St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-20
TIE MITCHELL TRIAL,
A Physician Testifies as to the
Mothers Condition.

MOIner SOnu1tfCn.
MEMPHIS. Tenn. July 19.-The Sec
ond day of the inquiry into the mental
condition Of Alice Mitchell showed IN
diminished public interest, the audi
ence being somewhat larger than Mon-
day. Promptly at $50 o'clock the
accompanied, as yesterday, by her two
brothers. The gist of the testimony
introduced tended tn confirm the i'm
preston of hereditary insanity having
been transmitted from mother to child.
Testimony and dispositions by numer-
GUS relatives was to the effect that Mrs.
Mitchell, the mother of Alice, had been
stricken with insanity Oh the eleventh
day after the birth of her first child.
Mrs. Mitchell was then placed in an
asylum, where she remained fromJ June to
August of 1857, and was scarcely her.
self for good many years thereafter.
physician in attendance upon Mrs.
Mitchell after she was delivered of her
first child. testified she was suffering
from acute puerperai mania when he
saw her, and was at times ferociouslX
delirius. She fancIed she was dead, and
was sent to an asylum.
1t was remarkable typical case of
acute mania. In 1858. 1853 and 1860 he
attended her and the expression on her
face indicated that she had suffered
from acute mania. He had studied in
sanity in the hospitals of Europe and
America. Heredity is the chief cause
Of insanity. he held, and hereditary
transmission is the most potent cause
The mother is more liable to entail in
sanity than father and to dauc liter
rather than to son. He has had sew
eral years experience in the Good
Samaritan hospital.
Lucy FRANKLIN, the cook in the
Mitchell family. said she always thought
Alice was cranky, but she said nothing
to the family about it. She, on one Oc-
casion. placed the muzzle of gun
against her ear and said she would kill
herself. She had box of letters in the
Kitchen which she often examined. She
would walk around and worry. The
cook would tell her there was no use to
worry as she had plenty of money. She
showed Lucy an engagement ring and
said she ard F'reGa were going to marry
and her mother had told her it was not
right. She told Lucy not to allow any
one to interfere with the box. She had
| not seen the box since the tragedy.
Alice told her that she and Freda in
tended to marry, but the cook thought
Sslc Iutd1lt tldt Siit anu fTcQa INTENDED
to marry two men. Alice went driving
almost every day except Sunday. Wit
ness did not know whether Miss John
son and she met young men on these
drives. She denied that Alice had ever
| made threats against Freda Ward. One
day Alice accidentally discharged gun
in the kitchen, nearly killing the cook.
After the reading of several disjointed
epistles written by Miss Mitchell to
Freda Ward. court adjourned until $50
tomorrow morning.
From the tenor of the letters between
Freda Ward and Alice Mitchell one is
led to the conclusion that each was in
fatuated with the other and Alice
loved Freda as man loves woman, and
Freda loved Alice as woman regarded
man. The letters written by both
the young women were made
public on the witness stand
today and their contents were
astounding. Ii Alice is crazy, so was
Freda, because the emotions and mental
disturbances in both were alike. Prom
inent physicians discussing the case
from scientific standpoint. said the
story of these two girls gave rise to
problem for psychologists, viz: Can
one woman love another as man, with
out being insane, and when this love is
reciprocated, are not both insane2