The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-02-14
THREE SETS OF TRIPLETs.
All Living and in the Best of Health in
 California.

l {From the San Francisco Examiner.) Tn an almost inaccessible mountain fastness in Mendocino county, Cal. eighteen miles northeast of Ukiah, is the home of nine children, all triplets The mother is Mrs George Walters All the children are we'll and happy, and the last trio are as healthy set of youngsters as can be found anywhere The Walters home is in an out-of-the- way part of the Mendocino forest dis trict. They haN few visitors, and facts concerning them were difficult to obtain Two of the sets of tripIets were by Mrs. Walters first husband, Orville Orrin Oates, a Missourian. Three years elapsed between the birth of the first and second triplets, and twelve years between the birth of the second and third sets.
 Mrs. Walters maiden name was Ellen Elaine Emmery. She was born in Que bee about 1855. She met her first hus- band during the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. After their marriage they moved to Alton, Mo. It was at AL ton, in 1879, the first triplets were born. They were named Wheeler Henry, James Rutherford and Martha Chris tine, being two boys and one girl. l The family moved to California in the fall of 1880, and settled at first in Inyo county. From there they moved to the Little Bear Valley, San Bernardino county There, in October, 1882, the sec ond triplets were born. They were all girls, and were named Matilda Ann, Re |becca Elizabeth and Mary Louise.
 While on prospecting tour, seeking a fortune for his fast-growing family, MT. Oates became lost in theivast des- erts of western Arizona, and was never again heard from. The widow then de- termined to move to the upper part of the state with her six children. They travelled north by easy stages, and on the way she met MT Walters. He helped her and her children along the way, proposed marriage, and was ac- cepted. They kept on their journey north, seeking for some far-away valley where they could set up their home. They found it in the location already described. There, in June, 1894, the last triplets were born. They were named Grover Eldred, Jasper Otis and Ruth Ellen.
 The children of the first two sets of triplets do not resemble one another at all but the last, the babies, look so much alike that they cannot be told apart. The only way to distinguish them is to dress them differently, and when put to bed they wear different kinds of night dresses, so that the mother in the morning can tell which is which.
 Far away from all neighbors from schools, churches, newspapers and all the advantages of civilization, Mrs. Walters has reared her family They have lived in hermit-like solitude, touching the outside world only at rarest intervals. The mother is wo- man of considerable cultivation and ed- ucation, so that she has been able to instruct the children. They are all re- markedly intelligent and are always dressed neatly.
 The land where they settled was at first unsurveyed, and since that time they have occupied it as posSessory claim, and thereby escaped paying tax es. They have lived, and do yet, all most entirely from what they raise. They never go to town except when positively obliged to. No one ever sees them besides an occasional hunter who may lose his way, and he is not made welcome. They never have been known to ask for or receive any mail at the post-office. One of the elder brothers some time ago cut himself loose from the family, and he has not been heard from since
 Everything that comes 10 their valley has to be packed in. There is no road, and only the least sign of trail. Eve rything raised is used mostly for home consumption. They have cattle and horses, hogs and fowls, and everything seems in order. Whatever is bought