davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1915-11-28

skin has lost Its sensitiveness and
tight drawn across a stunted frame, 4
nv might crawl about her face and shi
would not feel II. When DR.. W. 7
Hammond pricked her ear lobe to max
piercing needle.
She stares always-away out int
space. For ten minutes, counted b.
Or. Hammond. she did not bat the eye
lids. The left side Of her face 10 nis
shapen: as though she had lain loni
The thumb and the forefnser of th
average man Will meet around the cal
Of Grace Marshall's leg. One leg
broken years ago only to heal imper
She Is as devoid Of bosom As a chill
Of ten years. Her shoulder blades stici
out In their rcar-nakedness like tn,
medical museum. Her head Is coversa
sparsely with black hair which 10 da
void OF curls and but half-length. TIT
face tapers to almost sharp point a
ss 9ny SeH he, eyes ns,u
though peering into the dark that en-
veioped her by day and by night. yea
DR.. Charles F. Davidson. of the reseu.
party that bade Mrs Rose Marshal
unlock the door Of Grace's sauaiid room
| does not believe the girl Is a nnenta
| defective. unless she has been incur
| ably made so by solitude.
| II believe we will be able TO re-
| store the mentality and the bodily
strength Of Grace Marshall" he said
II do not think she IL insane. sh,
understand what Is said to her and an
] swers my questions with a nod or shaiu
| Of the heao.
| Grace Is very I'll. however. She wal
almost starved when we found her. He,
teeth are uhdersized for want Of usa
Her system Is so far incapable Of per-
| forming adequately the functions Of dt
gestion. She is practically without tho
sense OF feeling: her skin has no sem
! sitiveness -
| Solitary confinement means one n
! two thngs-the person so confined eithe,
retains all Of his faculties and soou
| dies, or all OF these faculties become
benumbed and the victim lives. Grace
Marshall has lived, but her faculties
are benumbed.
THE girl. or woman. has blood
PRESSURE OF about 70. II should be more
| than 100. The coioring matter Of ths
| red corpuscles Of the blood 10 siightlS
more than so per cent Her tempera.
| ture is asi2 and II should be oshL Her
pulse IL compressible: that Is you may
make 1t disappear by pressing upon IT,"
The Washington times., 1915-11-28

body was brought from Kent Island.
where the child had been since her
mothers death.
"They had no right to think 1t was
Grace" said the father. 81 had 1t pu,
In the PIPER that 1t WAS my daughter
Virginia and the funeral WAS over Nir-
ginia Some OF the people looked at
the CORPSE
Nevertheless. the impression SONG
how went abroad that Grace had died
Just as DR. Seth told Miss Davies
and this impression made II easier To
forget Grace Marshall.
Dr. Joseph HoIc. of st, Michacls. told
intcrvicwcrs he had attended tn" Mar
shalls in recent years and mover knew
they had Il shut-in daughter at the
house. Here again docs Marshall con-
nict for he said
I've haven't md any doctor IN n
long time. We haven't needed medical
attention"
But ali OF the time Grace was there
in dire need OF medcal aid.
states Attorney Charles J. Butler
will seek to punish both Marshall ana
his wife. The latter, however. must
be tried on charge of simple assault
u misdemeanor. The common law:
which Maryland has never abrogated
by specific statute. forhids prosecution
OF wife for "A felony committed In
the prescncc of her husband. So, re-
Cardiess OF the culpability OF Mrs.
Marshall she cannot be charged with
tho major Crme-whiCh adds Just an
other complication to this banhnG
story of tho Eastern Shore. =.
The writ issued against Marshall al
legged assault with intent to XIII. Mr.
Butler suggests that II may be pos
siblc to try the husband under either
the common or statutory law.
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Aunt Thought She
Was Being Cared For

