The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-04-15
THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN
THE WILDERNESS"

Last Christmas we found it impOSsl-
BILE to 90 until friday, bitter, cruel,
piercingly cold day.
AS we drove into the yard of the
poor house we heard a loud, high
screaming, monotonous voice, the I'M
mistakable voice of the insane, ours
ing, disappearing, praying, joking,
threatening; an unceasing, raving,
cutlery, an unacceptable, horrifying
sound. 1t filled you with shuddering
horror: with profound and agonizing
pity! copied with a frantic de-
sire to stop it by any mean, at any
cost.
When we went into the overseer's
house to thaw out before we went
to work, we asked at once about che
poor creature whose screams were
filling the air.
Its Ca'line-"
''How long since it came upon her.
Ever since last May she has been
just like you hear her now"
what brought lC on?
Il have not an idea; she has had
spells before-but not in late years.
But one day early last May she was
helping to fix breakfast as usual, and
all at once she give a tremendous yell,
and snatched up knife that she had
been cutting meat with, and ran at
one of the women, who was sitting IN
the kitchen, saying she would kill
her right there; and sac would have
done it sure enough, but my wife and
the others jumped in and grabbed a
holt of her, and held her till | got
there. ] heard her yell. and went
running, I tell you. / had to tie her
and keep her tied a week; she fought
and raved all the time. | went for the
doctor, and we did all we could, but
she never did get any better. and fin
ally | was obleege to put her out III
that house where she is now: and
nail up the windows and double Stat
them inside and out till hardly a BIT
of light comes in"
why did you have to put the Stats
+ so close together?'
"Why, to keep her from beating all
the flesh off of her hanus trying to
tear them off if she could ever get
her fingers between them.
Sometimes she STANDS at that win
dow day and night, going on just like
you hear her now, and never stops
one minute to even catch ner BREATH
seems like
You dare not trust her with fire ?'
mo, mann. not one minute, she
would burn herself up. She has tried
to; and not a stick of furniture, not
even chair can she have in there.
just her bed and bed clothes in the
floor. We can't even let her step out
side one step; we can't trust her a
minute. She says she means to Kill
somebody if ever she has a chance
and she is as quick as q cat. / am
that sorry for her! She was very
quiet we'll disposed woman, and
mighty useful and helpful about house
work and everything; she loved to
work.
sometimes she stops raving
and goes to crying and begging to be
took out, but it can't be-. You can't
trust her never a minute.
''She has just got to be shut up like
some wild animal that can't be tanned.
''Dr. Murphy said there was not any
room for her at Morganton. He said
he had three hundred applications
now on file and he couldn't take in
one of them.
But it is shame that there isn't
room enough for poor creatures like
Ca'line. There ought to be some
where that they could be put where
they would be kept safe so they could
not do no harm to themselves nor
anybody else, and yet needn't be pun
ished with the cold. and kept in the
awful fix she is in
How do you feed herr"
'She has a wooden bowl in her
house, and we put her victuals in at
the hole i'm the door, and tin cup of
coffee, and some water, she calls for
anything she wants. 90
1T is an awful way for. ANYBODY to
haveeto live, but we can't do no bet
ter for her. She is danger to her.
self and everybody else.
II tell you what it is, they ought
not to build the asylums 50 fines they
ought to put all the money in the
rooms. Build them big enough to
take in all that ought to be there. and
| tell you there would be a sight of
trouble saved for the poor things.
themselves, and their families, too.
1T is awful to have anybody afflicted
like Ca'line is, in a place like this.
Its awful for her, and its terrible for
us!"
All this time the shrieking, raving
voice had never stopped hurting bias
phenlies imprecations and threaten
ings against all things in Heaven and
earth. We went to her door, carving
her share of the Christmas feast. and
some snuff.
When she heard our voices she came
hurrying to the door, and fell on the
floor at full length. so as to bring her
terrible, swollen, scarlet face against
the opening: and she called down the
judgment of Heaven upon all in au-
thority. and its blessings upon us.
Then she broke out into the most
pltlous entreatIes to US to deliver her
from her prison; and shield her from
all the suffering to which it exposed
her.
Ladies, dear ladies. help me,
for God sake help me! This house
amt fit to keep Il dog in. / am perish
ed with. the cold. j amt seed q fire
this whole winter.
Il beg and pray for fire, and no.
body VIII come to the help of poor,
freezing creature. who hasn't no
home. nor friends of her own TO help
her, shut mp in the cold. and the
dark; why they don't even let the sun
l. \