Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-10-30
FIENDISH OUTRAGES.

FIENDISH OUTRAGES.
Inhuman Treatment of Little Or
phan Girls. One is Literally TettOed
with a Red Hot Poker and Another
has Her Hands Roasted.
A case came under the notice of the DO.
lice yesterday, which brought to light an
act of the very greatest inhumanity and
cruelty 10 little orphan girl, such as few
people would hardly believe in this section
of the country, and which showed, in a
striking light the terrible depravity of an
individual named Pepper, and his wife,
who move and have their being in the
suburb of Chelsea. The facts of the case
are to the following effect About two
years ago little fatherless girl, named
Mary Anne Smith, and who is now be-
tween twelve and thirteen years of age,
was deprived of the care of her mother by
delth, and was adopted by this man John
Pepper and his wife, who lived on Third
street, Chelsea.
The girl, who seems to have a good
share of intelligence, had only been an in
mate of the Pepper establishment four
weeks, when he and his wife commenced
a course of the most cruel treatment
toward the poor orphan child, such as only
fends in human shape could conceive and
carry into effect. According to the testi-
mony of the girl, told in the presence Of
several persons yesterday, she has been
half starved for the past two years, and for
the slightest fault she has been stripped
and logged in the most unmerciful man
ner, so that there are large discolored wells
all over her body. By way of varying
their feats of cruelty they would tie the
child up by the thumbs and keep her sus-
pended in that manner for a considerable
time, her cries and entreaties not having
the slightest effect, either on Pepper or his
wife.
On Saturday, however, their cruelty to
the poor orphan eliminated. During the
forenoon she went into the garden, and
pulled up some radishes and turnips.
This, in the eyes of Pepper and his wife,
seems TO have been considered a most
henious ofeuse and deserving of the most
cruel punishment, The girl was caught
by the hair of the head by Pepper and
dragged into the kitchen of the house. She
was next placed close TO the stove, and
while the woman fend held the girl, the
man monster heated poker till it was red
hot, and then commenced literally to tattoo
the face, arms and hands of the poor little
helpless orphan.
She screamed, entreated, prayed, but all
the little child, while Pepper drew the
red-hot poker at least twenty times across
her face, hands and arms, until the girl
was burnt in the most dreadful manner.
Yesterday a woman, who lives in the
neighborhood, learned something of what
had been going on, and meeting the girl
on the streets, with her face, hands and
arms covered with the marks of the heated
poker, she inquired who had inflicted such
frgihtful injuries upon her person. The
child was at first afraid to say single
word about it, but the woman insisted, and
the whole of the dreadful story came out.
The police were at once applied to and
Pepper and his wife promptly arrested.
The little girl was taken before the grand
iury of he Municipal Court, where she
completely shocked the gentlemen compos-
ing that body by the recital of the cruel
ties she had to endure at the hands of Pep
per and his wife for the past two years.
The girl has been placed in charge Of
Mrs. Dickson, wife of one of the police
force, who lives in the Wickersham build
ing, corner Of Third and Jefferson streets.
While the little girl was telling her NOV
ing tale, the material portions Of which
are given above, several of the fair sex,
who were anxious and excited listeners, ex-
pressed somewhat emphslically that if the
authorities would ouly place Pepper
in their hands for few minutes, they
would give him 4 peppering such as he
would not forget till the last day Of his
life-MemphiS Bulletin, Oct. Is.
In Rochester, New York, a woman
named Mary Swingler has just been sem
fenced TO the Penitentiary for six months
for abominable cruelty towards her adopted
daughter, seven years old. The Ugion
SAYS:
alt was alleged by the prisoner that the
little girl had stolen a piece Of candy, and
it was TO deter her from committing further
thelts that she punished her in the manner
she did. By roasting the little ones hands
over the stove she said she intended to give
her an idea of what hell Is, a place to
which she would surely go if she stole any
more. She thought it her duty to punish
the child to save it5 soul from perdition,
and nothing could so well convey her idea
Of perdiiion to the little ones tender mind
as roasting its hands over young hell
the whitening fire ola cooking stove. The
EXPLANATIONS of the girl-'Oh! mother, it
hurts oh mother, it hurts awfully !
and the noise Of the cracking flesh, did
not make the woman desist, and only the
interference of neighbors prevented her
from inhiCting injuries which would doubt
less have proved permanent. But few
women in this city have more benevolent
and peaceable-looking countenance than
hers"
Another horrible story comes from WOr
cester, Massachusetts
"Mrs. Cstharine Conner, residence on
Foyle street, committed series of out
RACES on her little daughter last week that
should draw down upon her head the hot
test of public indignation. Last Friday
night, bitter and biting in its extreme cold
ness, she stripped the little Lizzie, who is
about elven years old, and turned her
naked into the cold night and dark street.
The little thing laid down under tree and
cried herself to sleep. The same inhuman
treatment was practiced on the succeeding
night, and on Saturday morning the child
was found andlcared for by kind neigh
Dor. An appeal was made TO the mother
for the child's clothes, but she refused to
give them up, and since then the child has
been fed and clothed by strangers"