Would boys of the same age been able to do the work? Equal pay for equal work.
What pay? Their parents paid these people to take the girls to be ranch hands. It’s the perfect scam, and it’s been done before. Just say you are running a ranch for troubled teen and parents send their kids sight unseen. No medical, no shrinks, kids are worse when they leave than when they came.
Lawyers are having a field day with these things.
The article mentions working from morning to night. Probably much longer than an 8 hour day. Probably serious violations of labor laws. Also no mention of any kind of mental therapy or treatment, or religious opportunity on Sunday.
As to parental careful checking, not necessarily happening. If parents are separated, even less likely. Perhaps travel across country to examine???
My parents required me to do a lot more work than the other kids in my neighborhood, but nothing remotely like what was reported here. I knew we were poorer than the other neighbor families, so I didn’t like it, but I did accept the need.