The New York herald., 1873-08-23
DAM MIN EVIDENCE.
Revelations by the Detectives
and the Victim.
Confined in Ganet with Tied Hands,
Beaten, Abused and Starved.
HOW THE DYING CAPTIVE ESCAPED.

crime under all It's aspects and In all its phases
but no case has ever passed beneath my notice in
which was shown the cruelty and the inhumanity
OF this. MI. J. Il. BUCKLEY, Clerk OF the Police.
To-day has been day of horrors. With the
coming OF the dawn there rolled from the printing
presses OF New York and Philadelphia hundreds OF
thousapds OF sheets, carrying to every quarter Of
our great country tale Of sorrow and woe
the story Of drowned body and the
main features Of mystery deeper yet-and
tomorrow will these same journals bear another,
darker, fouler and more incredible still. There are
but few human beings in the world, no matter in
what degraded ranks you find them, who would
not divide their last crust with friend, or who
would not were their enemy starving. give him
food There Is no cry swelling up from the wretched
novels OF humanity that will so blanch the cheek or
cleave IN twain the great heart of the world as
that made for bread. There Is pathOs in it that
we cannot resist. There Is terror in the note
which cuts US to the very soul, which for the mo-
ment suspcnds our breath, and which we will seek
no matter how great the distance from which 1t
calls, no matter how stupend0us the Obsta-
cles which intervene. We are living under one
of the most perfect forms Of government that the
world has ever seen-ln land OF freedom OF
charity, OF wealth; and yet from out the heart Of
populated quarters, from the midst OF the whiri Of
its business and from underneath the shade Of its
towering church spires is dragged creature who
FOR THREE LONG AND WEARY YEARS
has been starving her child, and who during all
that dreary season, has been withholding from
Young and spotess girl, not the uxuries, but even
the simple bread and the water OF life. There are
dozens who testify TO the fact The cuprits them
selves render no denial. They have tied her,
starved her, lashed her until the blood gushed from
her back in streams and, under the guise Of human
beings have played the part OF devilish and incar-
nate fends. TO be beaten, to be robbed, to be
murdered, are things which constantly crop out
under all forms OF government and beneath the
gl0ries OF every civilization; but to be starved
this is penalty which even the heather seldom
inict. The story OF the long and dreary season is
dreadful. The cries which went up from that innO-
cent but slowly dying spirit were fearful to hear.
81 closed my ears and ran away" said Miss Hol-
gate to-day at the hearing. "they cut me so
deeply to the heart" The story OF the prison, the
plan and the escape wonderful, and, after three
years. suffering, were revealed this afternoon.
HEARING BEFORE ALDERMAN BgITLER.
In answer to complaint made by certain Mrs.
Weyl Sailor Detective Henry arrested two parties,
named respectively Josephine Rowland and Sarah
Baptist, mother and daughter, on charge Of
starving and beating young sister Of the COM
painant. These parties had hearing at five
O'Clock P. M. on August 13 but the hearing was
postponed till this afternoon for very peculiar
reason-namely, that the party in whose behalf the
arrest was made, though only nineteen years old,
was entirely too weak to appear on the witness
stand To-day all parties Interested appeared be-
fore Alderman Betler.
THE DETECTIVES STATEMENT.
Detective Wool made statement to this effect -
When went down alone the first day found the
room empty, and whltewash was scattered all over
the floor, and from its freshness knew that 1t had
been recently placed there the odOr which pro-
extreme, and was equal to that S' Of the Morgne s
there was no furniture whatever In the place-no
bed, no table, not even chair; upon my second
visit went in company with Captain Helms and
Detective Wood; the room had suffered complete
TRANSFORMATION. and the stencil which had
matter Was now relieved BY ,ne strong
odors Of rosin OIL the lime in great
measure mad been removed and in answer to an
inquiry made BY Captain helms, an old lady said
that it had fallen down while the ceilings were
being whitewashed; the ceilings were thereon ex-
webs; the noor was nicely carpeted and there were
articles OF furniture standing around; the old bed
tho s ns an
thence dehled the atmosphere for yards around;
on my third visit l made an examination OF the
taken to prevent outsiders from looking in d; the
cracks between the boards were closed up with
rags and every. .crevice had been provided for.
The two arrested parties denied il-treating the
young girl and said that they were both church
Mrs s. A. Mccormick said in her evidence-I
have seen the young girl Mary Rowland barefooted
in mdwinter; have seen her In the closed yard in
while pitied her could render her no aid.
The statement of Mrs: $. A. Johnson was as fol.
years. have seem her in
the back yard with scarcely any clothing to her
frame have seen @ her her Grope her way 70 the slops
& LEX nss i om sns ne. sna sai
they mad forbidden her TO speak to me but at night
A'' '' Tue WORMS CUTTING CRIES.
The lady mentioned IN the Introduction of this
letter In giving her testimony said:-I have
heard fearful cries coming from that house; have
aTs s TO ns
nothing but rags, and the poor thing grew weaker
't; Caroline. Roosevelt, who lives next door, tes-
tilted I'm the Winter season I have seen the
young lady dig scraps of food out Of the frozen
snow and ice and eagerly eat them.
Mary Scott said-I saw her over the fence last
SUMMER and saw that in all her necessary cut
goings she had boy to guard her.
Then MIS-. wilson, In whose hospitable house she
found shelter after her escape, came forward, and
the following Is the true and marvellous hlstorv OF
under arrest have been starving this girl for three
ana inv when mer In s BACK
neighbors, they tied her hands behind her back
and Kept e5 S0npd n sse :, hS
her but two meals day. You could not call them
meals; the food was bad and served on broken
plate, while. her drink was muddy and impure
water handed In to her by means OF rusty tin plat
ter Alter the dawn Of Easter sunday tSey gave
her but one meal day, and that was ali she re-
ceived up to the hour OF her escape. From that
date up, until last Sunday week, she was not
even permitted to 60 to the yard.
THE ESCAPE
The window, to prevent escape, was nailed. She
was not only starved, she was beaten Also The
condition Of that room must have been indescriba-
Bile; 1t was to her all the accommodations In the
world. At last she made an effort to escape; she
began to pull out the nails; her strength was so
faint that It took long, long time to pull out
nail Days slowly passed, and one by one the nails
were with pain removed until but one was left; this
she pulled out with her teeth. She raised the win
dow-it was early morning; she dragged her form
upon the roof shed which sianted down towards