Evening star., 1952-12-09
By Paul Duke
As.oeiessd Press Staff Writer


RICHMOND. Va. Dec. s.-SoI
you're skeptical about Lady Won
der, Richmond's incredible talk
ing" horse?
So was this reporter when he
went out to. "interview' her.
A horse that can predict the
future and reel on facts like a1
child prodigy? Just lot Of bunk,
] thought,
But after q half hours "chat"
with Lady came away from her
tiny stall scratching my head and
wondering whether there isn't
more fact than fiction to horse
sense.
Lots Of other folk are wondering
the same thing now that Lady has
been credited with providing the
Tip. that led to discovery OF the
body Of Danny Matson. 4-year-
old child missing from his Quincy
(Mass.) home for nearly two years.
Deluged With Phone Calls.
since Sunday. Lady's mistress. a|
gray-haired little woman named
Claudia Fonda. has been deluged
with long distance calls from
persons who want the 27-year-l
old horse quizzed on everything
from stolen bicycles to wildcat Oil
wells. !
Mrs. Fonda won't take the
requests by telephone. declaring
that Lady is not at her best unless
the questioner is on hand to get
the answer straight from the
horses mouth.
Mrs. Fonda made two exceptionsi
to this rule, however. She agreed
to ask Lady some time today
about Phyllis June Ryder, missing
19-year-old beauty from Eggerts-
vile, N. Y, and an unidentified
Chicagoan who recently disap-
peared.
But about that interview:
Lady fiabbergaSted me when
she correctly answered most Of
the IS questions I fired at her.
She does her answering by pok-
ing her chin at levers extending
out from tiny slides containing
numbers and letters. When she
touches the levers. the numbers
and letters shoot up, spelling out
her answers.
Owner Stands Beside Horse.
Mrs. Fonda stood beside Lady,
repeating the questions into the
mares ear. Sometimes Mrs. Fonda
grazed Lady's sleek brown back
with the swish of whip. She did
this to prod the horse.
Lady started out perfectly by
pecking out my name. When Il
asked her where I was born, she
spelled out Bethlehem, Pa.-the
right answer. When I asked her
how much money I make weekly,
she came back with the exact dol
lars-and-cents figure.
She hubbed it when I asked her
where I went to school. But two
questions later, she named the
school in a delayed-action reply.
In none of the instances did
Mrs. Fonda have advance notice
Of the questions to be asked.
Lady has been playing this
question and answer game for
more than 20 years. The folks
who visit her at Mrs. Fonda's |
small frame house on the edge Of
town get three questions for a
dollar.
Tipon Theory Collapses.
I thought about q tipon system
between Lady and her mistress.
But she has answered questions
when Mrs. Fonda wasn't nearby
How does Lady do it?
I asked Lady that very ques-
ton.
She heSitated, then slowly
spelled out MIND"
asked her If she'd like to be
a human.
YES" came the answer.
Mrs. Fonda, who calls her pet
an educated horse" bought Lady
when she was a baby colt.
She said she first noticed q
strangeness about the animal when
Lady would romp into the barn
just as Mrs. Fonda was on the
verge Of calling her.
Occasionally, smiled Mrs. Fonda,
some one tried to "catch" Lady.
Like the man who wanted to know