Evening journal., 1912-10-14
COLONY OF HERMITS
IS FOUND In JERSEY

oO ALL 4 W OODt ~ Jtf Ccl. II ~
ignorant Of the civilization of the two
great metropolises, New York and
Philadelphia, within 70 miles Of
which they live, that they do not
know there exists such a thing
as the art of reading. have no
code Of morals or laws and never
have seen a railroad train, trolley or
automobile, strange colony OF
mountain hermits, 10 miles from this
village, are about to get their first
taste of educational enlightenment
through the efforts of the New Jer-
sey State authorities. There are
said to be 200 souls, all told, In the
settlement Of huts scattered over a
square mile of wilderness a long the
Scrub Oak road. An initial invest
igation of the conditions surrounding
their life has convinced DR.. Calvin
~ Kendall, State Superintendent OF
Education. that they are probably the
lowest type Of white human beings
In the United States.
Natives here have known of the ex-
istence Of the colony for the last 70
years or more. and for that reason
have given il little thought. Sum-
mer visitors who became lost in the
mountains and stumbled upon the
uncanny settlement told the state
authorities OF their discovery. The
poverty-stricken hermits are to be
given an opportunity to share the
bounties OF a Commonwealth of
whose existence they seem absolute
ly ignorant.
Have no Religion or Morals.
So far as can be discovered, the
hermits have no religion, and APP
parently the marriage ceremony is
unknown. There is little trace OF
family names Children go by such
titles as Hanks John" or "Jake's
Mary. There are few chiicren in
the colony. disease having carried on
man yof' the younger generation and
reduced the population from nearly
400 to half that number.
The Oldest of the hermits do not
know the history of their colony.
They say their ancestors before them
lived In these woods, and that is APP
parently all they know and care
about their genealogy. Local tradi-
tion has II that the progenitors OF
the colony were a half-dozen desert
ers from the Colonial army, who
dropped out when General George
Washington was In retreat across
New Jersey. These discontented sol
diers fed to the mountains, where
they existed by hunting and fishing
Bearing out this story is the fact that
years Iago one OF the colony came to
this town and traded an old musket
for some merchandise. The weapon
is now in a museum at Newton, and
has been recognized as a genuine
Revolutionary firearm.
Flee From Strangers.
II is difficult to get the hermits to
talk about any matter regarding
themselves They do not like stang
ers and many of them fee at the ap-
proach OF outsiders When one Is
finally inveigled into conversation,
others will stand peering at the
stranger from behind trees or bushes
or from the darkness OF their huts.
These huts are even more crude
than the old-fashioned log cabin
The manhood OF the colony seems tc
have steadily deterioriated In all the
arts of civilization as known In Co
ionial days. The shacks are th'
crudest shelters, made OF logs anC
brush with straw or matched roofs
One opening does for a door and win.
dow. Natives say the hermits hiber.
nate for days at a time in cold
weather So skillfully are the huts
hidden that one can drive along the
Scrub Oak road. which there is little
more than a bride path, without
noticing single shack. Apparently
the fear Of detection that made the
deserters from Washington's army
seek this hidden retreat in the noun.
tain wilderness has descended e
their progeny.
The hermits are said stock Close
TO their colony. Rarely are they seer
I'm any Of the surrounding towns
They have no money, but occasion
ally will trade furs for merchandise
Their poverty. in fact, is said to bl
almost beyond belief. The common
attire for men. women and children
is a one-piece suit, usually made o
gunny sacking, but sometimes OF cal
leo. They have no shoes nor hats
filth reigns i'm their huts. with thu
result that many are I'll with loath
some diseases, and the death rate Il
high
Live on Fish and Game.
From what can be learned, fish
game and produce from the mos
poorly cultivated clearings sustain
the colony's life. Agriculture viii
be one Of the first things the Stat
! will seek to teach the men OF tt
colony. The task will be hard one
however, as interest in life beyon
/ their actual existence seems to hav
died from the hearts of the eolonist
long ago.
Not a person now living in the col
Z ony has seen a railroad train, al
, though a line OF the New York, Sus
quehanna and Western is within l
miles of their huts. They gazed wit
awe upon the team and horses wit
which a recent investigator drove
2 their settlement The visitor late
Q expressed satisfaction that he ha
/ not made the trip in his automobil
. as he said he believed the sight
the car would frightened them int
Il thinking him a visitor from anoth'
e world and would have made an inte
= view with them impossible.
7 Don't overlook the Wants-ths
u are little, but they weld mighty II
\