Thursday, September 15, 2011

Domestic Violence in 1899 Indianapolis


ILLUSTRATION CAPTION: Tied to a Chair and Beaten. An Inhuman Mother of Indianapolis, Ind. Arrested For Maltreating Her Little Daughter.

FULL TEXT: An unusual case of maternal cruelty developed in Indianapolis, Ind., recently, when the bicycle police were summoned by the neighbors to the home of a woman who was accused of torturing her seven-year-old daughter.

The police found the child in a chair with her hands tied behind her and the blood streaming from her nose, both eyes were black and one almost closed. Her wrists, around which a small rope was wound when her hands were tied, showed deep welts, and both hands were swollen to twice their natural size. It took the officers some time to untie the rope, as the flesh was so badly swollen that cutting it was impossible.

The officers found that the beating had been administered with the butt end of a buggy whip. The mother offered no explanation and was placed under arrest. After removal to the police station the child’s body was found covered with bruises, and she said her mother often gave her a beating. She also said that she was afraid to tell her father because of threats made by her mother, although she felt he would protect her if he knew the truth.

[“Tied to a Chair And Beaten,” The National Police Gazette (New York, N.Y.), Sep. 2, 1899, pp. 9 & 15]
 
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[560-4/23/21]
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