St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-21
Testim ony in the Mitchell
Trial Developing Strange
Features.
On the Face Of It the Girl-Boy
. Is Shown Up Daft as
8 Loon.
Letters Read That Reveal a
Pitiable Lack Of Mental
Balance.
Lille johnson Testifies as to
the Actions of Alice on
the Fatal Day.

MEMPHIS. Tenn. July 20.-The testi
mony in the Alice Mitchell case today
pertained principally to her CORE
Spondence with her victim, Miss
Ward, and several personally unknown
gentlemen with whom she had estab-
had acquaintance through the medium
of advertisements. Miss MitcheIpS half
brother was again called to the stand
for the purpose of reading letters.
The first letter read was from
Freda Ward to Alice after the
discovery of their plans Of
elopement. She warns Alice not to
write any more letters to her; declares
her undying love and eonstancy; swears
she well yet marry her in
spite of opposition, and expresses
her hatred for her brother in
law, whom she hates worse than poison
Then followed another letter from
Freda, the last she ever wrote. 1t is
dated Jan. is, 1892. 1t expresses the
great regret of the writer that she is for
hidden to speak to her Alice. expresses
undyIng love for her and cautions her
s'Last Summers Business,,,
as no one knew of it but her family.
This ended the direct examination. and
Gen. Peters took the witness. Witness
admitted that Alice carried on
correspondence with others besides
Freda. She had correspondent with
various men strangers to her.
A InftQr ad To
bon, Tex, and written by Alice, was
read. She expressed her pleasure
that her correspondent is pleased and
had fallen in love with her description,
and wonders how long it would be
before he falls i'll love with her. She
says she is writIn g without the knowl-
edge of her parents, and says this is the
reason she does not have her letters
sent to the house. The letter is signed
Freda Ward.
Still another letter was read, dated
Jan. %, only three days before the trag-
edy. 1t is addressed to Tom l.. Rieger,
Pittsburg, Pa. equally affectionate
with him as with Dear Birdie.'
She affects to be an actress and
says that as rule they cannot really
love, but assures him that ''this little
actress cam" She tells how a man
thirty years old made love to her last
Friday night, and adds that "she had
notgot over it yet" Then comes let
ter to Freda written IN August. 1t
starts out with Dearest love-" Is
A Jealous Letter,
accuses her of loving Ashley RoselIe
| and says she will kill Nj. Ashley before
| Freda will have him. After formulat-
mo nlanc or OF
| future time, she expresses the fear that
if they delay too long she will fall in
! love with somebody else.
| Letters were read from Alice to
Henry" young man she had met at
| Gold Dust, in which she refers to Alice
AS her sister. another in. which she
speaks of her friend Alice Mitchell
Then comes daisy fetter to Henry"
| She tells of a trip taken under the
escort or solemn old minister" She
| found him mot SO solemn inside as
out" and they got along very we'll. But
| their baggage checks got mixed, and
after the parson left her at a junction to
go to Iowa and she reached her destina-
| ton, she tells what happened as fol-
| lows:
The baggagemaster brought out a rusty
old valise for me. Think of Tiny blue silk
and things going off to Iowa, and left me
| with the parsons collars. pants and things.
Much good my ruffies and things Will do
| him."
The only thing that spoiled the story
was the assumption that the trip was
| Freda Ward. but was written by Alice.
Alice Johnson Testifies.
The next witness was Miss Lille
johnson, the young woman whose mis-
! fortune it was to be Alice MitcheiFs
| nil hny 70 Jar
mitted, and which fact has caused her
| joint Indictment with Alice on a charge
of murder. Miss johnson was attired in
a white costume. She testified she had
| known Alice for three years. She saw
her twice on the day of the killing, once
in the morning and again in the after
| noon.
She said Freda was Alice's friend.
She always spoke of her, and was tell
ing witness how she loved Freda. After
| that visit she spoke often of Freda when
| arated Alice was always crying and
sick and saying she wished she could
see Freda. Then came the fatal drive
| just before the the murder. She told
how Alice followed the Ward girls,
saying she must see Freda once more,
When they caught up with the girls at
the custom house, Alice said: ''Oh,
| LII, ffeQd looked at lie ana Smlled.'
Then she got out of the buggy and
said: IL must tell her good by"
| When Alice returned there were two
spots of blood OH her face. Witness
asked what the Ward girls had done to
her. Alice said LET me in," and
then jumped over the wheel into
the buggy. Witness was arrested
the next day and was put
into the same room with Alice. Wit
ness testified that Alice had confded to
! her that she wanted to marry Freda.
Witness thought she persuaded Alice
out of attempting to marry Freda,
! but she still wanted to marry
! her. She did not know Alice was armed
with razor or any other weapon Oh the
day of the musder. She thought she
was only going to tell Freda goodbye
| and kiss her.
This ended the direct examination
| and the crOss-examination will be COM
| menced tomorrow.