance than himself.
They are John and Edward and George
and William, two sets Of twins, aged
about fifty years. None Of the boys
has ever shaved, and as they are
almost exact counterparts it is next to
impossible for even those intimate
with the family to distinguish them
apart. This curious family is Of
Welsh attraction, but the boys were
all born in New Castle. Their mother
dying shortly after the birth Of George
and William, Mr.. Lewis bought the
coal bank in Nesshannock township,
put up the cabin above described and
removed thither.
For one year he had housekeeper
take care Of the children, but since
that time no woman has ever crossed
the threshold Of his humble home.
Mr.. Lewis has an aversion to their
society, and when he makes his month
ly visit to New Castle for supplies he
buys at the stores located on the out
skirts, and if perchance he sees wo-
man on the sidewalk he will take the
middle of the street. The sons very
seldom visit town, and when they 90
always in company with their father,
to whose side they cling more closely
than ten-year-old boy.
None of the family is able TO read
or write and they are consequently
very superstitious. They have no
faith in banks and, although worth
probably ten thousand dollars, hoard
their money. The income from their
coal bank is quickly changed into
gold, to be deposited in their safe.
This safe, according to neighborhood
gossip, would battle the ingenuity of
the most expert bank robber. 1t con-
sists of stout iron box three feet
square. This box is placed at the
bottom of we'll twelve feet deep
located underneath the cabin. The
we'll is filled with stone and from a
trap door a common gas pipe three
inches in diameter leads to the box.
Deposits in the safe are made by drop
ping the coins down the gas pipe.
The men never take anything out and
a coin once dropped there is supposed
to be salted down for life.
There is said to be three pounds of
dynamite secreted in the we'll which
can be touched off by secret fuse at
any time in case Of an attack by rob-
bers. A knowledge Of this fact has
doubtless kept the Lewis family free
from the notorious gang that has been
committing depredations in Lawrence
County during the last year. The
family is not known to have any rela-
tives in the country and who will get
the contents of the iron box and their
real estate is matter of much specu-
lation. They have no intimate friends,
their dealings with the world being
confined to selling coal, and in this
connection it might be mentioned that
five large dogs are used by the men in
hauling the coal from the bank.
These dogs are treated as members Of
the family, sharing the same roof and
eating the same victuals. Father and
sons take week about at cooking.
They do their own baking and wash
ing and three pounds Of sugar, it is
said, lasts them nearly a month.
Every member of the family is an in
veterate smoker. None of them is
ever sick and they attribute their good
health to the use of tobacco.