Questions for Reading Ten Days in a Madhouse
Chapter XI – In the Bath
1. How much privacy was allowed in the bath?
2. Why did the author laugh at her bath?
3. What was the nurse’s response when Miss Brown/Bly asked for a nightgown?
4. Why is Miss Brown/Bly worried about fire?
5. What concerns does the author have about the morning towels and combs?
6. What was for breakfast?
7. Who cleaned and maintained the dormitory areas?
Chapter XII – Promenading with Lunatics
1. How many women are incarcerated at Blackwell’s Island?
2. What does it mean to be “on the rope”?
3. What sign was found in the pavilion? What sign would Miss Brown/Bly have put over
the gates?
4. What was the dinner meal?
5. Was there a difference in the meals of the staff and the patients? If yes, what.
6. How did Nurse Grupe treat the old, blind woman who complained of being cold?
Chapter XIII - Choking & Beating Patients
1. How did Mr. Dent take care of Miss Mayard’s fit?
2. What forms of entertainment were available to the women – if any?
3. What happened to women who went to the closet?
4. What sort of treatment did the nurses administer to the patients who annoyed them?
Chapter XIV – Some Unfortunate Stories
1. Briefly characterize the treatment the following patients received:
 Louise
 Josephine
 Sarah
2. Why did Miss Brown/Bly agree to take a sleeping tonic?
3. Why could Mrs. Cotter’s story be considered a happy ending?
MODEL HOJ\IE FOR IN8ANE
Featu res of the Alaba ma-·Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa.
NO PHYSICAL RESTRAINT !S USED ·
Patients Have Concerts, Thea trtcah1,
and Picnics, and Work on the
FarDl.
No
They
l\Iore
·than
Vish.
BIR'MINGI, Ala., Aug. Sl.-The Ala..
bama-Bryce
Insane Hospital
is snuated ln
the town a! Tuscaloosa.. on the Queen and
Crescent Road. about sixty · miles south ot
Birmingham. Under the management of Dr.
Peter Bryce. who d ed last year, this Alabama. State institution won a National rep•
utatl·on tn the medical 'vorld. Th& - tnst1tu•
tton bears the stamp of the genius of Dr..
Bryce. His idea as to the treatment of in• sano
patients has become as popular as it ts
successful. His theories on this subject might
be well expressed in one word•• gen tleness •
Dr. Bryce believed that the p-atient w ould
be much better controllad ·without the
straitjacket than with it. e.nd during'
a. lif etime devoted to the test of this theory
at the hospital that be9.rs h is nam e he
f ully established its correctness. Dr. Bry
has been succeeded i n th e ;nanagement ot
the institution by Dr. James T. Searcey.,
who was his intimate associate.
The hospital now owns abou t 1,200 acre
ot land. wt th three or f our miles of river
fron t. The proper ty embraces very fine
farmlands, and bas upon It a coal seam
that furnishes a very excellent quality of
coal. About 500 acres of this f arm are under
a high state of cultivation, most of the
work being done by the less violen t pa·
ttents, of whom there are between 300 and
400, who do some work ever}" day. They
are not compelled to w ork. bu t are allo·9 ed to
do a
lmost what they please.
Potatoes are the chief crop. As high a• 10,000
bushels have been prod uced ln a. single crop,
the prospects no · be
!n g f or a yield equally
large. if not larger. The cabbage crop t his year
has been ,·ery fine.
besld@s
which
o. great
many
barrels
ot
pickles have been pu t up for home consumption.
The
fruit
orchard
out
on
the
farm
is yet too young for bea rin g. There
are
more than 4,000 trees of diff erent ktndspears, peaches, plums, and apples. This year
6,000 bushels ot oats were raised. and forty
acres t n millet prod uced more hay than
could be stored. .. good corn· crop will also
be raised.
The daJry, too, an interesting f eature, The
hospital now ow ns abou t 100 cows, 50 of which
are now in milk . These 50 cows oa Aug. 1 of
th
is year gave 760 pounds of mil k. being 2 gallons
a day f or each cow. This milk is used most ly
for coff ee and f or sick patien ts. Two hundred
f ull-blooded B&k- shlre hogs are now ln very
fine condition•. and will be killed ln the Fall.
The watermelon crop has been very fine. and
for several days the wh ole population of
nearly 1,500 persons has been f ':!d just as much
of this fru it as it "\\'"anted. This took from 300
to 400 melons a dav.
There are now abou t 1,20 inmates con- fined
ln the hospital, and 175 em ployes and their
families to care for them. The entire cost of
keeping up th is institu tion is less than $2 a
'\veek for each pati en t. The stat- utes allow
the Superintenden t to draw $3 per week f or
each indigen t, but never is more than $2
drawn, and this pays the salaries of all the
officers, employes, and, in. fact, all the
expenses of runn ing the lnstt-- tution. Out
of thi-s fund enough money ha been saved
to pu t up the addition no\V ·in progress,
which will accommodate about 100 more rrJ.ile
patten ts. Th is bu lldlng wUl · bes ready for
occupan cy by the time cold weather begins.
.
