The Runaway's Plea for Mercy
A teenage girl escapes her abusive uncle and aunt in Port Angeles, only to be detained by Port Townsend police while trying to return to the only home she ever knew.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Chief of Police Delaney yesterday received a telegram from J. B. Bruce, of Port Angeles, requesting him to arrest Rose Lyman, his 16-year-old niece, who was on the steamer Geo. E. Starr, en route to this city, having run away from home. When the steamer arrived at the dock, Officer Furlong was on board and took the girl in custody and brought her before the chief. Miss Lyman, who is a very pretty girl of refined manners and retiring disposition, told her story to Chief Delaney. She said she had lived with her uncle and aunt from infancy, and had never known her parents, whom her relatives informed her were dead—a statement which she did not believe. Miss Lyman said that while her uncle treated her with kindness and consideration, her aunt was very abusive and frequently beat her. She exhibited a huge lump upon her head, which she said had been inflicted by her aunt with a stick on Friday, and also alleged that her lameness was caused by a blow on her ankle which her aunt had struck her six years ago. Her reason for leaving home was to reach New Westminster, B.C., and return to the convent where she had been for four years, and where the only happy days of her young life had been spent. Chief Delaney took the girl to his own residence and turned her over to his wife, pending the arrival of her uncle. Several citizens of Port Townsend have interested themselves in the girl, and will investigate her statements, which, if correct, will cause them to take steps towards securing her relief from the alleged tyranny of her aunt.
“She exhibited a huge lump upon her head, which she said had been inflicted by her aunt with a stick on Friday.”
This 1891 report highlights the extreme vulnerability of children in the hands of guardians before the establishment of modern child protective services. Today, similar cases of 'runaways' are met with rigorous mandatory reporting laws, though the systemic difficulty of ensuring a safe living environment for displaced youth remains a resonant social challenge.
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