The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-10-14
a CRUEL MOTHER.
A Girl Chained to the Floor for SIX
Long Years.

A Girl Chalneu 10 tne L loGi 1of pa
Long Years.
Chained to the floor Of a room IN
her home, within thirty miles Of Ne"
York city, a young woman has llSeu
a captive of her own mother for SIX
long weary years. During al Uh"G
time she has but once been oeyopd
the confines OF that one little room
that serves as her prison, and that
was one day four years ago when SIZE
made her escape for few hours. Tie
girls liberty is limited to the length
OF 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 that is 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.
From dawn to dark she sits on a
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
bave 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 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 furrows are no less than a quar-
ter Of an 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 90
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 now 30
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, a contractor in Westches-
ter County, had died several years be-
fora, leaving the little farm and some
money to the widow and daughter.
After his death the two lived in the
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 go5
into the habit Of running away from
home. 1t was then that the Chain
was brought into use. Mrs. Ryan
had it forged at smithy near by, and
bought a big paddock with which 70
fasten it to the girls body. Chain
and lock together weigh nearly twen-
ty pounds. One end Of the cbain Was
securely fastened to the oak floor, just
where it meets the wall. Around the
gir's waist the mother put a heavy
piece of leather with an iron ring in
the middle, and to this the otner end
of the chain was locked.
Only a few days ago the neighbors
we're alarmed by the loud cries o.
MURDER coming from the Ryan
home. The screams could be heard
for a mile around in the Crufton val
ley, but no one dared to 60 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 10
see if it was all right" said Mrs.
Ryan. Margaret spied the key in
my hand and grabbed for it.. l strus-
gled with her and it was all could
do to keep her from wrestling it from
me-"
punished her for that, and it caus-
ed her to scream and cry Murder"
50 that the neighbors heard her. /
used the gag on her till she promised
not to try that trick again" For
everal years the nejghbprs have been
talking about taking some step to
put the girl in a 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 ttat room in the "Disn;ll
Hollow" cottage.