The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-25
GOSSIP OF ADAY.
Woman MOOnShiner Who
DcficS Officers.
Mrs. Calvin the Victim of a
Very Peculiar Robbery.
Was Chl0r0formed and Diamond
Studded Teeth Extracted.

SSu10S0 kSSlu LAtl dStSas
When a woman is brought into court
hereabouts on the charge of selling liquor
illegally, no attention whatever is paid
10 the case because as n rule IL presents no
features that have not been made familiar
in many previous instances. Sometimes
the women take French leave and shake
the dust of these plantations from their
feet leaving their bondsmen 10 settle, but
by far the larger number face the music
and finally effect II settlement or so ont
to jail for "A period varying according To
the number of charges against them
The case of Betsy Mullens of Tennessee
is radically different and far more inter.
csting than any that has ever developed
in this state. Betsy is the largest woman
in Tennessee. She lives in IA little log
house on the top of Newman's ridge in
the mountains of Hancock county, where
she earns living by selling illcitly dis
titled whisky in open defiance of the Off
GERS of the government, who have time
and again been sent to arrest but have
never succeeded in fulfilling their instruc-
tions. Betsy's avoirdupois is about 540
pounds, and this accounts for the woman
never having been arrested. For years
she is sick, but her immense size is such
that she Is unable To walk or move
around like other people Her husband
was for years an invalid, and her family
was without visible means of support un-
til Betsy conceived the idea of selling
whisky.
There are any number of Illicit stills in
the mountains nearby and Just across
h. fnn i'm, IA xrfth hafp
operators the woman made arrangements
for her supply of mountain dew It is
brought TO her in stone jugs, and from
her bedside she can reach down and pour
out any quantity OF whisky which the
patrons of her place may desire. In open
defiance of the law has Mrs Mullens car
ried on this method of liquor selling for
years The Federal Grand Jury has
indicted her time after time, and
officers have been sent to arrest her, but
that was all. They would come to her
bedside and serve the papers, but could
not take her to court or to jail. Her size
baffled them. 1t would take half dozen
strong men to carry her out Of the house,
and when the outside was reached they
would not be able to get to the road at the
bottom of the ridge. as IL is impossible To
get wagon to the top where her cabin
Is located. Every, time the officers call at
the house she simply laughs and says
Take me If you can. The officers can
not take her, and that is the end Of it.
Betsy presents a case of ignorance per-
sonificd Her knowledge of the world is
confined to radius of three miles of her
homo. She was born near the place where
she lives, and has never been off the ridge
Never saw the little country town of Taze-
well, the county seat of TaZewell county,
and has never seen railroad train, al
though she Is at present nearing the If
ticth milestone of her monotonous life
She delights in having visitors call to see
her and talks interestingly. During all
the years that Mrs. Mullens has been con-
lined TO her bed she has seen her three sons
AID husband pass 90 the beyond. She
could not attend the funeral services at
the little church, which Is situated several
miles from her home, and the funeral SER
vices, II such they might be called, were
held in the rooms where the mother and
wife lay on the bed, and their bodies were
laid TO rest just outside the door in the
back yard, where she could witness the in
terment The woman takes her misfor-
tune good naturedly and says that she
VIII continue the sale of whisky until her
time to die has come and then she, too
expects to be laid to rest beside the bodies
of her husband and sons in the little plot
in the back yard known as the family
burying ground of tho Mullens family
che North End the other night in which
she Is alleged to have been robbed of her
pocketbook and gloves was very COM
anonplace affair indeed, compared with the
experience of Mrs. Calvin, at Portland
Ore, recently. Mrs. Calvin is a handsome
woman and resides i'm San Francisco Re-
Gently she went on visit To her sister at
Portland and it was at the atters house
that she was the victim of one of the most
unique robberies ever recorded. A few
years ago she was snitten by the fad that
prevailed at that time. She had two valu-
able diamonds set in her upper front
teeth, so that when she parted her lips in n
smile the sparkling gems shone resplcn.
IDENTIFY Her peculiar adornment attracted
considerable attention while at Portland,
Tor IL was something out of the ordi-
rary. Mrs. Calvin was alone in her sis.
tors house one afternoon when the door
bell rang. She answered the summons
ana admitted two men, who claimed they
were plumbers sent by the owner TO in
spect the house. Mrs. Calvin was leading
thcm 10 the Kitchen, and when in the din
Ing room they seized her, placed chloro-
formed handkerchief to her nose and rem
dered her unconscious. Then with forceps
they extracted the two teeth i'm which the
diamonds were set and left the place. Mrs.
Calvin recovered and summoned ssist-
ancc, but refused to allow the police author
ities TO take charge of the matter, object
ing TO the notoriety. The following even
ing she boarded train for San Francisco.
A recent experience of Mrs. George
fonntain OF Eastport Me, should serve
as warming of the serious results that
may follow the swallowing OF fishbone.
Mrs. Fountain was for some time a sufferer
nom disorder which the local physi-
clans who attended her were unable TO
diagnose she was treated by them for
-arious complaints, but to no avail. and
her case had been practically given up.
when she determined to 20 20 the Maine
'.enerai Hospital at Portland. Mrs.
csountain herself thought she had n can
asy to Take