A great 1nany people ha ve th e idea thnt
the hospital is a very noisy and dangerou
place. .A. visit t h ere ·ill convi nce them that.
there ls not a hotel in the cou n try whereso lit tle noise is heard. or ·h ere such goo<!
order
prevail s. N one
of t he
in n1ates
is
ever pu t in Iron s, or, to use th e technical'
expression,
mecha n ically
restrained.
T -:i:;;
rule was adopted more tha n fif teen years
agoa and it has been fou nd to work spl encidly. Humane treatmen t Instead is resorted:
to, and the resu lts have been far-reaching.
A great many entertain men ts are got te
up for the benefit and pleasu re of t hE- convalescent and saner pat ients. 'T hese eonsist
of concer ts by the bes t luca l t al nt Jn the
city, amateur theatricals and tableaus, an<I
bi-weekly dances tha t arc en t ered n to and·
enjoyed by the pa tien ts iu a degree t ha t
is high ly gratif y ing. .A.t 3.ll t h ese en tertai n-
ments the very best of order preva ils ; in
fact, so noticeable is t h is. t ha t ·t here are
many so-called sane people
'\\"h o migh t
learn a lesson fru m t h e excellen t good
man ners
of th ese
u n f ortu nates? ·ho
kn ow 'hen to listen and \\·hen and w ha t to
applaud.
Occasion ally large nu muers of them are
carried to Lake Lorai ne f ur a picnic. These
are the happy tim es f or t hose peopl e, ·w hoare supposed to be ou tside t h e v orld and to
have no pleasu re at all. Everyth ing t ha t can
be done to n1ake- shat tered Iiv es pl eas- ant t s
done. Those v ho v;ork do as u:uchi as the:y
l\'ant to do and no more. \- ery of ten one
may see a man roll his vheel· barrow up tu
be
load ed
and
he
·ill
go
galloping otr w ith it before t \VO shovelf uls
of dirt are in it. Som of the pa tien ts have
a lot of lif e in th em, and not a few ara
very witty and well informed on many sub·
j ec ts.
1
The
colored
pati n ts
have
separata
apart ments. and they, too, are treated as
well as can be. They have their dances•.
plays, and picni cs just like the \Vhite folks.
bu t they enjoy these a grea t deal mor e.,
There'vas a picn ic at t h e lake last Thu rsday. They had music f or dancing and refreshmen ts in prof usion, consisting
of.
ginger cakes, lemon ade and watermelons
The hospital is not a house ot detention.
or a prison, for. wh ile it is true that certal.t"
restrictions are necessary, yet &verything
is conducted on hu mane princ1vles.
flbe- tnrUorkQtbnts
Published: September 1, 1895
Copyright © The New York Times
[NOTIOE :-Address all communications to Tuscaloosa, Ala.]
The Alabama
Insane Hospitals.
INSTRUCTIONS ON BRING ING A PATIENT TO THE HOSPITAL.
Let the patient, whom you bring, distinctly know where he (or she)
is going. A patien t seldom forgets being deceived in that par- ticular ;
and it affects nrn ny injuriously, when they hold it as a griev- unce
nfterwards.
It is very improper to send a lady patient in charge of an office1·
alone. Always have a womnn , or a near male relative to accompany
her if possible. The Proba te Judge, if he sees proper, can deputize
uny relatiYe or friend to accompany a patiPnt. There need not hP
any officer in charge, i n most cases. In some cases, the presence and
control of a str!mgPr-an officpr of the law-acts injuriously.
Fumish the pntien t wi th a sufficiency of comfortable clothing. W
ith man y, to wear good clothing of their ow n , tends to their selfrespect nnd satisfaction ; and to receive articles of clothing, as well
as other remembrances from home, is a matter of plen ure. Lists of
clothing needed will be sen t, from ti me to ti me during the year, to the
family.
All persons are su pposed by the law , to be ablP to pay for their board
and attendance at the Hospi t al. The Probate Judge of thP county ,
where the pa tien t resides, determi nes whetl:er they are not able to do
so, and issues ce1·tific1ites accordingly. The regula1·chargP are twen tyfive dollars p r mon th, quarterl y i n ad vancE', which covers board and
all Hospital expensPs.
The pati Pn ts ure not allowed to have articles of val ue, such as jewelry, monPy, watches, etc.. on t he wards, nor articles of danger, such
us knives. ma tches, scissors, etc. They ought not to b1·ing such things
with them.
The nnswers to the in terrogatories, on nn accompan ying sheet.
,relating to peronal 1tnd fumily history , are very important. They ought
to be nrnde fully and l10n pstly , giving as m uch informaticn as possible.
They are kept i n confidence, and are of great value to the physicians in
making a conect opinion of the patien t.
THE BRYCE HosPITAT. is thl'ee miles from the depot5 i n Tuscaloosa .
The Dummy meets all trains, and hacks meet them day and n igh t. They
all bring pat ien ts to the Hospi tal. Until otherwisE' instructed , bring
all patients to Tuscaloosa.
The trip, if possib!e, ought to be arrunged so as to reach the Hos- pital
during the day. Thel'e is >lil extra charge for u hack Rt n ight, which of
ten causes annoyance n nd imposition ; besides, the patien t generally
comes more willingly and in better shitpe during the day , and the
necessary routine of receiving u nd assign ing him is more conveniently
and satisfactorily done.