The Anaconda standard., 1899-08-22
THE HAND OF FATE,
Had Seven Husbands who All Met Violent
Deaths.

When Marie Rel Costello of San Juan,
Cal, stands before the marriage altar
grim death is always a guest and as
the fateful words are spoken which
binds her to her spouse the hand of fate
is already stretched forth to welcome
new guest to Valhalla's wall. Seven
times she has been made a widow by
the violent death of her husband.
When this woman was 10 years old
she fell in love with a young ranchinan
and stockman. Jose Cassela. They were
happy for nearly two years. and then
one day her husband fell from a wagon.
When picked up his skull was fractur-
ed. He was killed instantly and never
spoke again.
After remaining widow for one year,
in 1888 she was woed and won by Man
vile Harris, the son of storekeeper
of that name. For eight months moth
ing occurred to mar their happiness,
and then one day her husband had a
bad fall, breaking his leg. Instead of
the break healing and the bone knitting
as it should, blood poisoning set in and
in a few weeks she was a widow for
the second time.
For two years she remained widow,
but her youth and beauty proved such
a strong magnet and the importuna-
ties of her suitors so persistent that.
she in 1886 married Felipe Helmuth, a
miner. This time her conjugal happl-
ness was of short duration, for WITHIN
five weeks after the marriage there
was a cave-in in the mine where Hell
muth was working and his crusEsd ana
almost unrecogniZable body was recoN-
cred few days later.
To be thrice widowed in four years
alarmed the beautiful widow and sne
determined not to tempt the fates again
by marrying, but five years later, IN
1891, William Storey, a young actor
hnr
children, succeeded in persuading her
to take the fourth venture upon the
matrimonial sea.
They took a ranch near San Juan and
were happy for few short months.
One evening while out walking by him.
self Storey entered what is known as
the Speaking Canyon" Perhaps the
happy bridegroom in ecstacy whispered
his brides name while alone and sur
rounded by the sombre walls stretch
ing far above him. Perhaps ne was
frightened by the thunderous reply
that was shouted back at him. In TINS
weird canyon one spoken word Woulu
make him the center of an ediying
whirlpool of monosyllables that would
fiutter about him like birds OF the
night of evil omen. while spoken SEN
tence in an ordinary tone would enSull
him in "a whirlpool of rushing noisy
echoes. Perhaps that was why he lost
his reason and shot himself.
At any rate his dead body was
found in speaking Canyon with
bullet hole in the temple and pistol IN
the clinched hand.
Husband No was an Englishman
named George Prouter, an helf TO eng
lish estates and an ardent, Determined,
earnest lover. He laughed at the 1ears
of the terror stricken widow, dec'areu
that she was morbid and finally mar
iToS CT
that he would take her across the ocean
and break the spell of misfortune that
seemed to surround her.
He had planned their future as one
.round of social pleasure and success III
England. but before he could take her
away from her surroundings ne acc
IDENTIFY shot himself while hunting a
few weeks after their marriage and was
dead before his friends could carry
him home.
For two wears she again donned wild
ow's weeds, and, although in less t"an
n wear after Prouter's death an ora
suitor made his second proposal for her
hand she held out until in 1894 she
finally gave up and in suilen disregard
for the consequences she married Beam
Campbell Two months later Sne was
totally unmoved when she learned or
the catastrophe that made her WidoW
for the sixth time. Her husband was
in mine elevator WHtl the lila' III iii'' >
broke and he went crashing to the lot
tom of the shaft to be crushed to Jelly
at the end of his fail.
The following year the seventh nus
band, Rey Costello, young Mexlcah'
undeterred by the fate of the previous
six, with passionate. fiery fervor, vowed
that he would break the fatal charm
that surrounded her life, and in spite
of her warnings succeeded in inducing
Marie Prieto Cassela Harris Helmuth
storey Prouter Campbell to take the
seventh journey to the altar, and In
lust 2S days after the wedding he was
caught in a treacherous quicksand at
Amador county, California, and was
suffocated in the yielding, sinking
deatbtrap before help could reach him.
Since that time she has sworn off and
has resolutely refused all offers of mar
riag. IF | We're as beautiful as Geo
patra," she says, and We're the only
marriageable woman in California, !
would denounce the man as fool ana
idiot who tried to marry me again. NO,
I shall never send another man to an
untlmely grave and a violent death.
Before that happens I will take the veil
and retire forever from the world