The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-10-16
~ & I: I. z. :. III
CRUEL sMOyHER:i
ASGirls Chained to tho Floor for Blk
~ 4 Long ~ cnrs. fssI.


Chained to. the: aoor Of a room Id
her-ho mel within thirty miles OF; u NeW
York J, city "a young woman has TliYed
q captive OF 5her.e own otharE for ! six
long weary years. During ALI that
time sheA has bl + once been SbeyODd
the confines OF that sonej little room
THAI serves as her prison, and that
was one day four, years ago: when She
made her escape for few hours. The
girls liberty is limited to the length
or clanking chain, and that meas
ures just Two and one half feet from
the point where it is padlocked around
her body to the end thatds fastened
to the floor with heavy Iron staples.
In all the Years OF her captivity she
has seen nothing Of the world beyond
the little glimpses that may be had
from two very small windows Of her
prison room. 49, I, i
From dawn to darksBhe sits on q
stout oaken chair. For SIX years she
has had no other, and the thick wood
en- legs tell a pathetic story of the
captive's longing for liberty, for they
havc been worn down to stubby points
by being pushed back and forth over
the floor. The girls mother says that
probably two inches had been worn
off those chair legs in the last six
years. Within a radius of that two
and d half feet of chair the floor OF
the room is deeply furrowed by the
legs Of the Oaken chair. The floor
itself is of heavy oak planks, and yet
these burrows are no less than q quar-
ter oftan inch in depth, cut in there
by the thousands of journeys taken in
that chair from the wall to the limit
Of the chain.
The captive woman Is Margaret
Ryan, and her mother is Anna Ryan.
Their home Is a little frame house on
a steep hillside, just north of Crofton
Lake, where the family has lived al
most from the time they came to this
country from Ireland, more than
thirty years ago. Margaret.is is now 80
years old, but captivity has dealt un-
kindly with her and she might easily
be taken for twice that age. About
seven years ago she displayed symp-
toms of mild insanity. Her father,
John Ryan, contractor in Westchcs-
ter County, had died several years be-
fore, leaving the little farm and some
money to the widow and daughter.
After his death the two lived in tile
little cottage at the mouth Of ''Dis-
NAL Hollow
For the first year after the. girls
mind became affected she gave her
mother no trouble, but finally she got
into the habit of running away from
home. 1t was then that the chain
was brought into use. Mrs. Ryan
had 1T forged at Smithy near by, and
bought a big paddock with which to
fasten it to the girls body. Cbain
and lock together weigh nearly TWEEN
ty. pounds. One end OF the chain was
securely fastened to the oak floor, just
where 1t meets the wall. Around tie
gir'6 waist the mother put u heavy
piece of leather with an iron ring in
the middle, and to this the other end
of the chain was locked.
+ Only Il few days ago the neighbors
were alarmed by the loud cries of
"Murder!" coming from the Ryan
home. The screams could be heard
for mile around in the Crufton val
ley, but no one dared togo to see what
was wrong. Mrs. Ryan explained that
the trouble had been caused by the
girl making desperate attempt To
escape, Il was trying the lock to
see If it was all right,n said Mrs.
Ryan. Margaret spie1 the key: in
my hand and grabbed for H., II str1g-.
glcd with her and it was all I could
do to keep her from wrestling it from
me-" 5ss ssai
punished her for that, and it caus.
ed her to scream and cry Murdern'
SO that the neighbors heard her. l
used the gag on her till.She promised
not to try that trick again. For
'eyeral years the neighbprs have been
talking about taking some step to
put the girl in public institution,
but no one has had the courage to
take the initiative. So if no one in
terferes, Margaret Ryan may spend
the rest Of her days within the limits
of the chain that holds her to the
floor of tEat room in the Dismal
Hollow cottage.