Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-02-26
WALLED UP.
a Dark Mystery of Carroll County. Ca.
Solved After Seventeen Years,

One of the unsolved mysteries of Car
roll county, writes a Villa Rica. Ca.
| correspondent to the st. Louis Globe
Democrat, is the disappearance Of Miss
Mary Bagwell, over twenty Years AGO.
| She was the daughter of one of the most
| prominent farmers of this section. and
as petted child Of fortune had been
gratified in every whim. Suddenly she
disappeared from the neighborho0ds in
1865. Her father shook his head ST
lently and sadly whenever her name
was mentioned, but had no explanation
to offer. 1t was supposed by some that
the girl had been crossed in some of
her whims and had merely gone off on
a VISIT The lapse Of time, however.
and the mysterious sadness of Mr..
BagWen put this theory at rest. Final
ly the rumOr got out that q WaoOner,
who knew Mary by sight, on his return
from Atlanta, declared that he had seen
her in one of the houses adjacent to
Mcpherson barracks. Others. later.
declared that they had caught a glimpse
Of such face, but whenever those in
terested investigated the matter the
cIews proved to be naught.
His years passed away with no word
from Mary, but the bent figure and
whitened hair of her father showed
that he was failing beneath his load of
grief. Five years, then ten, and it may
be said that Mary was forgotten. Five
more completed fifteen, and most of
those who had known the playful girl
were either dead or had moved away, or
had their minds engaged with business
affairs which shut out the past. When
ever old Mr.. Bagwell would hobbIe
around, leaning heavily upon the stick,
the Iooker-on would simply remark:
''He is looking for his child, =" andWould
then dismiss him from thought.
When seventeen years had passed by,
a local sensation was created by the
discovery which two little bows had
made. On the farm of Mr.. Bagwell,
little off the main road, there was a
shaft over fifty feet deep, leading to an
abandoned gold mine. While playing
around the opening one of the boys fell
in little ways, and after getting over
his fright he determined to 90 on all
exploring expedition. Soon he came
out to his companion carrying q strip
Of faded red ribbon. The two then re-
turned and found, first, one skeleton,
and then two, and one of them picked
up a peculiar piece of jeWelry. The
find was reported abroad, and intense
excitement prevailed. A party of men
organized, and with the coroner and
physicians entered the mine. The ex-
animation developed the fact that one
skeleton was of a young woman and the
other of a man in middle life.
Then arose the question, how came
the bodies there, and why? The story
Of Mary Bagwell was at once revived.
The faded red ribbon was identified by
an old lady as one worn by the girl on
the day before she disappeared. The
piece of jewelry was recognized as an
heirloom in the Bagwell family, and was
known to have been in possession of
Mary. Still, there was no cause why
her body should have been found in
such a place as this, and there was no
cleW to her companion. Just then a
long-hushed-up tale furnished the ex-
PLANTATION. 1t was known to those in
the friendship of the family that the
girl had formed an attachment for one
Of her father ex-slaves. The man was
forbidden the house, and so far as the
community knew, had left the country,
and hopes were entertained that the
girl might be Weaned from her strange
infatuation. To the horror Of the fam
lily, it was discovered that the girl had
passed the period where her shame could
be hidden, and that she would soon be-
come q mother.
Almost crazed by grief, her father
became moody and morOse. He made
a visit to Atlanta, and on returning
home after dark detected a female figure
standing by the deserted mine. Stealth
lily creeping up his blood frOze as he be-
held his daughter in the embrace of the
black wretch. Indignation told the
rest of the story. In a grapple with
the seducer of his child the scoundrel
was hurled into the pit, and his dying
groans told the story of coming death.
Filled with remorse, shame, and frenzy,
the girl precipitated herself into the
abyss below.
Finding his way home several hours
later, Mr.. Bagwel bore his secret to
himself. Fortunately the abandoned
mine held its counsel, and it looked as
if the old man would carry his horrible
secret to the grave with him.
The result of the examination and the
theories thus adduced was the arrest of
the aged father for murder. The case
hung long in the courts. It was felt he
was clearly innocent Of murder; that
the tragedy occurred about as described,
and he was finally acquitted.
Still it is with shudder that the citi-
zens pass the tragic spot, and they pity
''POor Mary BagWell. y