, 1881-05-29
ONE MORE UNFORTUNATE,



Annie Bernice, All only daughter mld once
the petted child Of wealthy gentleman Of
Indiana, some years since took the down.
ward road to ruin. She had been well ell
heated and carefully nurtured, but the telnpter
came, and she fell. She was beautiful and
accomplished. Like many such, she fled
from the sight Of her old friends and play
mates, and sought to hide her shame in Il
large city She went to Louisville, passed
through the usual gradations from Haunting
vice to abject misery, until her home was
among the lowest and yiIest. The other
night she was beaten to death by a ruffian.
To reporter one man who saw something
OF the crime said:
''The night was dark, and although I
looked hard, could only see three dark
to rms. One of the men seemed to catch tho
girl about the waist and then throw her
down, muttling her face as she fell Then
saw the men beat her; heard her low, lnuftled
groans and her gaspine cries for mercy, but
the beating continued Then the woman
ceased to groan, and the blows sounded as
they fell 50 thick on her body like blows on Il
sanu-bag. Thell one Of the men dragged the
woman to the front of the alley, and saw
nt more Of them, and went sfllyerlng back to
bs4; ,;';.,i kne" terrible crime hnd been coa
The reporter, continuing his search for in
formation, found the house where this
wretclled girl lives, and he thus describes it:
:. Entering Il narrow little hall lea,I!ng off
cred with filth that gives forth d sickening
stencil, aud going up dirty, foul-smclllng
old staircase, tie reporter Knocked at a door
ut the head Of the staircase. a wlthered,
toothIess old bag, black enough and weird
looking enough tn suggest ideas Of all infer
nal region, opened the door, and Invited him
to come iii. The room was less than four
teen feet Square, and i'll it ten people lived.
Six children, hungry-looklng and clothed in
rags, were playing on the floor, and one was
gutter. Some dead animal in the room, or
near 1t, gave forth All unbear;tble sten ch.
"After some hesitation the old woman
agreed to take the reporter, through Tie
damp, narrow little hallway. knocked at Il
duor Of Il room 1T the end Of it.. 1t was 0uetl-
ell By Il white girl. thin and whlte-faced,
with great blue circles under her eyes III
women, and the whole crowd lived together
III this room day and night. One window
afforded all the ventilation, the alr being SO
thick and close as to be Sitting. Several
other rooms OIL the same floor were visited
ami the sa,ne thing seen. lit all were crowds
Of men and wonlen-in many Of them white
women. There were dirt and poverty and
sickness every where.
Passing BY one door the reporter opened %
to enter, but the OLD liag drasseu INN oack,
within had the smallpox, and the rest OF the
people who We're with him were also sup
posed to have it, III the brief glance that
was llad man was seen lying OIL the bed,
his face swollen and broken out with erllp-
tiolls. Going up two flights Of stairs, the
third stury OF the house was reacheu.- All
here was ulrtler and more horrible than
below. 1t seemed, colnln. froui the bright,
warm sunshine without to this tetiu, rotNng
hole, as though it were the creation Of per,
yertetl Imagination. There were ROOMS small
and dirty, Tceking with filth Of all iuagi1l;.-
Bile descrption;. children with their white,
wan faces, looking as though they had never
seen the sunlight; crowds OF both sexes and
Ell songs; sick and hagsard faces were there
too, and forms that had once seen fairer
homes.
''In another room woman was found ~
ing sick, and all the people in the neighbour
ing rnollls rushed to the door as the reporter
approached, warning him That the woman
had the smallpox. The utter wretche,lness
and horrible gll:stl, surroundings Of these
people. their rooms so small and so tllthy,Wlth
no furniture and no food, and nothing to be
seen but misery anti vice, cannot be under
stood BY the good people who sit in their
comfortable homes and lear nothing Of the
way SOME of our people live. ..
''Tlbis house contains about forty rooms,
in which live sixty-tllree families, numbering
about 500 souls, and among them, all Barnie
Cassidy was well Known. The room
Of the murdered girl was shown By Sallle
YateS ;ft,s + w1s So dark fs diH;Ey: ohits fGn
thrown on the flour served her for bed, and
no other article of furniture was III the room.
Into this hole slle.was.t thrown Tuesday night
by the men who committed the murder, and
tai. And il was among negroes and the low
est class Of whites that Annie Bernice, once