Nellie Bly: Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887)

I posted http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/05/05/ten-days-a... qua user, but replaced it with the original piece qua moderator. HN prefers original sources. :)

Popova gives some background, though.

This is a great story - it's one of the things you learn about when you take the Circle Line cruise in NYC.