Yes. ! knew Grace was living.
thought she was getting the right sort
of attention from her own father. and
! never investigated. ! was shocked
wnen 7 found out the truth: | never
dreamed such things could be-
Former state Senator Dodson. who
can see the lightning rods on MARSHALL )
farmhouse from the Dohson residence.
adds another paragraph in the story Of
a reiGhborhood' for c,fu,ness. He said:
81 knew Marshall had an invalid
daughter. ! guess l went to his farm
once or twice a year. lie never men
tiCned the daughter to me; add and IN ! ner%I ;r,
was a lunatic and ! hcsitated to refer
to such a painful subject.
''lf I had known such things were oc-
curing on my land Marshsn would not
haye m continued rs my tenant ,
sort OF way that Grace Marshal Il proka
her leg many years ago. The physician
who attended her doesn't remember
having been called to the Marshall
homstcad since that time, Nor does the
kept track of Grace Marshall since she
When the first Mrs. Marshall died she
left a husband and four children. The
latter were distributed around" am%nG S,nt
marrying again the father took Grace
back home. fShc was then eleven year!
old. was considered "A bright child anI
her studies corresponded to what woulc
be the nth grade In u city school.
Soon afterward, Marshall claims, his
daughter began to ''act strange He
carried her. he says, to Johns Hopkins
Baltimore's famed hospital.
"Dr. Thomas told me she was raw
Ing maniac. and nothing could Re done
for her" said the father In hts de-
fense, He suggested that ] put her II
a home but ] couldn't afford II.
brought her back home"
THE doctor didn't tell YOU to take Q
| 'raving maniac back home" suggested
| an incredulous newspaperman.
II don't remember about that re
flected Marshall. But ] brought he
home and 1t hasn't been safe to let heI
at large since then"
The records at Baltimore show tina
DR.. Harry Thomas. Johns Hopkins
neurologist, observed defective CIR
by the name OF Grace Marshall abou
twelve years ago. There Is not a com
pletc record. however, of her ailmcnt
as she was not treated.
Marshall WAS asked why many Tai
bot county residents believed Grace
TO be dead. Trc Garmcr buried anoihc
Idaushter about eight years ago. Hel
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Thinks She Was
Confined Eleven Years

my opinion Is about eleven years"
she answered
Miss Davies points to the starved con.
dition Of Grace In answer to her
parents claim that she has been fed
three times day" The ability OF
Grace to understand what IL said to her
anG to obey such directions as write
your name" is cited in refutation of
the claim that she is "a raving
maniac"
Seen apart at the Easton jail. Mr..
and Mrs Frank Marshall told conflict
ing stories regarding the duration of
love affair" of her early life. Both
denied the Incarceration OF the girl on
the general theory that she wasn't
safe to be at large
was at larger" the father was asked.
Marshall peered through the bars OF
his cell. reflected a moment and said:
Bout leven or twelve years. ]
guess"
- And An" @ how s long has she been confined
Two or three years" he replied
Marshall continued:
she has occupied three different
rooms since she went crazy. but we
house since she was sixteen. I did
the best could for her: ] couldn't az.
ford to put her in a hospital"
Why didn't you give her heat and
light?" Marshall was asked.
ut wasn't safe for her to have 1t, :
he doggedly answered.
Did she eat7"
Did she? She ct three times a day
the same as we had"
Marshall said apropos OF this state
mcnt that he didn't know why hi.
daughter had wasted away. It wa.
due to her "ailment." he suggested. II,
asserted that I'VE amt been able t.
have her at the table In four or fv,
years"
He denied natly that his daughter hat
ever had a love affair. either with
youth or an old man. It's all a lie"
Mrs. Marshall. who had not the ad
vantage of hearing her husband make
his statement, shortly thereafter aver
red that Grace Marshall had a Low,
affair with an old man when she wa.
about sixteen years old"
But that isn't the reason we locked
her up" she quickly explained. 'Sh,
went crazy: had funny spells anC
would break up the dishes and every
thing like that. One day ] caught hel
wadinG up to her shoulders In thu
river"
WAS this love affair serious one ?"
1T was so serious the old man wrote
her pa asking TO marry the girl" an
swered the step-mother, who volunteer
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Different Methods
For Prosecution

