River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-02-06
A TERRIBLE HISTORY.


kewas sent to the asylum, and has resided
Lere quietly with her son and daughter for six
years since her escape; as she has bought her
home and paid for it; has gone into the circuit
court and by virtue of her own mistaken testi-
mony, sustained and corroborated reclaimed
property which rascally husband had endeav-
ored TO fitch from her: As she has demonstrated
her sanity In many ways; and because her story
now told is corroborated, in SO much as is at
present possible by her daughter and by other
persons and because by every rule of reason
ing and all forms of analogy,
IT WEARS THE AIR OF TRUTH,
and appeals TO human reason and the human
heart, we feel called upon to publish il in our
columns. This is the account given by Mrs
Henry Kewley, Of Port Huron, Mich, of her
FIVE YEARS INCARCERATION
in the Michigan insane asylum at Kalamazoo,
in answer to questions put by reporter for
the Commercial:
| was taken To the asylum about eleven years
ago. i was really insane at the time, though l
was improving, and probably never would have
been sent there if my husband had been loyal,
honorable man.
One cruel practice the attendants INDUCED in
was that of reaching down and jerking
patients feet from under them.
Sometimes the fall oecasioned tine patient
great pain / will tell you my first experience
of that. About five weeks before l went to
the asyIum | accidentally ran a needle into
NV right foot and it remained there. II
often caused me pain, and ] was anxious to get
rid of it.
Some two or three months after entering the
asylum was standing looking out OF win
dow. 1t was the beginning of very cold day,
and we were about to be called to breakfast.
As / stood there felt the needle pain me, and
the idea occurred to me that perhaps might
be able TO force it out, so | rasped my foot
against the base or mop-board two or three
times, with that object only in my mind |
had not noticed that my gloye-kid shoes had
made marks on the white Dashboard, but one
of the attendants-a grass widow Lecty Ogden
by name-had.
ssWhat are YOU doing Mrs. Kewley?" she
said and pointed 10 the marks on the wall.
For the first time l now observed the marks,
and stopped a little to examine them, when the
attendant quickly jerked my feet from under
me- and struck fairly on my back. The shock
almost stunned me, and / could not have got
up Immediately if left alone. But Lecta called
her sister Louise, and at the same time threw
| herself on my chest. The two put on the
| Heather muff'' to secure my hands, and buck
led heavy belt around my waist, drawing 1t so
| tight as to interfere with my breathing. They
| then assisted me to rise, and, as | gasped for
| breath they forced me to walk, pulling and
dragging me distance of about forty feet to a
| bedroom known as Mrs. Reader room.
| The room was known as Mrs. Readers room,
| because she was kept in that room and strapped
down to that bench in the day, and often to
the bed at night, for two and half years.
Her hands became deformed from the constant
restraint. She was finally removed to
a more violent hall, and died there.
Doctor Hurd, now of the Pontiac asylum,
| told me that she did regain her senses before
death. Once in while 1 loosened the belt
which confined her hands and let her work the
muff off herself. / did not dare to be seen
| touching her. They did not feed her enough,
| and she often asked me to bring some food
he oh / gOE tlmps was
put under the restraints and ordered to de-
| sist. This was not done by the doctor, but by
| Mrs. Ogden and Mrs. CaffreY.
| NoTE-The ''muff' is something like lady s
muff in shape, but fastens the hands securely
| Inside that room they fastened me i'll sitting
| posture near the open window. l could move
my feet, but not my hands or body. mixture
of sleet and snow was falling, which blew in at
the window and settled on my shoulders. was
| given my breakfast. l saw no one and was
given no chance to explain and was left there
until s o'clock in the evening with
out food. The snow on my
back. on the seat beside me, on the floor about
my feet, was more than half an inch thick
when l was released. At six Mrs. Ogden came
nd offered me food, but would not release my
| hands nor loosen the band around my waist.
| objected to eating out of her hand, and said
| that could not eat any way unless the belt
| around my waist was loosened. She refused to
| do either. / offered to clean the marks from
the Dashboard if she would release me, but she
said she would show them TO DR.. Palmer, and
he would order me Kept where was month.
| | then asked her TO lower the window. and she
said / deserved what / was suffering; she
would teach me not to do SO again. When she
| finally did release the belt around my waist at
8 P. NJ, the rush of blood that ensued caused
me TO fall to the floor helpless, she grasped me
| by the hair and dragged me out of the room.
