The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1894-07-26
A DEGRADED PEOPLE.
The DESCENDANTS Of Indlan Shenles
In New York state.
Haif-sayages who L'vc Apart from cav
hiEod People and subsIat wholly
Upon tho Fruits of the
Hunt.

Tho little store at Slaybacls settle
ment, in tho wild region about tho
headwatcrs Of the Delaware river, In
Delaware aad Sullivan counties. has
among its customers some who are un-
doubtcdly the quccrest lot that ever
had occasion TO trade at nnybody's
store, says Dolhi IN. " correspond
ent OF the New York. Sun. They are q
race entirely to themselves and live In
the wilderness far away from any other
human habitation, IL their own habsta
lions may be digniAcd with the name OF
human, for thcy afc the rudcst of huts,
built OF old treo-trunks, brush, mud
and odds and ends of slabs and other
refuse lumber. None of these huts are
more than eight feet high, aud CHIN
ncys or windows are unknown to them.
There are about two hundred of these
people, men, women and children, and
they are all related To one anothcr-re-
lated in such II way that they are of an
extremely low order OF physical and
mental development They arc known
] by tlrce family namcs--the Shanes
! the Washes and the Macnrtys but
how they came by them no one knows
There origin was peculiar.
More than n century ago, while q
good many Indians still tarricd on
! their old hunting and fishing grounds
I in the upper Delaware wilderness, a
I family named shannon settled near
the headwatcrs Of the ropacton branch
of the Delaware They were father,
| mother and three daughters. The
mother died soon after they came into
the region. The eldest daughter left
homo and lived with an Indian hunter
/ known "a ShanlSs, who had cabin In
that vicinity. some time after that
her father was found dead with n bull
let through his brain Whs was his
murderer was never found out. Ills
other two daughters joined their sister
ut the Indians cabin, and for several
years the three women lived with the
hunter, leading tho life of savagcs.
Each Of the sisters had nine children
by their Indian lord, md when he left
the region and went 10 Canada, never
To- return, they remained, and there
arc people living in Delaware county
to-day who remember them as old
women, begging and thieving about
the country. Their numerous progeny
intermarriod and the present wretched
colony Ia the mountains beyond the
Slayback settlement are descendants
OF them TO the third and fourth gener-
alton.
No one ever knew one of these peo-
pie 20 have money. They have no use
for money. They are expert fisher
men, trappcrs and hunters They
bring fish. game, furs, nuts and berries
into the Slnyback store and trade them
for such things rs they require, and
their wants are few. Tobacco, pork and
ammunition are the chief items in their
supplies They all chew and smoke, the
women and children rs well as the men
and the stronger the tobacco the bet
ter IL suits them. They are not giver
much to strong drink, but even under
the stimulation of alcohol they are dul
and sullcn. A popularity OF thes'
hnlfsavagcs Ia their indisposition t,
talk. Whether they are communities
tive among themselves is not known
but with othcrs they use no words be
yond what are necessary in their bust
, ness dealings There are many mute
among the children of the present gen
Grafton and dcformities are almost tn,
rule
The moment q stranger approaches
any of the huts of this colony, ever,
man, woman or child who may be IL
sight instantly scurries away and dis
o appears, but presently unkempt head
. will be seen cautiously appearing a
chinks and cracks in the ramshacSl,
! novels and wild eyes win peer out n
!, the intruder. There are no useful do
i nestle animals to be seen anywher'
g about. but many wolfsh-looking dogs
as wild and suspicious Gs their owners
crowd and whine about the huts. Tn
complexion OF this strange tribe is uni
J. formly muddy yellow in color. 1t i
i SINGULAR fact That uotwlthstandin;
the lack OF moT.l sense and response
bility among those degraded people
they have apparently no inclination
for the commission of crime agaiDs
the community at large. as the record
of the courts for half a century show
They live absolutely by and TO them
selves md neither care for nor know
anything beyond the bare obtaining 0
n subsistence which at its best is bu
scant. -.sf-