The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-06-11
sELLR s1DDOEs



IN evening the strains of musie IRON B pa
I latial danceihouse greeted my eapaei0h
le ears. ] strolled in towitRess, FIR asher
2s while, the evolutions of the fast me-
Z and still faster women askey glide
. through the intricacies Of tes mar
q waltz, or, TO put it in plainel 1T NOR
4 truthful language, as they easofted witt
Is flying hoofs through q Leadyille fan
dango. At the head Of the establish
8 ment, monarch of all she surveyed ant
d clad in Relvet and diamonds, was dark
$ eyed, handsome-featured, yaman, whS
; Iruled the place as if with rod Of iron
With IS caliber weapon at her side
s she was prompt to suppress every riot
and trouble at. its incipiency. Their
I was a cold glitter in her eye, her brow,
e were knit, and her lips were tightly
{ compressed, which at first discouraged
: me. from approaching her, with view
of learning something of her past his
tory. But, after waiting patiently, her
: brows relaxed and her lips parted, dis.
r closing two rows of shapely white teeth.
? Il was while she was wFeathed in this
2 temporary smile that / made haste to
form her acquaintance, a proceeding
that amply repaid me.
The career of this remarkable woman
reads like a romance, and fairly Illus
trates the adage that truth is stranger
than fiction. II, as it has been ungal-
lantly asserted, it is Satan's ruling pol
icy in winning the world to himself to
select handsome women with brilliant
intellects for his adjutants, then he.
played his cards well in this particular
case Yet she was purely q creature of
circumstances, a butterfly of fashion,
and whatever criticism there is should
be tempered with pity. There was al
ways an air of mystery about this cold,
proud, beautiful woman, and although
she plunged into the giddy whirl of
Leadville life and became the. gayest of
the gay she was as silent as the tomb
when sounded about her past.
A society belle, rebel spy;'an adSen-
turess, a queen of faro bank, proprie
tress Of a dance hall and "a confdaute
of stage robbers, her life was indeed
seasoned with all the elements OF first
class romance; and between the yealaw |
covers of the West sensational literatL e
of the day seldom can be found a more
wonderful or chequered career, ~
A REBEL SPY.
Belle Siddons, during the, first year of
the civil war, was the reputed belle of |
st. Louis. A near relative of Gov
Claib Jackson's predecessor, she created |
quite a sensation in Jefferson City on |
her debut in society. A graduate of the
Lexington Female University, her ac
complishments and beauty, and with her I
high. family connection, made her at
once the acknowledge queen of the. State
capital society, and around her. the hot |
blooded gallants hovered like moths
around candle. But she kept them at T
their distance and preserved her heart
whole and free. Capt. Parrish, youngd
journalist of st. Louis, received her
love unsought, and although already
betrothed to a young lady of IonisiaRa, T
Mo-, he found he could not break the
spell of enehantment, and he became
Belle Siddoh's most devoted worship
per, foughtua duel with his. discarded r
afianced's brother, followed Governor
Claib Jackson,s militia southwark and
fell mortally wounded on the first bat
tlaield His death made no apparent
impression on the Siddons woman Her
life continued to be a round of pleasure, Z
a whirl of gayety. The staff officers of
Gems Haileck and Curtis became fascin
ated with her charming ways and win
ming manners, and the bewitching beau
ty, while holding them in a vice like
grasp, wormed many an army secret out
Of them, and could be seen almost night
Iy in De Bars opera house, st. Louis,
lavishing smiles Oh her epaulletted adj
mirers Gen. Curtis ordered her arrest
4 1890 Ill Ill
received hint and escaped, only to be
arrested at st. Genevieve, Mo-, with
absolute evidence of her guilt in her
possession. Brought before Gen, Seh0-
feEd ishe bravely confessed her crime,
and'"without a change of eountenance
admitted to having constantly posted
Gems, Forrest and Sterling Price of !
every movement made by the Union
headquarters, and unblushingly boasted
of betraying her admirers, (among the
staff oficers) condolences, and of having
rendered Gen. Forest invaluable aid in
his well executed raid on the Memphis !
and Mobile railroad, which cut off Grants
supplies at Holly Springs, Miss, and
forced him to take the river route to
Vicksburg.
Holding her head up she defiantly
dared Schofeld to do his worst, and was
sent to the Gratiot street rebel prison,
from which she afterwards managed to
escape southwark through an intrigue /:
with the provost marshal.
FALLING FROM POWER.
This was the last heard of her till 1866,
when she appeared as lobbyist at JEFF
ferson City, and continued her career
through Gov. Fletcher's and Gov. Nc
Clurg's administrations. The suscepti- {
BILE members of the Legislature were not
proof against her Establishments, and
soon began to feel her subtle power. Out !
of the sudden and mysterious passage
of many important bills grew scandalous
tales of all-night carousals, wine suppers
and little trips to st. Louis.
About the time the Gratz Brown Leg-I
islature began its official career Belle
Siddons' power began to wane, and she
came up to Kansas City, bent on max
ing new conquests in fresher fields. She :
bore letters of introduction to a we'll
known family (since removed from The
cityl, but how she obtained them she
knows best, and under an assumed name
she plunged into Kansas City society,
which was then in crude and some
what chaotic state. The mysterious
beauty attracted admirers By the score,
a then prominent merchant offering her
his heart and hand, an many of the
older residents will remember the nu-
mer0us heart-smashings she caused dur
ing her brief and busy career. She was
now at that time of life when women's
beauty is most splendid and their intel.
lects are in full maturity. An expert at
the piano, a bird-like throat, queen of
poIiteness, a beautiful face, modest and
afable demeanor, these were the pass
ports that served as an open sesame be-
fore which the doors of many an elegant
mansion swung open, only to make the
host and hostess afterwards bitterly REL
gret that they turned on their hinges
before this audacious woman of the
world. Gossip about midnight hack
rides to Westport aud Wyandotte, cham
pagne and oyster sappers with Kansas
City blOods, and other scandalons doings
began to crop out and she disappeared
as mysteriously as she came, whittier, no
one knew About the same time Newt
HalIet, handsome young sport, who 3
used to hang around the Marble hall, lit
out, and it afterwards transpired that he
had fallen in love with the clever ad
ventures, and they got married afterf
their mutual disappearance and went to
Texas Hallet soon after died Of yellow.
fever, at Houston.
THE LAST STEP.
Belle Siddons, or Mrs HaiIett, now as
sumed the name Of Mme VestaI, and
under this alias opened faro baBks la
business her husband taught herl at
Wichita, Newton, Abilene, Br0okyilIel
and Ellsworth, as rapidly as the caEtied
centres changed, and many Of the stock
men down 1.-THE wards win still renaenn-