Under the common law proceedings
may be had on the ground that Ma
shall failed to provide su9tcnance ana
cruelty treated minor child. SEN
tcncc on a conviction thus obtained.
MIR. Butler says. is discretionary with
the court The statutory c'ttense OF as
sauIt with intent to kill carries \ pen
nIty of not less than two nor more than
ten years imprisonment.
States Attorney Butler IL an arGres-
siyc prosecutor, and is not unmindtul
OF the feeling against Marshal and his
wife in Talbot county. The trial Will
be unique in the criminal annals OF
Maryland. IT, indeed. 1t has had par
aIlel anywhere in modern times.
The Marshalls, who are possessed
Of some means have engaged Seth Il
Shchan as their attorneys.
That the couple are not poverty
stricken was indicated when the offi-
GERS came after Marshall who was
arrested first AS he was led away
Mrs. Rose Marshall. standing half
detiantly in the door of the farm house,
shouted after him:
money | don't want you locked up
in that jail. don't want any hand
cuffs on YOU"
That night Mrs Marshall was
remained until bail was furnished two
days afterward.
When the writer talked with Mrs.
Marshall last Wednesday she glared
Mt the sheriff and said:
This is certainly rough treatment
I'm gctting-as good as I have been
| to Grace"
sheriff Harvey stevens said nothing.
| No prisoner ever relished confinement,
| even though 1t be bat for two days. in
| comparison with an oftcnse which had
made a prisoner of another for more
| than decade. SO the sheriff only
smiled-a bit whimsically. some OF us
| thought.
Mrs. Marshall posed for q photo
graph in the jail anteroom. This was
with the understanding that my pic
| ture will be printed alongside OF
Franks in the paper Even then she
| posed reluctantly, with the reservation
that II don't like all this business"
| 1t is difficult to describe in words
or to reveal by photographs. the
Grace Marshall of today. When a
strong and sympathetic man reached
down to lirt her from tho hlthy. di-
: Ia Lidpted bed upon which Hhc hui
died in her fathers home she weigh
cd Gfty-seven pounds She had been
eating Just enough food. It would
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
One Old Chair
All the Furniture

I'm the room, an unproposscssi,, ,
eisht-by-ten affair was one old chair,
lhat comprised the furniture.
We asked Mrs. Marshall for tho
girls clothing. She went into another
rooIn ana brought an additional suit Of
underwear ] believe this was clean
yet ''''"e'
We'll, | have brought clothing and
we are going to take her 10 r:aston. I"
! answered. We began to dress her
ana Trace knew enough. to assist In
putting on some things. She merely
nodded when we asked her IL she
wanted to 60.
Her flesh was cold. almost as cold
as mat OF corpse. There was no
heat In the room. neither was there
artiiicial light nor the means for max
Ing 1t.
The room had one window. Tn.
blinds were closed. but the stats to one
OF the shutters were 50 drawn as to
admit such light az she had The
odor OF her prison place was foul. What
else could be expected?
We clothed Grace and bundled her
up IN blankets. Then we took her out
INTO the sunlight and put her In an au-
tomobile She said nothing She has
said probably only dozen words since
we brought her to Easton.
That IL about all. except that we
hope to rejuvenate the girl both men
tally and physically. wish to correct
the report that I said I would like to
see Frank Marshall hung to a tree. I
am not melting the lynching spirit. |
think those responsible for such cruel
ties should be punished by law. but my
greatest desire now h this:
TO give to Grace Marshall the hap
piness that belongs to her-life. light.
frtanda. n 70 har
joyment that Is her heritage. am
glad to have been instrumental in re-
claiming Grace Marshall and feel the
mission of the Children's Aid Society in
this country has not been without re-
suits"
Miss Davies was asked how long she
thought Grace Marshall had been a
prisoner
The Washington times., 1915-11-28

her +, to you and I am not going to do
II went away disappointed. but de-
termined to rescue Grace Marshall. The
refusal of the stepmothef to permit me
TO see or talk to Grace strengthened my
conviction that she was the victim Of
most cruel treatment. lid not know
how to proceed, However. In advance Of
the meeting OF the grand jury. for which
! waited.
Meanwhile ] saw. John Hancock at
Wilmington. He told inc his story, and
asked him to testify before the grand
jury. to which he agreed
For some reason the grand Jury did
not act. II is not necessary to comment
on that. now that results have been
achieved, An obstacle In my way was
tho divergence OF opinion as to whether
the law could interfere. There are laws
to prohibit the cruel treatment OF ami
mails. but It seemed more difficult to get
at parents who mistrcat a child,
The uncertainty about method Of pro-
ccdure cost time-that accounts for the
delay In making the rescue of Grace.
l had to work secretly, tor fear the
story might become ghborhood gos-
sin. and reach the farmer and his wife,
thereby frustrating our plans.
Eventually ] enlisted the aid of At
torncy Fletcher Clarke and sued out
a writ Of habeas corpus. wen, to
the Marshall home again, and on my
last visit ! had a writ to insure NV en-
trance.
when Deputy Shcrim Cannon, DR..
Davidson. and Olan Morsey accom-.
panied me to the farm on Friday OF
last week we found the door to Grace's
room locked. Mrs. Marshall had the
KEY. and after WE; she nnally opened
tho room.
" was dark inside. so dark that DIR.
Davidson and myself stood on the
threshold until our eyes became accus.
tuned to the change.
Al last we saw in the corner n
ricketV wooden bedstead. BuddIed in
us center. almost IN thu shape OF a
Dail. was human being. Several stats
were missing. and the bed withaj was a
sort OF tumble-down affair. Under
neath Grace Marshall was n single mat
tress. about half-fllcd with straw, The
sIra" mattress was approximately a
loot and half shorter than the bed
stead.
The bed clothing consisted OF two
so-ca'lcd comforts badly soiied. Tho
girl had on only a suit Of underwear n
too. was-wcll. say soiled.
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Said Girl Had Died
Years Before

