The Washington times., 1922-10-08
Oklahoma Girl Who After
Women Was Helplessly
Imprisoned Among
Wriggling, Crawling q
Things That
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what you are-Opal Ramsey-a chicken
one of those hateful city chickens. But
we'll show you. And, incidentally, we'll
teach those city wives how to handle those
city chickens Put them in chicken coops;
bend 'em double; truss 'em up; like to
like and coops for chickens. That-Opal
is what we are going to do to you
"The leader finished, ending with
burst of laughter. The other women
joined. 1t was a terrifying laugh, those
swaying, shapeless, white-sheeted women
sent up through the re-echoing woods.
shvered. l was cold with terror by
then.
"Then, while the woman in mems
clothes watched over me, playing with her
little automatic, the six sheeted figures
got up and crossed over the clearing to the
barnyard of deserted farmhouse that
now saw at the edge of the clearing. In
few minutes they came back to me.
"'All ready said one. Now for the
whipping
"Others came forward. They tied my
ankles together and then my wrists. Of
course l struggled, but it was no use.
There were too many of them. They
bound me to a tree, stripped me to the
waist, and began to fog me with thonged
whip.
81 screamed-but there was none to
hear me. Between blows they taunted
me.
"'She'll be sore girl when she puts on
those pretty dresses again
"'Guess she won't talk to any husband
again after this
"'Wait till she sees what's coming.
She'll wish she was back here at the tree
AT last they stopped. l was nearly
fainting with the pain of the beating. L
could feel the blood running down my
back. They cut me loose from the tree
and two of them carried me over into the
clearing. Then they dropped me to my
feet and pointed to something in front
of me.
"'That's where you're going to spend
the night said the leader. It's chicken
coop. You ought to feel at home there.
81 looked. 1t was chicken coop. An
old, unspeakably dirty coop. 1t was about
six feet long and four feet high. 1t had
sloping roof with Stats a few inches
apart coming down to walls a couple of
feet high. In front was an opening. 1t
was a heavily built coop. l could see
that.
"And while I was looking one of the
women unfastened a side of the roof-it
swung up like trap door. Then as she
held it two other of the women raised me
up and dropped me into the coop. The
lid was banged shut and l heard it
fastened.
"There lay, trussed up, helpless in that
dirty foul-smelling place. Outside of it
the sheeted women gathered and looked
Gown on me. managed to sit up. |
could not rise, of course; the roof was too
low. Beside-have you ever tried to get
on your feet when both legs and arms
were tied? 1t is we'll nigh an impossible
thing to do. But did try it. The women
found it very funny when fell and rolled
and fell and rolled, again and again.
"They laughed!
"At last stopped. l was very fright
ened and very sick from the beating. I
asked them to let me go. l even prayed
to them.
"'You'rc not going to leave me alone
in this place-all night?' asked. 1t
was terribly gloomy and dark, that place.
And there were bobcats-lynxes, you
know-all around. We often heard them
bowling in the night. And what could
do if they should come and break in, per-
haps, to the coop. With my hands and
feet tied could not fight them.
"'You can't be so cruel I cried.
"'Oh, no. they said, we're not going
to leave you alone
"'Here's something to keep you COM
pany," laughed one.
ii felt a cold, wriggly, loathsome mass
drop on my shoulders and slide down my
hack. She had dropped a handful Of
worms into the coop, right on me.
screamed. They brought other things
toads, snails, bugs, dreadful things-and
dropped them through on me.
"'Chicken food they said.
"How long that torment went on don't
know. could not escape the things they
would drop through the stats on me.
tried to crawl out through the door, which
was open. ! soon found out why they
hadn't closed that. 1t was too small for
anything but my head to 60 through. And
I soon shrank back from what they held
In their hands even to my lips.