The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1907-12-20
Girl. RESCUED.
Held by a North Carolina Farmer
as a Slave
In "A BARN WITH RATS.

10. Il. Pcnder Hired Miss Olga Sios
tedt by Advertisement and The,
i Tried to Starvc Hcr.-He laugh
ed at Her Plcadings.--When Re
leased, She Declares Negroes Re
ceivcd Better Food Than She.
Half starved, vet joyful over he,
release from what she declared te
be slavery on a farm owned by 70
1. Pender, six miles from Halifax
n. o., Miss Olga Sjostedt passed
through Washington d. c., on Thurs.
day.
With her was Thomas Brodorick
formerly detective at Asbury Park.
That is the home Of the girl, who is
trained nurse and who served In
that capacity In tn. Spanish-Amer-
iCan War;
ION the Tuesday before Thanks
giving Invent to Halifax to work for
| Pender, whom | believe to he in
sane said the girl, as she clung to
her rescucr.
Since then Pender has made mo
vertablc slave If Mr.. Broderick
had not arrived, would have killed
myself, as I declared I would do in a
letter written to friends"
Brodericli's mission was q strange
one. He had been told that IL, by
Sunday, Miss Sjostcdt were not re-
leased she would destroy herself.
Supplied with ample funds by the
girls friends, he hurried to the train
and early Thursday lie reached Hal
flax
Hiring 4 rig, the detertivo sped
over the miles separating the little
town from the bleak, dcsolate farm.
Arriving there he found Pender,
hoary-headed man beyond GO years
OF age. He did not at first see tht.
unfortunate nurse whose piteous ap-
peals for help by mail had aroused
Asbury Park.
Broderick, big, powerful man,
with a record for bravery, aggreS-
sively demanded that the girl be pro-
ducod.
Ponder snarlcd and refused to
comply. Brodcrick then rcsorted to
milder means. He quoted the law,
He told Ponder that he, having hir-
ed the girl, was responsible for her
welfare.
He cited the fact as he knew it,
that she had been given only two
meals a day, both consisting almost
Invariably of cornmeal The detoc-
tive also told Of letters, Miss Sios-
tedt had smugglcd North, describing
how she had been imprisoned in a
barn, through the cleats Of which
snow and the bleak winds blew.
"rhis girl" Numbered Frederick,
came into your employ through an
advertisements She was afflicted
with slight throat trouble, and
thought the South was the place for
her. You accepted her as house
Keeper and as snch YOU should have
provided for her. You haven't done
so. and if YOU don't deliver her to
me III have you hauled before a
Judge"
Ponder quivcrcd and finally broke
down lie led the detective TO Miss
Siostcdt, who at that moment she
said afterward, was contemplating
means of suicide.
She had said: at is better and
easier to die by my own hand than
TO be starved to death by this lun
attic"
Miss Siostedt flung her arms
around the big detectives neck when
he told her he had come to release
her The pair got into the rig. l}rod-
crick Keeping one eye upon Pender
meanwhile, and they covered the six
miles Of dcsolatc country, where only
half a dozen negroes and three or
four white persons live
Arriving at lIaliiox, they took the
train northward, and reached Wash
ington en- route to Asbury Park.
Miss Siostcdt was in tears during
the trip. but her tears were not those
Of one in agony. The nervous strain
through which she had bravely bat
tied began to tell on her as she left
the shadow of the tumble-doWn barn,
whore Ponder would thrust her at
night and lock the door upon her,
and where rats and mice scampcrcd
about adding more horror to her
pitiablc condition.
81 never knew she said, that
Il white man or q man alleged to
be white could treat a human be-
ing in the manner Ponder treated
me. He even laughcn in my face
when | begged for some nutritious
| food, and offered me the same old
dried up, unpalatablc corn meal. He
fed the negroes working for him bet
ter fare than he gave NC"
Brodclick gave no explanation
why, after he had rescued Miss Sjos-
tcdt, he did not have Ponder ar
rested. 1t is believed he had reasons
of his own 10 Justify this move his
main object being to return Miss
| Siostcdt to her friends.
WATCIISIAN MURDERED
|
a.