Arizona republican., 1893-07-12
A QUEER COLONY.
soue Strange Settlers in the h.
 dian Territory.
,ougIous Enthusiasts Who Wear Masks Day and Night and Regard It a Sin
 to Look Upon the Face ofa
 Human Being.

Since the practical abandonment of .bc Cheyenne and Arapahoe reserva- ,on has left that country almost wilder than it was before the opening year ago, a small colony of religious ~nthusiasts have settled in what is snovn as F county, among the sand hills. The leaders of this colony went ,berc from Sedgwicll and Barber ,ounties, Kan, and took with them a following of seventy men and women. That was six months ago. Since that time they have been joined by at least .iyty persons, so they now number about one hundred and thirty.
 Their belief, says Texas correspon- dcnt is exceedingly simple. They worship an unknown god as repre- ,pnted by life, and deem it a moral sin to look upon the face of human be- snr. Men and women wear masks day md night, and never by any chance do they gaze upon the face of one an- other. They teach morality in the everest perfection, not permitting the two sexes even to dwell in the same valley, their homes being about two miles apart There is a daily religious service, when all come to a central p5int, for such services are in the open air, regardless of the weather. John Walrond, formerly of Sedgwick county, conducts all communication with the outside world, and only on his visits to Fl Reno and Kingfsher does he lay aside his mask. After each one of these trips he buries himself in soli- tude for ten days and expiates the sin of having come in contact, uncovered, with mankind.
 Walrond and E. NJ. Scott, another of the leaders, were formerly well-known in Kansas as alliance organizers. When the alliance was merged into the peoples party they resolved to gather such followers as they could and retire from the world, or at least to disappear from the so-called civilization of the present day. The result was the found- ing of the colony in the Indian Terri tory No name has been adopted, none iswanted They have sought seclusion and have found it. What little prop erty there is in the community is held in common, anyone using any par tcular thing he sees it to desire at the time. The colonists believe it sinful to seek to accumulate property.
 They have twenty log houses equally divided between what are in reality two communities, and two storehouses, from which they draw their supplies. The work is done regardless of sex, men and women alike engaging in all
 he vOcations common to new coun-
 uy They appear to be contented and
 helhy, and were it not for the un-
 agh.7 dark-red mask constantly worn,
 tsy ould appear as other people after bring been div'1nA off into separate
 communities. They say that they are 2ppy; that they have no want un- Spplied, and that they could not be nduced to return to the world.
 The chance visitor to the colony is reated kindly and courteously, and is 9lven lodging in a cabin kept for that purpose. He is not invited to stay, nor do they give him hint to leave. They converse without hesitation, but per sistently refuse to listen to anything about the world they have left. They talk simply about their spiritual state, its beauties and it's blessings.
 There are several married couples there, but they live apart. There has been no rule adopted regarding a life of celibacy, each one being his own judge in this matter. In fact, no one seeks to control any of the others. It appears to be community without a head or ruler.