The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-02-28
An Insane womsn,s CuriOu. Story.

Mrs. Theresa Alice Fisher an unfortunate
German woman is in custody in Portland
Oregon, and she tells the following remari
able story:
My father and lived on little farm neat
St. Cloud, in Minnesota, and last fall we con-
cluded to sell out and come to this country.
We did so. We sold everything wepossessed,
and all told we had about So, 500 in cash to
bring with us. About $70O of the money
sewed up i'll n quilt, q little over $1,000 |
put in q lard pail, covering it over with lard,
and the rest of the money | had about me
| sewed in my dress and carried loose in my
pocket. | think it was the 11th Sept. wheD
we left Minnesota. Travelling along tbs
road on the train | soon began to obseTvf
that the people were after my money gav'
them some of the loose change | had in DIf
pocket, but never said word about til,
money in the quilt and lard bucket. Seeing
that they were intent upon taking my life. al
so, jumped from the train. did not carT
for the money, but did not think it worth
while to lose my life. SO leapad from tb9
train while it was going at rapid spee'l
(near Pasco, w IT,. 1t was not long before
they captured me, and in trying to manacEv
my hands | struck one of the men with q lit
tie penknifP carried with me- did this
with no malice or ill-will, but merely in self
defense. had q right to protect myself. The
officers seized upon this as pretext for TAX
ing me to the asylum. They accordingly did.
lDeY removed me TO ODellacOOU1, WnPre 1
remained until the end of January, when /
again made my escape by jumping from O
window. From that time until now have
been on the road, travelling along by day and
sleeping in the woods at night. Here, my
feet are all sore and | nm tired and hungry"
A Portland telegram says: The womaE
seemed to be telling o straightforward and
truthful story. She looked careworn and
tired, while her feet were badly swollcB
from her weary journey. Father Sommer
was sent for and he took the woman temper
| ariIy to st. Vincent hospital, where she wih
be given an opportunity to rest up. 1t il
not very probable that she will be returned
/ to the asylum at Steilacoom, for she ap-
| parently has recovered her reasoning tacul.
tiessufficiently to take care of herself, espec-
| ialIy if she could find a home with some Ger.
man family. LastfaIl herfather was brought
| here under Just such circumstances as this
woman was brought here. He was picked up
at one of the docks and brought here by an
expressman. When Father Somers came the
old man told pretty much the same story
! told by this woman. He told of his daugh-
| ter escaping from the tr DIN, and also OF his
| other daughter VIII, vas supposed to be here
| in the city in some Catholicconvent. Father
| Sommer took him in the hospital for short
| time, and then found home for him out
| in the country. In the meantime he
recovered the old mans trunk which had
been sent to Tacoma, and finally he also To-
| Gated the daughter at the convent of Van
couver. As soon as the daughter was ap
prised of the old mans whereabouts shs
made arrangements to have him sent tU
Vancouver, where she could take care of hiu,
All the old mans effects were gathered to
| gebher and he was sent to his daughter. In
taking him here in a carriage one of TIL.
quilts were taken out of his trunk for q lat
robe. The driver observed that the quilt
was unusually heavy, and upon making in
vestigation it was found to be filed with $2C
gold pieces. This was the quilt containing
$700 of which this woman now makes men
tion. The bucket of lard has also been seen
but just what has become OF it nobody seems
to know