The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-10
MINNIE STAYS AT TIE HoMH.

mrs. LuddeciuF Loses the Suit for
Possession Of Her Daughter.
The habeas corpus suit brought by
Mile Luddeciur, formerly Mrs. Peltier,
to gain possession of her daughter Minnie,
an inmate of the Huse of the Good Shep-
herd. was dismissed yesterday by Judge
Lichtenberg, after q hearing lasting sew
eral hours. The case for the sisters was
conducted by John Fairfield and ]. B.
Metcalfe and Mrs. Luddeciur's attorney
was F. Z. Knowles.
No witnesses were called for the defense
at all, but Mrs. Luddeciur had half q
dozen women from among her neighbors,
to testify to her good character. Her wit
nesses, however, all deserted her under
sharp cross-questioning. The mother
proved . very bad witness indeed for her
self
Mrs. Luddeciur was the first witness
sworn. She said that she did not knqf
who was the father of the little baby she
carried in her arms. She was not sure
that 1t was either Peltier's or Luddeciur's.
She said that she was the mother of ten
children. The girl who was with her
divorced husband went astray while she
was with her father, and tins witness had
had no control over her. The girl was
married now. Minnie, the daughter
whom she desired to get away from the
House of the Good Shepherd, was vlrtuous
as long as she lived at her mothers house.
Mrs. Luddeciur admitted that this
daughter slept in the same room with
herself and Mr.. Luddeciur, who was only
Il years old. and she became almost vio-
lent when the name of stable boy was
mentioned in connection with Minnie.
She also admitted that Minnie had de-
clined to leave the sisters house with her
when she went after her.
Mrs. Eckart testified for Mrs. Luddeciur
that she had lived in her house for two
months and did not know, or had not
seen, anything wrong about her. She said
that Luddeciur was young man about q
years old. He had lived in Mrs. Peltier's
house for some time. Peltier was not
there very much. The baby was born
about last May.
Mrs. Thatcher testified that she had
known Mrs. Peltier ever since she came to
town. She had heard that she wasn't
very good woman, but she had never seen
anything wrong herself. The woman had
quarreled with her former husband. Pei
tier, great deal. The girl, she thought.
had had all the sense kicked out of her by
her father, who abused her terribly. The
witness had heard that the sisters whipped
the girl, too. She had heard that Mrs.
Peltier had lived with Luddeciur for two
years. 1t was common talk that they
were living together without being mar
ried
Mrs. Bruce, another neighbor, said that
she had known Mrs. Luddiever for over
two years. She had heard that she had
bad character, but did not believe it. She
heard so many stories that she could not
believe everything.
Mary O'Connor. a 13-year-old girl, who
had once lived at the sisters house. testi-
fed that the sisters dressed the girls in
gunny sacks and fed them on bread and
potatoes. She said that they made her
work all the time. She was not allowed
to even look out of the window, and what
they taught the children would not
amount 70 hill of beans" She was al
ways hungry while she was there. In
answer TO questions, she said she went to
the home because she wanted to see what
kind of place il was. She got in by
representing that she had a stepfather
who abused her, but this story she ad-
mitted was not true.
Minnie Peltier testified that she was IS
years old last December. and had been at
the House of the Good Shepherd nearly
year She said her mother had abused her
and thrown her out of the house. The
sisters dressed her well and she liked to
stay there. She stuck to this statement
through long examination, and the Judge
decided to let her remain where she was.
Mrs. Sarah Niece, who also tried to get
her daughter out of the House of the Good
Shepherd, entered the courtroom while
the hearing was in progress, but did not do
anything more than sit back and smile at
the testimony, especially of the O'Connor
girl, who described her alleged experience
in the home