100 years ago in Spokane: Father of woman dubbed Spokane’s ‘mystery girl’ says she suffered from mental illness following meningitis

Spokane’s “mystery girl” was not, as previously suspected, Lillian Davis, a criminal fugitive from California.

She was Sybil Smith from Seattle, and she was not wanted for anything except for stealing jewelry from a Spokane store, which is why she was being held in a Spokane jail.

Authorities from California sent a photo of the Lillian Davis, wanted for burglary, and Spokane authorities said “it does not even bear a resemblance” to the girl they were holding.

More proof of her true identity arrived shortly. Her father, George D. Smith of Seattle, visited her in jail. She threw her arms around his neck, put her head on his shoulder and wept.

He said his daughter was “mentally irrresponsible” because of a previous attack of spinal meningitis. He asked authorities to drop the charges.

From the fur beat: Spokane was touting a new and growing local industry: fox farming.

“The business of raising these dainty animals is rapidly looming up,” said the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “One farm is already being operated in Opportunity and another at Coeur d’Alene, and still others are promised for the near future.”

There was “big money” in raising foxes for their pelts, to be made into coats and muffs.

A single silver fox, the most valuable species, was worth up to $4,500. A “fox expert” from Prince Edward Island in Canada was in Spokane promoting the fox-raising industry.

The industry would thrive for a few years afterward, but it would prove to be short-lived.