Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1894-04-21
A DEGRADED PEOPLE.
The DESCENDANTS OF Indian 6hanks.
In New York State.
Hadf-savages Who 1.-Two Apart from Civ
nIzsd. People and SubsIst Wholly
Upon tho Fruits OF tho
Hunt.

tJeiaWare' ana sullivan counties, has
among its customers some who are I'M.
doubtedly the queerest lot that ever
had occasion to trade at anybody's
store, says a Delhi On. " correspond
cnt of the New York Sun. They arc a
race entirely to themselves and live in
the wilderness far away from anyother-
human habitution, if their own labita-
tions may be dignified with the name of
human, for they are the rudest of huts,
built of old tree-trunks, brush, mud
and odds and ends of slabs and other
refuse lumber. None of these huts are
more than eight feet high, and chin
neys OF windowsnr are unknown to them.
There are about two hundred of these
people, men, women and children, and
they are all related to one another-re-
lated in such way that they are of an
extremely low order of physical and
mental development. They are known
by three family names-the Shanes,
the Washes and the Macartys-but
how they came by them no one knows.
There origin was peculiar.
More than u century ago.. while a
good many, Indians still tarried on
their old hunting and fishing grounds
in the upper Delaware wilderness, Il
family named Shannon settled near
the headwaters of:the Popacton 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
home and Lived with an Indian hunter.
. known as Shanks. who had u cabin in
that vicinity. Some time after that
her father was found dead with bull
let through his brain: Whs- was his
murderer was never found out. Ills
other two daughters joined their sister
at the Indians cabin, and for several
years the three women lived with the
hunter, leading the fife of savages.
Each of the sisters had nine children
by their. Indian lord, and when he left
the region and went to- Canada, never
to returns 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
intermarricd and the present wretched
colony in the mountains beyond the
Slaybacll settlement are descendants
Of them to. the third and!fourth gener-
alton.
NV SNcE huO" LneSc DeO-
pie to have money. They have no use
for money. They are expert fisher
| men, trnppers and hunters. They
| bring fish, game, furs, nuts and berries
into the Slayback store and trade them.
for such things as 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 as we'll as the men,
and the stronger. tue tobacco the bet
ter it suits them. They are not given
much to,strong drink, but even under
the stimulation of alcohol they are dull
and sullcn. A popularity of these
half-sayage-' is their indisposition to
talk. Whether they are communica-
tive among themselves is not known,
but 18th others they use no words be-
You'd what are necessary in their bust
ness dealings. There ;tre' many mutes
among the children of the present gen
Grafton and, deformities are almost the
rule.
The moment a. stranger approaches
any of the huts of this colony, every
man, woman or child who mny be in
sight instantly scurries away and dis
appears, but presently unkempt heads
will be. seen cautiously appearing al
ohinl1s and, cracks, in the rumshaclzle
novels and wild eyes will pscr out al
the intruder. There are no useful do
nestle animals to"be seen anywhere
about, but many wolfsh,loolting dogs
Us wild and suspicious as theirowners
crowd md whine about the liu ~. Tn,
complexion Of this;stpange triBejs mni
formly muddy yellow in color n il
/ IL singular fact that, Notwithstanding
the lacis of moral sense and response
bility among those degraded people
they have apparently no inclination
'S"' 3o> commission of crime, agains
, tttc community ut large, as the record
OF 81 D COUNTS, ftyr half n cen fury show
They live aosolhtely by and to them