She then called her sister. and they proceeded to
| take off my clothing. Their violent behavior
! attracted the attention of another patient,
| Mrs. Blakely, who never appeared insane, and
did lots of knitting and sewing. She grasped
chair and struck them, saying: "You have
frozen and starved her all day, and you must
| let her alone; you shan't tantaliZe her any
| longer" They then left ME, ierked her feet
from under her, jumped on her, pulled, mauled
and pummeled until they had snbdued her
| They then put on the muh and the restraint
belt around her waist and jerked her into the
room. / was too weak to assist her, or ! should
have done so. She was left in the room and
with the restraints on all night. afterward
asked her whether they kept her fastened on
the seat all night, but her answer has escaped
my memory
Every day the atrocious conduct of the vixen
ish attendants shocked my nerves. Probably
no day passed in which some act of tyranny OF
brutality was not pract ced which should never
be seen in the treatment of criminals, much
less in an asylum for the insane.
During the winter a new hall was finished off,
and in the spring L was tra sferred from No
| Is to the new. or No. IA hall. Not many weeks
afterward | saw horrible crime committed.
Between 10 and IL o'clock one spring morning
] was sewing one side of the hall. 1t wa
Ihilly and l was bench near the steams
coils, which ran alongside the wall. Beside
me sat a patient, by name Mrs. Hamilton.
This lady was very melancholy always, and
had habit of chewing paper as gum. She was
dong so that morning. when an attendant,
| familiarly known as Miss Emma, but whose
surname l forget, noticed her and said
Mrs. Hamilton, what are you chewingS"
Paper
Have not told you not to do that?' (box-
| ing her ears violently
Il don't know as it does any harm, and L will
chew it whenever l can get it, (rising and
showing Miss Emma).
The latter jerked Mrs. HIS feet from under
her and as she fell her head came in contact
with the iron stean-coils, making noise that
seemed to INC to sound as loud as the report of
pistol. Mrs. I'll. gave shrek of anguish, and
any woman deserving of place among human
kind would have had mercy. But Miss Emma
threw herself on the woman's chest and called
to another attendant, her sister, to bring the
restraints. Mrs. Hamilton struggled so fran
tically that they desisted from their efforts to
put them on, but the two ruthlessly dragged
her across the hall and dashed her into bed
room, slamming and locking the door.
had struggled to maintain nay composure
remembering from former experiences that
could do nothing but get into trouble myself
But | was cutting dress for Mrs. Hamilton,
and after she had been in the room about ten
minutes, / told Mi Emma that / wanted 10
try it on. She answered that she was writing
note and after sending it down to the office
to be mailed she would open it. She finished
the note. went down stairs with it., and after
about FIVE minutes came back and opened the
door. We both started back with horror at the
pitiable sight presented. Mrs Hamilton had
turned the bedstead small oak frame with
nailed hOop-iron Stats, on one end, had torn
strip from a sheet and hung herself She
dead. Miss Emma pathetically clasped her
hands together--'0h, my God what shall
do?''
stHelp me TO cut her down. said ], and
took the scissors which happened to have IN
my pocket--although contrary to rules-ana
we cut her down and laid the body on the ma
tress Miss Emma seemed overcome, and so l
ran down the hall and called to Miss Caftrey,
who belonged TO No. Is hall, telling her what
had happened and TO call the doctor
Drs. Palmer and Marshall came i'm
mediatelv. / went into the room, when
they came in | started to tell what had sp-
pened. but was interrupted by Miss Em4n2;
and Dr. Palmer with an aggrayating shake ii
his fingers, said: Never mind. Mrs. Kew lie
never mind; GO t. your room.
IF you will examine her head, doctor, you
will probably find her skull broken, said i,
hoping to arouse his sensibilities and be di-
ected to tell my story.
Mrs. Kewley is very much excited, doctor"
said Miss Emma.
go to YOUR room. Mrs. Kewley," said Dr.
ua1n.ar. ssor, ara avqited odIrectiy or | shall