Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-07-20
THIS IS QUEER
Two Girls Fall Deeply
In Love.
But 1t Is With Each
Other.
They Write Odd let
ters OfLOye.
VOwing Eternal Con-
jugal Felicity
When They Shall Bo
Man and Wife.
The Green-Eyed Mon
ster Intervenes
And One Murders tho
Other.
The Infatuation Of Freda
Ward for Alice Nit
chell Shown on
the Trial.

MrNrHis, Tenn, July ls.--From the
tenor OF the letters that passed between
Fredda Ward and Alice Mitchell one 10
led 10 the CONCLUSION that each wAs IN
fatuated with the other aud that Alice
loved Fredda ss man loves woman, aud
that Fredda loved Alice rs woman
regards man. The letters written by
both OF the young women were made
public on the witness stand today and
their contents were astounding. II
Alice is crazy. 90 Was Fredda. because
the motions aud mentality OF both
wore alike. A prominent phys,eiau,
difcussing the case from . scsentiflc
standpoint, said the esory Of theso
two gsris gave rise tn problem Tor
psychologists, VIZ; Can one woman
lover another as man without being
insane. and when this love is recipro-
Gated, are not both insanes The pro-
testations Of undyIng devotion were ss
vehement in Fredda's letters 10 Alice
ne were the promises Of love and pro-
lection from Alice.
Large SseWd Ont
This forenoon the large court room
was crowded 10 suffocaiion with people
desiring 10 catch q glimpse OF The noto-
rious partiee Interested and 10 hear the
few saiacious bits OF evidence
that might fall from the lips OF
witnesses. In TINS latter expectation
they were disappointed. for 90 far ell
of the evidence tends TO show that
Alice Mitchell loved Freda Ward as an
honorable mao loves a pure woman.
The trsai wss opened the morning by
the Introduction Of deposltions show-
ing insanity IA the family OF Alice
| MItchells mother; that ber brother.
Nsne Scott OF Washington county,
Pa, was insane fof come time. As
WAS also Mira. Baggs OF the
same county. a cousin ot MrA Mitch
ellis. Robert Mitchell, the half brother
of Alice, appeared on .be witness stand
| and exhibited Aiice's trlnkcts ami let
| tcrs. The trinkets consisted of mar
bells. tops. baset,slis and other tovs'
| playthings- lie then opened letssr
case which bad been the cxc1usfvo
property OF Miss Mitchell.
A sissa,ss cesspae1
IL contained . scrap Of poetry, re-
| letters written TO Fredda Ward. aud
letters written 10 her by Freoua. la
connection With the letters q sivnnge
phase of the case Mas shown. When
Alice and Fredds became engaged and
were finally separated. Alice told
Fredda TO write &c her ~ Fredes Ward.
tell her that che lfrcdda) was IN love
| with Fredda Ward and not Alice
Mitchell for, Alice Miioheil's perpnxssl-
| isy had heen merged into that q
Fredda Ward. Fredda Ward then
wrote 20 Fredda Ward and her letters
were couched fn TIE most essdearsng
terms. Alice Of cource received tie
| letters and became. after . tins<jeAI-
ous Of the mythical Fredds-
| She thereupon wrote 10 FREDDIE and
| told bef that Fredds Ward wss dead.
Miss Ward thereafter addressed ser
love letters 20 Miss Mitchell. The iet-
teri that reseed between the young
| ladies we're written in cypbef maoe mp
Of capitals and Greek letters Love n
the cipher wac eypesscc by "fesr." In
one of tie letters Ireada b~sils The
desfh of the mythHal ffedda tnt shs
consois herself with ahe reflection thse
she loves Alice bestcr than this dead
fiction Of their iinspnstion-
Wsrshie ssa assss
Fredds tells Alice Ira this letter thae
ehe vorshif,s her. while sbs ouit tUseo
Ashley Rosie, . yssang man whp tDatd
court to her Later on she ssys she
loves only Alice ane fof her cake che
gave the cenfIe 70 Rosie. when Ai,oa
nesrd of Rosls'e regard for Frcd1s s>so
n once sst about 60 srcsk np any -
iaebmerts thst might sxist t<sWeen
theut and IN THIS sns euco>cded. Ia
otbet letters ffedds tiscussed fhe
propoe ton 20 eiope snd wss Wild
with luY when Aiscs Told h<f
thsf they would - . ehovf time les~e
for - Lcnis- The presentation ri the
engagement ring hrf-uftst f'rrk such 3
letter ne would foiio~ q similar pre-
-ersstson bs q bog ~ ~ yesys fo =
yonne isds Of ~. When Fseo6s's 80
tef troke fnto the pfsn 20 eis9e tho
- xurv<xs~. sv.<xas 49, <e<x.s~<t,x< -