Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1899-01-20

There has just been brought to light
at Indianapolis a peculiar story of re
dual life of D. ). Baker, of Mari q,
Indiana, formerly a member of the N
diana senate, and little by little the sen
at0r has been forced to admit its truth,
and, finally, to make a clean breast of
the whole matter by giving the story IN
detail.
That he is guilty of bigamy there can
be little doubt and but for the construe-
tion of the law by the officers of Grant
county, which makes him amenable to
the statute of the state in which the sec
Ond marriage was celebrated, he would
now be under arrest. AS 1t is, he is now
living wretched life, as he himself
terms it, deeply penitent, but ASHAMED
to return to the Marion wife and
children whom he has so cruelty de.
ceived.
That the woman In the case is of
noble blood and became infatuated with
the senator through the medium of
business correspondence lends a tiDge
of romance to the story that would pro-
duce pleasing effect were it not for
the tragedy that it has brought to the
lives of others.
SENATOR BAKER MET A COUNTESS
According to the story, in which both
Baker and the woman agree, he was
employed several years ago by foreign
syndicate to look after certain business
interests at Marion, Grant county,
where Baker was we'll known as men,
ber of the bar. One of bis clients was
the Countess OF Nazimow, Russian
woman who had an interest in the syn
dicate property and through which
correspondence was opened between tn.
two. This correspondence gradually
wandered away from purely business
matters into paths of sentiment and
soon became literary cOntt st in which
poetry and love began to figure.
The letters Of the two became more
and more tender and In October, 1896,
Baker received letter from the count
ess saying that she was coming to
America. He telegraphed her at New
York to meet him at Fort Wayne, this
state, and from there the two went to
cured pupils IN French and Italian and
Baker returned to his family in Marion.
He visited the countess frequently in
Madison. but his absence from his fam
lily was never so protracted as to excite
suspicion
After the lapse of two years the
countess became inslstent upon mar
riage under the forms of this country
She claimed to have been married to
Baker while in Russia, by proxy, where
friend acted as the groom, and where
she says such marriages are legal.
Baker then went to Wahpeton, n. d.,
and, unknown to his Marion family en-
tered suit for divorce. 1t is said the
trial of the case occurred and the count
ess and Baker were both witnesses, the
former testifying that she had lived for
three years in the family of the senator
at Marion and had witnessed frequent
acts of cruelty on the part of Mrs.
Baker toward her husband, one of them
being sensational scalding with hot
water. When the evidence was con-
cluded the trial judge Is said to have re-
marked to Bakers attorney that he had
made out strong case and decree of
divorce from the Marion wife would be
ordered.
FORMALLY MARRIED THE COUNTESS.
Baker and the countess then left
Wahpeton and Dec. %, 1898, they were
formally married at Madison, Wis.
When the story reached this state that
Baker had wife at Madison his friends
denied it and he himself pronounced it
as absolutely false. Others interested
themselves to learn the truth and the
facts came out as above related. 1t ap-
pears, however, that no decree was ever
entered in North Dakota, and that
Baker is thus bigamist. When a tel
egrsm was sent to Ii. G. N. Myhr, clerk
of the Wahpeton court, he replied that
no decree has yet been entered, but that
the case was tried and the decree might
be entered in chambers at any time.
This put another sensational phrase
upon the case and when Baker was
asked about it he confessed much sur
prise and vexation. He said that he
understood the decree had been entered
before he left Wahpeton, and he sup
posed he was free to marry the Russian
woman. He admitted that he had
cruelty deceived his Mar.On wife and
said that he had made all mends in
his power by deciding to her his real es-