The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-06-01

Curious Freak Of AaiFamily Of Bal,
Heads in CuIDfornia.


Curious Freak of AaiTamily Of Bald
Heads In CsDfornia.
In the towns of Madrohe, 20 miles south
Of San Jose, nature has revealed a new po-
tency for building up degenerating hu-
manity. tfVGt
From the air of thA Santa Clara valley
has been drawn the natural elements of hair
growing, and these elements have been
focused upon the headst Of two men, who
lave devoted themselyTes, Rareheaded. to the
These men compose the male portion of the
family known in Madrone as ''the hatless
Peets." They never wear hats In the burn
ing sun, in the pouring rain, in winds, and
in fogs. by daylight and by night, the Poets
go their way untopped by aught save ma
lures hirsute coverlet. For more than a
year the brothers Poet have been bare
headed. They are likely to remain bare
headed for the rest of their days.
The brothers Peet are sons of the late
Rev. Robert B. Peet. who died of heart
failure very suddenly about year ago while
sitting in q chair in q church at PalO Alto.
Mr.. Poet was Presbyterian divine. He
went from one district to another in this
state. lending thereto the profits of his
learning and Of his goodness as long as he
was spared to an unworthy world.
During his protracted itinerancy he made
bis headquarters at beautiful home near
Madrone. where his wife. daughter and
TWO sons have resided permanently since
their arrival here from the East, some IL
years ago. Now the daughter is abroad.
The two sons and the mother still abide
affiuently at the old place.
They are people of cultivated tastes and
familiarity with the higher things the
world has to offer for recreation and mental
profit; in their home in the Madrone coun-
try they have surrounded themselves with
art and literature and music; when they go
forth from their door yard they ride in q
swell trap with tandem pair of thorough
treds or go astride of we'll groomed ponies.
The Madronies call them English. That is
the penalty of aristocracy in Madrone.
This going without hat is hair-rais-
ing proposition. 1t has raised a great
crop of hair for the Poets, who were al
most bald when they began unhatting
Shakespeare could raise hair If there were
any to raise-"make each particular hair
to stand on end" in fact-but he had to
pass when he found a reader who failed
to fit his picture of the "freful porcupine"
Fright such as Shakespeare demanded must
have had a full set of hirsute quilts to work
When the Peet family finally threw off
its hats it had on its heads very little in
common with the porcupine. There was
scarce enough hair among the lot to fur
nish one good upstarting of locks DER the
tale
Whose lightest word would harrow up their
souls.
1t was because of this sparseness atop of
their heads mat the Poets ceased arraying
them in derby and fedoras; they concluded
that heads entirely bare might be taken
care of by nature if left wholly to her dis
cretion They exposed their thin locks to
the rains and to the sunshinings through
storms and baking heats, and the winds
blew upon their hatless pates in winter and
summer they blew upon the grass in the
fields. -
Then the hair began to grow upon the
Peet heads. From snowballs they grew to
chrysanthemums-f Bill Nyes to Pade-
rewskis In a year the doffng of hats re-
suited in as luxuriant crop of hair as
was ever recorded in fertile Santa Clara
valley. When the heroes of this remarkable
experiment ride into town nowadays, their
fluffy heads holding the center of inter-
est high above a tine trap and tandem rig,
they inspire in those who know their pur-
pose feeling of profound respect for the
discovery they have worked out in nature
as we'll as for the courage they have dis
played in doing as they please regardless
Of the DEGREES of fashion and of civiliza-
tion-even in Madrone.-San Francisco Elk
aminer E.7