The herald., 1896-07-18
would be a little more so after being

would be q little more SO after being
wet?
Miss Olmstead-No, 1t stings more, but
It is not so hard upon the flesh.
Mr.. Patterson-At the conclusion OF
the whipping did you notice any marks
or bruises?
Miss Olmstead-I looked at her back.
I always Go. Her back was red, but
there were no bruises. 1t was very red.
1t was redeemed all over where had
whipped her.
Did she make any outcry? No.
Mrs. Mitche ell-She didn't cry?
Miss Olmstead-She shed few tears,
/ guess, but she made no outcry.
Didn't struggle, or anything of that
sort?
No, sir; I gave her the whipping, one
strap at time when she was ready for
1t, and when she got ready for the nexs
one to tell me and gave it.
Did you whip her any more or any less
severely than your ordinary whippings
Well. should say that it was an av-
erage whipping.
Continuing the witness said that
Rhoda's character in general was
wretched. Rhoda was the first girl, she
thought, she had ever had anything to
do with since she had been here.
Rhoda had been in the school little
over a year. She is about II now, was
formerly an inmate of the Maria Kipp
home, and had been a long time in jail
in San Francisco: the girl had attempted
to escape; she is an orphan; she ran
away from Camp Banning at Catalina.
Rhoda was put in the solitary room,
called the lookup, on the 18th of June,
and she was still there on the day of the
investigation, the End of July; there is
no bedstead. but there are about five
comforters. the girl spreads them down
and lies on the floor. Bread and water
was the only food and drink supplied.
For running away girls are usually kept
there four weeks Just on bread and wa
ter and occasionally a lemon or some
fruit, and an orange or some onions or
something Of that sort" We don't give
them those things every day. though.
rs there more or less whipping done
now than formerly?
Less. There was a time about the be-
ginning of November, sometime of last
year 1895. as near as I can remmeber.
that we undertook to do without whip
ping entirely, and we went along very
nicely for a while. About three months
We went without whippings and things
got In such state here that we felt as
though we was Just going to the dogs.
We got along six weeks pretty well.
but then they expected to be whipped
II they didn't do right and then after
while they began to think We do so and
so and we wasn't whipped for that"
IT was not very long before they tried
something more, and 1t began to look
alarming. and finally it got so bad I
asked Mr. Coffin what we We're going to
do in such and such cases. and he says,
IF you have to whip. suppose you have
to-" so I commenced again. and had to
have a regular Strengthening up time
for little while until they found out
that whipping was not a thing Of the
past
=. A
March Is two girls. March 19 one girl,
March 20 and % one and % two girls,
March 81 one. There We're ten whip
pings In April. five in May. and two in
June; the number of cases had grad
ually diminished since they found whip
ping had not been abandoned altogether.
Mrs. Mitchell-We do not know thar
that would be the reason at all. but Miss |
olmstead thought If the thing had been
left alone she could eventually have
reduced the whipping to almost nothing (
MISS OlmStead. continuing said that !
Rhoda had admitted to her that she hal /
out the blood on her shirt Witness saw
,nly red streak on Phoda's back on
he Saturday night Witness was pos
tive that blood couldn't come from
ne whipping. Rhoda had been ad-
nitted June s. 1895. and marked on the
commitment "1ncorrigible" She weigh
c 125 pounds, and was feet. SL inches
all.
A CHAMPION FOR RHODA
Miss Elizabeth Scarles was the next
called; she had been employed
Is a substitute last year; she was down
II the school on the 2Srd of Nav. and the
girls called her into the Trades build /
ng. Rhoda showed me her back. Tt
oooked black and blue and bruised. s
though she had had quite a severe whip-
ping: the skin on the left side was part
y broken; it looked as though blood had
'ome from the wound. In witness' ev-
,erlence last year she never could see
nat Rhoda gave any trouble Witness
lsd been around the school a great
Zeal since she was on duty. and had |
lever heard Rhoda was more obstrep-
,rous than other girls: witness thought
Rhoda high spirited girl full Of life.
Ter department In Miss Hagins singing
lass was very good. and Miss Eaein
spoke highly Of her
TT MADE HER SICK
Miss Rose S. Mitchell testified that she |
mad been teaching in the institution
since September last. She had used /
ithoda as sort of assistant in her |
school and Rhoda came into the school /,
room about half an hour before school /
time in order to put certain work on I
the board for the little ones. AS the Girl !
came in on this particular morning af-
ter the whipping mo one could helm
Noticing her crushed appearance. and
anyone could see that she looked sick.
in lifting the ruler saw that she could
hardly raise her arms; she then told me
she had had trouble and had been whip
ped, and asked me whether | wanted 70
see her back. l said. oh, l don't know
/ could stand it The child's
whole appearance affected me so very
strongly. / saw her back. l Will tell
you what told DR.. Coffin. AS children.
we would often take our arms and suck
them until the blood came to the sur
face. in order to make what we called
a strawberry Rhoda's back was like
that. right across the shoulders. I saw
a blood stain on the chlds garment. |
can't say that there was blood ooZing
from the skin at the time l saw it."
1T was a very bad looking back?"
"Oh, yes; 1t made me sick"
Witness continuing, said that Rhoda's
work was always beautifully and neatly
ione; she is beautiful reader. She
had been obedient. kind and Industrious
and perfectly satisfactory to me. a
verbal rebuke was all that was neces-
sary to bring her to anything she would
ask. Twice in nine months witness had
been obliged to speak to her. Witness
thought that if the social atmosphere
OF the house We're different corporal
punishment could fall into disuse. She
judged from illusions that she heard
that Rhoda was i'll at the
time of the whipping--w suffering
from her monthly period. Witness had
good reason for thinking this was the
case After meeting called by Dr.
Coffin to investigate the charges of
cruelty, Dr. Coffin told witness that il
was better for her and the institution
h -