"When started on my investiga-
tion." says Miss Davies. IT was told
by number of persons at st. Michaels
that the object Of my search was dead
DIR. Joe Seth. who had set the broken
leg Of Grace Marshall years before.
said | was evidently working on an
Imaginary case as Marshalrs daughter.
according to his recollection, died eight
or nine years ago
Nowhere did ! find anyone who had
knowledge OF such story as had been
brought to me. | had difficulty In To-
eating the Marshall farm, as | was In
formed there were several families by
that name In the county. | finally
located Frank Marshall's home and
without revealing my mission asked II
the family did not have an invalid
daughter. Mrs. Marshall replied affirm
atively.
"T would like to see her: think
may do her some good ! said.
"'You cannot be of any help. It's too
late for that Mrs. Marshall answered.
She informed me, however, that Grace
Marshall was not wasting away.
"'She is healthy and hearty her mind
Is just gone, that's all. is the way Mrs.
Marshall explained 1t. She also told
me that Grace never left her room as
II was not safe to have her at large.
when insisted upon seeing the girl,
I was flatly refused by the stepmother.
The excuse was thaeit excited Grace to
see strangers, Mrs. Marshall further
more asserted that the girl hadn't an
ache or a pain and that IT will be Il
ueal deal Of trouble for me to show
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Never Heard Name
OF Niece Mentioned

Anyway, the uncle OF Grace Mar
shall came at last to her prison. lie
stayed a day and night at the Mar
shall farm, Dat not once was the name
of the incarcerated child woman men
toned.
During the night John Hancock
heard groans in u room near his own.
They We're not the grOans of one in
ftful slumber, but rather the despair
ing oUtcries of one suffering without
hope, They disturbed John Hancock
all night. When daylight came h.
"rept out on the second-story porch
~ his brother-in laws home. poeped
through the broken shutter Of win
dow. and there saw his niece.
She was upon her hands and knees.
crumbs on the floor aud conveying
them jerkily. like a monkey, to her
mouth. Except for two soiled and
out clothing. The flies buzzed about
an emaciated form, but shc appeared
oblivious to their presence, Even
through the closed blinds there came
reDellinC odors.
John Hancock ate breakfast without
reference to his almost unbelievable
discovery. ON the ride to Easton he
wondered what to do-how to save the
girl. and whether the law permitted
an Invasion Of Marshalrs homo and
INC lhkins from nm or MS d&ightef
Hancock had "A cousin on the limited
po1'ce force of f,aston. He told the
cousin, Kichard Thomas. OF what he
had seen. Then Hancock, having
started the work nf deliverahre. went
his way and left Thomas the duty of
reporting the ease to the authorities.
Thomas remembered the compare
lively recent establishment In Talbot
county OF branch of the Maryland
Children'R Aid Society. with Miss
Emma l.. Davies, social worker OF
experience and great sympathy, in
charge. Here was a chance to render
aid" of mCst needed kind
Miss Davies should begin to tell tho
The Washington times., 1915-11-28

The Marshall farm Is two miles dis.
tant from st. Michaels, a small Eastern
Shore town, whose residents, In the
main. follow fishing and truck growing.
end lead an easy-going life. Fourteen
miles away is Easton, the county seat
of Talbot county, which. claims about
5000 population.
Marshall's home stands well back
from the public highway, a shell road
over which automobiles and farmers
day. A long lane winds through the
farm to his doorway. A trespas5 notice.
boldly printed on yellow cardboard,
overtops the swinging gate which one
must unlatch to enter the lane.
Back of the house Is river, plainly
70 De seen from the rear door. Around
the farmers domicile are fiat. wcli-tilled
acres: whatever may he Marshall 3
faults he Is evidently not a sluggard.
inc premises are neat, and there Is no
exterior sign Of such squalor, as the
rescue party which reclaimed Grace
Marshall found.
TWO other farms are situated about
shall home. The entire country there
ABOUT is attractive, even picturesque.
scarcely more than mile away Is the
handsome country residence OF former
state Senator Richard Dodson, from
whom Marshall rented. and who praised
marshall as a tenant
or the beauties OF nature about her
Grace Marshall had no view. The sight
~ the winding river even was denied
Her outlook was through a single win
dow. which faced the lane up witch
bereft of its Weld. she might peep
through the shutter and see couple
OF wheat stacks, and the woods beyond.
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Sun Never Frightened
Her Prison Room

