Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-10-16

fixed for the return OF the writ, Mr.. Alien
took his daughter. away and concealed her.
But finally settlement was effected and the
husband and wife were permitted to join each
other. As Clark was taking his wife home,
crowd OF citizens who had been watching the
negotiations took the horse from the buggy
and drew the vehicle through the streets, to
the music of a brass band. Cannon were fired
and general jollifcation INDUCED in. Final
ly the elder Clark invited "the boys" to go
around the corner with him, and the young
couple were left in peace and quiet.
A SAN FRANCISCO paper few days ago
noted the incarceration in the calaboose OF a
middle aged female, drunken, squalid, hall
naked and utterly depraved. 1t was Madame
vestal, alias Mrs Hallet. Those are the names
by which she is known to the public. Her
career has been most remarkable, and her his
tory is not less sorrowful than strange. Her
maiden name was Belle Slddons. She was
born of proud and well-to-do parents in Mis-
souri, and was educated at a female seminary
at Lexington in that state. She made her de-
but in society at the state capital about the
time of the beginning of the rebellion. She
was beautiful and brilliant, a relative of the
governor, and soon became widely known and
universally admired. From Jefferson city she
went down to st. Louis, and at once was ac-
corded place among the bellies of that wealthy
and aristocratic city. Soon after her arrival
there occurred the first really sensational cpl
sode of her wild life A young Journalist
there, Capt. Parish, fell madly in love with
her and renounced his allegiance to a most es-
Unable lady of Louisiana, Mo-, to whom he
was engaged. This was the occasion of duel
between the faithless lover and the brother of
his discarded .fanee. Parish then went south
and was killed in one of the early battles Of
the war. This changed Miss Siddons' whole
course of life. She plunged recklessly into
gaiety, cultivating the acquaintance of the
military then Swarmlng around St. Louis and
became intimate with the federal officers at
tached to the headquarters of Gems. Halleck
and Curtis. She was intensely southern in
sentiment, and finally her arrest as spy was
ordered. Warned by one of her military friends,
she attempted to escape south, but was cap
tured. She confessed to having kept Gems. For
est and Price advised Of movements at Union
headquarters, and boldly claimed the honor Of
having assisted Forest in his raid on the
Memphis and Mobile railroad, which cut of
Grants supplies at Holly Springs, and COM
PEELED him to take the river route to Vicks.
burg. She was sent 10 prison, but through
the infiuence'of her great personal charms on
the provost-marsh., was soon afterwards re-
lease and permitted 10 go south. After th e
war she came back and appeared as lobbyis
at the state canitil during the corrupt adm IN
istrations OF Fletcher and McClurg, the las
two Republican governors OF Missouri She
was still very beautiful, and stories are told t
her many scandalous carousals with members
of the legislature. At Jefferson City she mar
ried gambler named Hallet and went to
Texas with him. He died of yellow fever at
Houston. She took up his calling and ap-
peared as a farodealer at Wichita, Ellsworth,
Cheyenne and Deadwood She assumed
the name of Madame Vestal and presided over
the finest gambling houses of Cheyenne and
Deadwood. She was gorgeously dressed and
beiewelled and sat at the table cold, stern and
impossible, revolver at hand, lying cooked
beside stacks of money and "chips." At
Deadwood she fell in with Archie Cummings,
Kansas guerilla, and member OF the gang of
hlghwaymen, who SO long infested the Black
Hills road. She knew all the secrets of the
road agents and a sharp detective got informa-
ton from her which was made use OF to
break up the gang. Cummings with two COM
panions were captured and hanged by amob.
This SO grieved her that she attempted suicide
with morphine, but overdld the Job,
and her life was saved. Then
she went TO Leadville, where she
run a dance-house. She drifted on to Las
| Vegas, New Mexico, and Tucson and Tomb
stone, Arizona, steadily losing money in dissi-
patton and speculation. She got to San Fran
cisco last May, and has been living in fur
nished ROOM She still has money, but will
not need it long, as she is rapidly bringing
Ae- career to an end by the excessive use of
opium, tobacco and rum. She has been So
ciety belle, an affianced bride, spy, lobbyist,
hospital nurse, gamblers wife, gambler, con-
federate of highwaymen, saloon keeper and
harlot. Fortunately, few women see the va
ried phases of life that Belle Siddons has seen.