Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1895-09-28
Grunts.

| bNYp1gSNIND twenty miles north
!. !. !. /" ]. !. !. !. !. !.
g-.srYE-Y Ma Of Skowhe, in the
| CaNSS@gSES,%SU woods bordering on
$s5aR@I - ~ the little village Of
! fSSVgEs% <SSYH West Athens, Me-,
| SSElEsS 49, there lives a tribe
| Nl .1SSssSsg 10 y of men that would,
| NM ~ in some respects,
! lM& put to blush the un-
| ~ civilized cave dwell
lers of years agone. and give points %
the now somewhat enlightened sayages
u the Fiji Islands For years they have
been the terror of the country for ten
miles around. They subsist mainly ON
sheep and cattle that they steal, and
when an honest turn strikes them they
vary their stolen bill OF fare with part
ridges or trout. There are. as near as
can be ascertained, about forty Of these
uncivilized creatures, few OF whom
are females They are about all known
by the name OF Brown. and are largely
inbred, according to the testimony OF
their long-suffering neighbors. They
| dwell 10 rude huts or shanties. and
some Of sae younger and more enlight-
| ened Of them make occasional feeble at
/ tempts at agriculture al least 10 the
\ extent Of raising a few potatoes or
| planting rocky half acre OF corn.
Only a few OF these people are often
seen by the neighboring folk, who are
\ thrifty and law-abidlng farmers. and
I hn af,e
| ing the acquaintance ofthe rest. who are
/ supposed 10 be worse and more degrai-
ed than the samples which occasionally
visit neighborlng towns after an over
indulgence Of hard cider, which Is their
steady beverage. as il is very difficult
in that country to find rum 10 steal. II
is doubtful If any OF these people can
read or write. and the circulation OF
newspapers Is probably not largely in
! creased by the fact OF the existence OF
this tribe of Browns But among them
\ are many who can not even speak any
| language. and are able 10 converse with
each other only by grunts and cultural
/ sounds, entirely meaningless save to
! the ears OF brother savage. These
| wild mentor there are none wilder
in this country-have no respect FOR the
laws OF the land In which they dwell.
and II is doubtful II they realize any
/ law They are In some respects OF an
anarchistic turn Of mind, In that they
/ believe they have free and equal right
/ to any property they see, and not only
steal avnrythfng fkn4. 90. kas a.. -.
seem 10 realize they are transgressing
in the least by so doing The towns OF
Brighton and West Athens have lost
more cattle and sheep during the last
twenty years than any dozen other
towns in Maine, and the sufferers lay
this wholesale theiving entirely al the
doors of the untutored Browns Dur
Ing recent months their losses have be-
come SO frequent. especially on sheep
and lambs, that the good farmers
thought 1t was high time something
was done to put stop to them. and ac-
cordingly the sheriff was sent down
into the territory Of the thieves to try
and arrest one or two OF the most ac
tive. He was welcomed by a couple Of
loads OF buckshOt and returned al once
Thereupon constable Of Brighton
who is also tax collector. and had
slight acquaintance with some OF tho
gang tried his hand. He called on one
or TWO OF the creatures whom he knew
and, by dint Of persuasion and prnmises
OF dalnties, succeeded In entlcinR four
Of the tribe to Norridgewock and into
the county Jail, where the strong doors
were locked upon them. When can
tured they wore scarcely anything thar
could be called clothing, and were al.
most naked. The bodies OF the two
elder were covered with thick growth
Of black hair.
The names Of these wild people are
not savage In sound. The elder who
IS about 40 years Of age. is called
"Gabe" by the others, who are his
nephews. He is a very tall and strong
man and can not talk or speak a word
OF any language except the standard
Yankee oath, which he has learned 10
utter His older nephew, Asa" IL
strongly built man about % years old
and the ugliest and most dangerous oi
them all. The other two are about 1s
to 49, / visited the jaiI. when a.
eighth Of a mile distant the shouting Of
the wild men could be plainly heard
and In volume and character IL waa
calculated to send cold chill down
mans spinal column They are ali ksnt
In one cell and howl almost perpetualIv
save when fighting among themselves
They are hard looking set. Thai
hands and feet are black with dirt. ana
their faces not much better. while tba
portions Of their bodies exposed could
be seen to be covered with thick hair
giving them much the appearance az
beasts. The uncle, "Gabe." ia varv
strong, and easily carries the thraa
others on his back round the cell, Thig
, man has been harnessed to a rnde q,ed
and In lieu Of horse, hauled many :
load OF wood to the home of the triba
He is a giant in stature, and one would
scarcely care to be favored with AN IN.
production to him in his native wtlda