The rising sun never frightened tho
room in which Grace Marshall existed
She might see only the sunset the end
OF another day of drearincss and wait
Ing. When she learns to talk again she
may tell graphic story of the OPEN
ing in the window that faced always
the coming OF night.
When one suffers solitary confinement
the little things become events. Pris-
oners have counted over and over again
the specks on tho wallis to keep the
mind occupied; they have made COM
panion OF mouse or u cockrOach: :
there Is story of man who wept
because Of the death of a cricket which
had brought into his cell another life
though the living thing was an insect.
These thoughts came as the writer
saw that the Marshalls had a few
chickens and auacking ducks. They
pccked. about in front of the house as
the officers came to take Marshall to
jail. How the Capers of these fowls
must have fascinated Grace Marshall
IN the days when her mind was less n
blank and the solitude had not en-
tirely benumbed her interest In the
world outside.
tragedy of the Eastern Shore.
It was to the farm OF Frank Mar
shall that John Hancock, Of Whining
ION. Del. came several weeks ago.
Ostensibly he was on n hunting trip.
Hancock Is the uncle Of Grace Mar
shall. the brother OF the mother who
died when Grace was a child. Some
how he had heard a hazy report that
Grace was being neglected. The child
had practically dropped out Of hts
memory. II u said. until this report.
Since the death, of Marshalrs first wife
her relatives haNc had little to do with
him-and Grace was envcloped In the
drifting apart process.
That Is one OF the strangest features
Of this story-the fact that even rcla-
tives forgot. or took no interest In the
existence of the girl.
The Washington times., 1915-11-28
Story of Grace MarshaHs Long Imprisonment Her Home
CONTINUED from First Pase1

Continued from First
the house. Had doctor told her father years ago
insane? Why else had they locked her up?
Read this true story that vies with the narrowing fiction Of
Poe, and then determine.
FARMER LIVES IN PROSPEROUS DISTRICT
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-24
by Telegraph to The Tubune.I

Newport News, Va, Sept. 23.-The
Allan Line steamer Hesperian was
sunk by a German submarine and not
by floating mine, according to
Captain Smellie, master Of the British
steamer Crosby.
Captain Smelle declares he wit
messed the vessels sinking and asserts
that the same submarine Immediately
chased the Crosby for several hours.
He escaped, he says, only in the dark
ness, by driving his ship at the utmost
speed. without lights and steering a
zig-zsg course and then a wide circle.
The Hesperan was torpedoed without
warning on the night Of September T.,
and twenty-six lives lost.
The statements OF Captain Smellie
are contained in an official report made
10 the British authorities on his ar
rival here on Monday.
The report, it is said. will later be
submitted TO the United States govern
ment in refutation Of the Official Ger
man statement. Berlin disclaimed re-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-24
2 POLICEMEN SHOT
AT M'MANUS PARTY
One Dying-Bullets Fly at Man.
haitian Casino During Row.

Two policemen were shot, one fatal
". the other seriously. when the party
of the Thomas J. McManus Association
in the Manhattan Casino broke up IN
fight early this morning.
The dying policeman is supposed to
be William Dapping, shield No. b,3ol.
The one seriously wounded rs James
Bishop.
Dapping is shot through the eye.
Refore being removed to the hospital,
Father Plunkett, of St. Marks Church,
administered the last rites OF the
Church.
Bishop was shot through the chest
Another policeman, Patrolman Dar'
lirg. was injured in the fight that
followed the arrest Of man giving
his name as Thomas ONeil, and hls
home as 1893 Eighth Avenue, as the
man who did the shooting.
McManus. known as The McManus'
has been having hard time holding
control of his Assembly district. Yes.
tcrday ne gave his annual party, and
when midnight came and the sport was
q. its height there were 1000 persons
in and about the Casino. Just before
1 o'clock a fight started in the bar
room in which revolvers were freely
used. The policeman supposed 10 oe
Dapping was off duty, but swung INTO
tho mix-up until stopped by shot;
Bishop, the other policeman, was also
off duty. lila;
ONeill. according TO the police was
seen TO fire several shots.