Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-11-09

and Rapid City in 1877 Archie Cum.
mings and one of his pals were wound
cd and Alex Casswell killed This
strange woman at once abandoned her
gambling palace and went out into the
woods TO where her lover and his part
ner lay helpless and wounded and
there attended their wants, Not dar,
ing TO bring surgeon from Deadwood
to dress their wounds, lest detectives
should follow to their place of hiding,
these wounded robbers must have died
bad not Nine Vestal come to their
assistance She had learned something
OF surgery while in the South during
the war,and according to her own state.
ment, was competent to extract bull
let or set n limb us well as any surgeon
in the bills. Her cunning devices
baflled all efforts to discover the hiding
place of her beloved stage robber and
his companion, and by her manage
ment they were even taken into Dead
wood unseen by the detective and
there treated successfully for their
wounds, and sent forth again to prey
upon the stage line.
About this time (lS77) Nine. Vestal
seems to have first met her evil genius,
or at least a man who neither feared
her nor her formidable influence as
queen of the desperadocs and sports
in the hills. Boone May, the present
young and daring chief OF detectives
on the Sydney, Cheyenne and Black
Hills stage line, was then stage
driver. Cunning, reckless and brave
TO a degree almost incredible, he won
bis way to the favor Of Nine. Vestal,
and by his careless manner and gay
and festive style attracted the atten.
ton OF the female gambler aud soon
won from hcrsufiiciont Information to
put him on thetrail of the road agents.
Boone May never talks to newspaper
men if he can avoid it, and he has
never revealed the details Of the tragedy
here related The story was told by
the woman on what she supposed TO
he her death bed, and in such an eX.
cited and disjointed manner that only
the outlines could be obtained Boone
May and his gang succeeded in obtain.
ing such information from Nine. Vestal
as justified him in sending a dispatch
to Cheyenne, which caused the arrest
of Archie Cummings and two Of his
companions just as they were boarding
the west-bound train at Laramie City,
on their way to San Francisco, where
Nine. Yestal had arranged to follow
them. Thoy were sent TO Cheyenne
and from there under guard to Dead.
wood.
Soon after crossing the Platte river,
near Fort Laramie, u party OF armed
men stopped the coach and took the
three road agerts from it and hung
them one by one, using the same rope
for each, allowing the last to see the
frst kick aud struggle before suffering
the same penalty. Archie Cummings,
not yet recovered IRON his wounds
asked permission to pray and for time
to write farewell letter to his mother.
This was granted on condition that he
gave up the names OF his coniederates
IN crime and revealed the hiding place
of his money, accumulated from iro.
quent stage robberies. This be do.
clned Ho was then offered his life
if he would give up his hidden treas.
ure. He accepted the conditions, and
after revealing the hiding place OF his
stolen gold he was at once strung up
and notice written and posted warn.
ing all persons to let the bodies hang.
This was ON Cottonwood Creek, on the
Black Hills and Fort Laramie stage
road. One of the vigilants, for a
share of the dead Cummings money,
related the details of the tragedy to
his paramour, Nine. Vestal, who, after
attempting to drown her grief in liquor,
took an overdose of poison. On her
recovery Nine. Vcstal announced her
determination to kill Boone May and
every man engaged in the banging of
bcr pet But up to this time Boone
May still lives, the terror of the rene.
gades and desperadoes of the Black
Hills and western Nebraska.
From the time of her attempted
suicide this remarkable woman ap.
pears to have lost all Of her character.
istic courage and surrendered herself
to drink. She appeared in Leadyille,
Colorado, during the Fall and Winter
of 1879, where she made herself quite
prominent as the proprictress OF the
largest music hall and dance.house on
State street. From there she says
she driited to Las Vegas, New Mexico,
and thence to Tucson and Tombstone,
at each place losing money in gambling
and speculation. She says she arrived
in San Francisco last May, sincowhich
time she has been living alone in u
furnished room on Koarney street.
She still possesses some money, sui
fcient perhaps, to keep her until her
limited life is ended, for she is fast
drinking herself into the grave. A
slave to opium and brandy, this once
bright ornament of st. Louis society
must soon find her way to the oblivion
of the grave Of the stranger. There
have been few women who started out
in life with brighter prospects or under
more brilliant auspices. Beautiful, &C.
complished, highly connected and well
educated, she might have chosen her
place in the highest walks of life. Her
career has been eyentlul aud exciting
She has passed through the several
phases of life, belle Of society, afllanced
bride, spy, hospital nurse, lobbyist
gamblers wife, gambler, confederate
Of robbers, saloon Keeper, and now,
after wandering all over the frontier,
she finds herself behind the bars Of the
female cell in he city Jail Of San Fran