Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1895-12-30
FINGERS LIKE CLAWS.
Deformity OF the
Robbins Tribe" Of New YORK;
The Strange Iiirthmark Perpetuated
Through Several Generations
with Occasional Va
Ration.

large stream, except when melting
SHOWS or autumn rains have swelled
it into q torrent Rich farms. wooded
slopes, deep gorges whose lofty wallis
form the high banks, as the natives call
them, and tangled wilderness where
nature still runs riot, as she has from
the first; these mark the course of the
Cattaraugus. The Indian name is it
self unsteady expressive, and recalls
the days when only red men occupied
it's banks. There are still Indians
along it, and the reservation named for
it contains most of the few remaining
members Of the Seneca tribe, once the
Posscssor or all the region from Lake
Erie to and beyond the Genesee.
The reservation begins near the vii
lagc of Gowanda, and Just above there,
shut in by high hills, is the widest and
most inaccessible spot in the whole re-
zion, the valley Of Zoar. How Ct: from
when the place received il" T:'Iical
name, or what is the rrscu;l lance be-
tween this secluded spot and the city
which, in the Old Testament "tCry, fig
urcs along with Sodom aud Gomorrah.
arc matters which not even tnc Oldest
iEliabitaEt is able to explain. Here
among the hills, where strange faces
arc rarely seen, is conccalc:i; rcmarla-
bic rNau! lie of natire's 0c,H%.onal va
carries and the strange persistence of
;1uOrn;ii.ticS through h"i- d.;T.imong
the frW residents pr Io&r 49,, - arc Sow
oral families of clGw-GI3:r, T.. -, PRISONS
They arc not wild or Undiscovered, at
least not more so chan ro.t or ~. DIX
arnHg the CnttaraumuS. - rcariv all
Of them have curious '-"0rnity of
the fingers and toes Wh,~.. Gives t:.em
their :lamc. They have lived hcrc many
years, ard, although their r"i"..i,ors
are still inclined to look uDon them
">iG'Ti!"t ;..2:ancc, they ne 10 longer
regarded as especially wonderful, and
ore might travel through the valley
| dozen times without once hearing q
| word about its stTang" Inhabitants
Ia driving through the valley recent.
| Is the writer came across an old farmer
loading hemlock bark by the road
| side, and inquired for the claw-fingcred
| residents.
''That Robbins tribe" was the reply
YES, I've lnowed some of EN- for nigh
| on forty years, cause was raised right
here. Yes, their hands is like claws.
Some of 'em. It's a mighty GURUS
thing, but faint nuthin' much to look
at. Why, folks come all the way from
Buffalo (between 80 and 40 miles,
to lCok at 'em, an you'd think by the
way hey go on about it that they was
goin' to circus"
The old man shook his head at the
unaccountable curiosity of the Buffalo
| visitors, and turned again to his work.
Although the residents of onr usual
~ refer to their strange ncighbor3 as n
tribe, they use the word only as it is
frequently employed in rural districts
i'll speaking Of any large family. They
are by no means looked upon as sep
aratc order Of beings. Still there is n
strong social prcdiudice against them
Although this prejudice has not been
sufficient to prevent marriages with
other families in the neighborhood, il
has discouraged such marriages. The
consequence is that there has been
much intCrmarrying in the family, and
this may have something to do with the
pcrpctuation Of their dcformity.
AS we'll us can be learned, the peculiar
digital formation OF the claw-fingered
folks has existed in Ioar through -four
generations. In the early part Of tn,
century man named Robbins settled
in Toar. He was remarkable because
his fingers and toes were SO bent tina
they rcseinhlrd claws somewhat NOR,
than they did human digits. In othc,
respects there was nothing particular,
striking ubGit his appearance. iii!
strange, clawlikc hands and toes be
came objects Of considerable curiosity
but it docs not aprca shat Rnbhin.
"Tcr explained the orj.,n Of his de
fornlity. OF course after it rrappcarct
III his descendants il l."&Ut" The gen
cral opinion il'at Enhl;rH himself i'm
hcrItcd H. Others l,lit'.' lhnt II" wa
the founder Of the claw {. ;..rcd family
and that he settled in t,i:a remote spo
because of his disfgurcmcnt.--N. Y
Sun.