The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-02-28
An Insane Woman's Curious 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 a little farm neat
St. Cloud, in Minnesota and last fall we con-
Guided to sell out and come to this country.
We did So We sold everything we possessed,
and all told we had about 81, 500 in cash to
bring with us. About 800 of the money
| sewed up i'll a quilt, 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 1th Sept. wheD
we left Minnesota. Travelling along tbs
road on the train l soon began to observf
that the people were after my money CAV
them some of the loose change | had in nE
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 carr
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 manacIU
my hands l struck one of the men with lit
tie penknifP carried with me. did this
with no malice or ill-will, but merely in self
defense. had right to protect myself The
officers seized upon this a pretext for TAX
ing me to the asylum. They accordingly did.
L
remained until the end of January, when l
again made my escape by jumping from
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 ore all sore and am tired and hungry"
A Portland telegram says: The womaE
seemed to be telling straightforward and
truthful story. She looked careworn and
tired, while her feet were badly swollen
from her weary journey. Father SommeF
was sent for and he took the woman temper
ariy to St. Vincent hospital, where she wiki
he given an opportunity to rest up. 1t is
not very probable that she will be returned
to the asylum at Steilacoom, for she ap-
parently has recovered her reasoning facul-
tiessufficiently to take care of herself, espec-
| tally if she could find q home with some Ger.
| man family. Last fall her father 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 ain, 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 o 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 to
Vancouver, where she could take care OF hin.
All the old mans effects were gathered to
| gether and he was sent to his daughter. In
taking him here in a carriage one of th'
quilts were taken out of his trunk for q lar
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
300 of which this woman now makes men
ton. The bucket of lard has also been seen
but just what has become OF it nobody seems
to know.